Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Editorial: On being a good neighbor
The pain of hard times can be eased by a kind stranger.
From the RoundTable blog
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An illness, an accident, a pink slip, the end of a life or a marriage can happen to any of us. Sometimes we can't survive life's trials without a little help from our neighbors.
Each year, The Roanoke Times solicits contributions from our readers for the Good Neighbors Fund. The money supports the work of the Emergency Financial Assistance Program, administered by Roanoke Area Ministries, and helps our neighbors throughout the year.
During the campaign drive, our news pages bring stories that can't help but tug heart strings and loosen purse strings.
These stories could happen to any of us. They tell of hard workers with dreams for their families' futures who got that pink slip, that phone call about an accident, that diagnosis from the doctor that pushed them from just-getting-by to not-going-to-make-it.
We've also met the people behind the contributions. Friends like 84-year-old Virginia Reid and 93-year-old Katherine Hamlin, who want for little but know the needs of others go unmet.
We've met others who give because they once received. Each story could be our own.
Many of us are generous with our dollars and our time when we are touched by the plight of others. We feel a personal connection to the individual stories.
But not all stories can be told. Many of our neighbors will find themselves dealing with hardships they never thought would touch them. We won't hear their stories. We won't know that we've helped to ease their burden, but our contributions to the Good Neighbors Fund will help assuage their troubles throughout the year.
We understand how difficult it is for people to give this year. The recession's impact is hard to escape. Unemployment is increasing, companies are folding, times are hard, and the new year brings much uncertainty.
Still, many of us can count our blessings: We still have our warm homes, our jobs, our families. We might count among those blessings a few extra dollars, saved during last-minute holiday sales, that we could spare for our neighbors.
Many thanks to all who have donated, and all who will.
