“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost
This is a self-indulgent blog. 29 years ago on January 16, 1996, I started work at United Way of Jackson County. There are even a few volunteers here today who were already here at the time and some who came right around the time I did. Many new ones have come and done amazing work. Staff have come and some have gone. They all did good work.
Here’s what else was happening 29 years ago. Tupac released his last album in his lifetime. He served time that year and he was killed. President Clinton signed Welfare Reform and it made significant changes that are still in effect today. England returned the Stone of Destiny to Scotland after 700 years. Dolly the Sheep was born. For sports fans, Daniil Medvedev and Josh Allen were born. Betty Rubble became a Flintstone vitamin. The 888 area code debuted. And South Africa adopted a post-apartheid constitution. And it still stands today. These are clearly just snippets.
We’ve achieved so much during these past many years that recapping them would be risky. We have launched many successful public service campaigns that have changed our community – Not Now, Not Ever (meth awareness), Don’t Turn Away (child abuse prevention), YES (Youth Educational Success), and In This Together (suicide prevention). Tomorrow Needs You is coming soon. Watch for it. The important work doesn’t end.
We launched and have expanded our free income tax prep and it’s opening on February 5, 2025. And with time, it has grown dramatically and brought back millions of dollars in tax refunds that people earned! We launched Day of Caring and WiLL and so many things. We didn’t do this by ourselves. We did it with your gifts of wit, wisdom, and wealth. We couldn’t actually do it without you.
Why is this self-indulgent because I’m taking this moment to say I’m not done yet and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.
Thank you. Onward.
