Bringing it Home
November 30,2012
Dr. Daniel Fishbein
When we close our eyes and recall Thanksgiving, each of us can imagine our own scenes with family and friends, the smell and even taste of our favorite dishes, and the expressions of gratitude that were exchanged at the dinner table. This year I am especially thankful because while many in our community suffered property and material damages during Hurricane Sandy, we did not endure the loss of any community member or experience the elimination of an entire village infrastructure, as some municipalities sadly did. Even Ridgewood’s lost pets were found safe and sound.
We were lucky. Fortunately Sandy is behind us and life in Ridgewood has for the most part returned to normal. And while we still see tarps on roofs, enormous tree stumps and broken sidewalks around the Village, the ongoing regional media coverage continues to remind us that
normalcy has not returned to many areas and/or families, nor will it for years to come.
That means our work as citizen neighbors is not done. Along with its wallop, Sandy delivered to us a small taste of what it is like to live without the very basics for even a short period of time. Schools were closed but the lessons continued firsthand, especially the one about how a small amount of generosity goes a very long way to people in need. How our temporary hardship is something that many people around the world live with every day, even when the winds are still and the sun is shining.
Each year, around this time, our students and staff go into overdrive to organize activities that raise awareness about people in need. They solicit monetary donations, collect food and assemble clothing drives and the like for those less fortunate than we. The causes extend all over the globe and each and every one of them is worthy of our support. And yet this year, because Sandy chose to hit so close to home, we have the unique opportunity to truly think globally and act locally, as the saying goes, to bolster the service organizations in our own backyard. There is a particularly increased need for our investment in our community.
So please, help to replenish the shelves at our food pantries and to fill storage lockers at our blood banks. Go through your closets and drawers and give to the clothing and coat drives of your choice. And finally, for those who can, please give to the hurricane relief effort of your choice. Your acts of kindness will be appreciated by those in need and will also make you feel good about yourself.
I hope the beginning of the holiday season was happy and restful and that the rest of this season brings you peace! Be well and thank you for giving!