It’s been a hectic few months since the last time I submitted an article to the Just Ask Community. My father passed in October and I was propelled into a self imposed journey of introspection.
I realized that my career is way off balance and that I have been taken for granted by many people but more importantly I realized that I need to enjoy the moment because you never know when it will be your last. My father was an intense, passionate and community driven person. Those same qualities are in me also. Community has been my focus for the last few years in my career as I have worked for two community based non profit organizations that have lost the true sight of their missions.
I see corruption, abuse of power and favoritism. The need for health information and quality programming is lacking in the inner city. Families are struggling to make ends meet, childcare suffers under the burden of multiple organizations scrutiny, foster care continues to suffer under the weight of attitudes from people who don’t care about situations and are only concerned with their jobs or careers.
Children are dying in the care of foster parents who abuse them, neglect and mistreat them. The organizations like so many others are cash strapped, overloaded with cases and just too busy to care about what’s happening outside of their walls. The importance of these young people is that they are a part of our community and their needs deserve to be addressed just like unemployment, crime and poverty. Death teaches you the importance of paying attention to the moment and embracing each and every opportunity that comes to you. This year make it a priority to embrace a child and give them hope to let them know that someone cares about their community and them.
Volunteer a few hours of your time to a cause that you care about that will benefit a young person and your community. Change is not always swift sometimes one person has to set the change for others to follow. Don’t worry about what you don’t have to accomplish the task. Be concerned about what you do have and bring those skills, talents and blessings together to make your community the place that you dream of. We only get a few chances to make things right before it’s all over.
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