People that change the world everyday

People that change the world everyday

We all hear when a big star lends his or her name to cause. George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn all bring their position and money to causes that are in desperate need of help.  We have all seen the television commercials where celebrities are the spoke persons for Animal Cruelty and animal rights groups.  There is so much need and so much to do, that at times it appears that we are all competing for attention so our causes do not get left behind.  It is an admirable trait that Americans seem to share, helping those who otherwise would do without.

Sometimes the biggest impact is made by one person who reaches out to another and touches that person’s soul.  A spark is created that soon leads to that new person branching out and doing something wonderful that her or she may never had done on their own.

I know that is true in my case.  It was a chance meeting with Pattie Baker that made that spark in my soul. It was a meeting to discuss a rezoning where I met Luma who opened my eyes to the world of refugees and the struggles they face in our country every day.  Now I know I was raised right, by loving and caring parents, who showed me the path to a good life.  I have been blessed that for most of my life my friends and relatives have been there in my times of need and have pushed me back on the right path. 

I have learned lessons from those who I once considered the “enemy” that despite our differences, there may be a common thread that pulls us together in some way.  I have learned that that why we might disagree on a specific issue of the day, tomorrow we may need each other’s support to make something really big happen.

It is with all of this in mind that I wanted to pass on a post from Patties latest blog. In a year that saw a new team move over to St. Pats and build what I believe to be a very special community Garden, yet another soul was touched.  David Skoke appeared.  The details on how I met him are fuzzy.  A friend of Patties I believe. (We are all connected that way it seems).  David saw something special in the garden and the food pantry so he decided to take it to the next level.  He knew that hundreds of pounds of perfectly good food was being disposed of every week by grocery store everywhere.  He decided he wanted a piece of that action.

Now through a network that he alone created, the Food pantry at St. Pats receives hundreds of pound of fresh greens every week.  In the winter when the garden production is down, his deliveries are sometimes the ONLY source of vegetables and greens at the Pantry.

That is David in the top left picture

David was ill the last couple of weeks and folks have stepped up to make sure those deliveries were not interrupted.  Pattie and David reached out to yet another soul who showed up yesterday to deliver another bounty.

For all of you who do that extra something, not because you have to, but because you want to, I say thank you