Celebrating Community Spirit

By Diane Forrest

If there was any doubt that our county has lost its community spirit, you have only to look at the events that have taken place in the last couple of weeks.   Not only was the whole world rocked by the senseless bombing at the Boston Marathon that killed three and wounded another 160, but a few days later, a plant explosion in Waco Texas leveled almost the whole town killing 15 and wounding another260 to 280 people.

Many horrific stories have come out of these events, that have cause the towns and communities to pull together to help those in need.  I have been reading some of the stories, and it warms my heart to see the actions our fellow citizens have taken.  In one story, newlyweds were nearing the finish line when the bombs went off causing each to lose a leg.  Donations from all over the country began pouring in to help with their medical expenses.  In fact a fund was set up to help all of these victims.

I read about the man whose boat was used as a hiding place for one of the suspects.  During the course of his capture, the boat, the man’s pride and joy, was riddled with bullets as the police fired upon the suspect.  As the community found out about his loss, they began to collect money for this man to replace his boat, however, he would have none of that.  He stated that I just lost a boat, many lost so much more, and he wanted to funnel the contributions to the fund to help those in need.  I just read an article where the emergency room doctors and staff sent pizzas to the ER staff at the hospitals in Waco thanking them for their hard work during their crisis.  The Waco staff responded in kind to the Boston folks by sending them some authentic Texas BBQ.

Stories like this abound during times of crisis, but also during ordinary times as well.  Anytime there is a need in my community, announcements are made in the newspaper, local radio stations, churches and schools and continued until the need is filled.

This is Community Spirit Month.  If you know of some need in your community, no matter how big or small, do what you can to help fill this need, or check needs in nearby communities.  You never know when you may be in need of some community help.

 (All images from Google)