In times like these, I try to take a step back, even just for a moment, and think like a bee. Or a bird. Or a butterfly.
In a way, it’s not really thinking as much as it’s just, well…doing. Doing the next thing – however small or repetitive or miniscule in geography. These are creatures that spend their days helping their immediate environments to thrive, with small individual efforts that add up to the bigger picture of an enriched and fertile surrounding community.
Every day, within the immediate area where we live, work and play, so many are silently about to fall through the cracks. Teetering on the edge of homelessness, terminal illness and other serious life struggles, these are people you might never imagine are about to lose their footing in life.
They have a job, and maybe more than one. They have been, and want to continue to be, productive members of our local community. They may qualify for support services, only to be met with red tape and waiting lists that further water the seed of hopelessness. They could be choosing, right now, to remain in an abusive, violent and dangerous home environment because there’s literally nowhere else for them to go.
This is the reality that inspired me to establish Rolling for a Cause, a 501 (c) (3) organization providing individualized micro-funding to those in our region that need – and deserve – a hand up. Whether it be a few nights’ stay in a hotel, food to feed their family for a month, or financial help getting caught up on rent and utilities, RFAC gifts individuals in immediate need that are otherwise at a tipping point into poverty and/or homelessness.
I’m beyond grateful for the generosity of those who continue to support our mission of making a significant impact on the lives of individuals living, working and critically struggling beside us who would otherwise fall silently through the cracks.
While it’s true that, even as a conglomerate, we may not be able to change the whole world, we absolutely, positively CAN change the world for one individual at a time.
With Warmest Regards,
Dorothy “Dot” Hawthorne
President & Founder