Raised $7060
2020 has been a year.
This Spring, rather than planning for our impeding transition into empty-nesterhood (if it’s not a word it should be) we found ourselves navigating our space 24/7 with three grown adults. Adjustments … to put it lightly …. had to be made. March was tough but by mid-April we each settled into a groove and started to enjoy our unscheduled time together.
By the end of summer everyone had accepted the new normal. Fall plans were rearranged to make the most of the situation. Jared headed off to explore a new place, Anna secured a job and moved in with friends and David put college off for a year to pursue his dream. With options and opportunities to be flexible, we were lucky. Sure there were missed adventures, graduation parties and team events but there were also new chances for life to slow down, quality time spent with loved ones and of course Tik Tok recipes to be explored.
While everyone in my family has lost something and struggled during the past nine months …. All of our glasses remain quite full.
I recognize that our stability during this time is due in large part to the sacrifices and hard work of the butler, farmer and pub owner as well as their families who stand proudly at the top of our family tree. Their belief in a brighter future helped build a strong foundation upon which our family stands today.
I have always believed in the American Dream as first defined by James Truslow Adams:
“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. … It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”
2020 has been a year. It has been a year that has left me questioning the viability of Adam’s American dream. It has laid bare the fact that the system doesn’t work the same for everyone. I am well aware that for many this pandemic has not been about a rearranging of plans but more of a complete loss of stability – physically, financially and/or emotionally. The circumstances of birth, position and color of your skin, unfortunately matter greatly in America.
I believe this year’s organization uniquely addresses the issues of our time. The East Colfax Community Collective (ECCC) is a grassroots, community led organization of local non-profits, small business leaders, immigrants, refugees, renters, and homeowners. Their mission is to ensure that policy decisions in East Colfax are driven by the diverse community members that call East Colfax home. The Collective advocates for equitable and inclusive engagement with the East Colfax community in all policy spaces.
ECCC is focused both on the immediate needs of the community but also in making systemic changes. The funds will go to creating a community legal office. The office will help residents and business owners successfully maneuver the bureaucracy that all too often stands between them and the earned payoff of their own sacrifices and hard work.
Join us this year for our online event and help get us closer to that dream of America being “a land in which life is better and richer and fuller for everyone”.