Record-breaking weekend is a heart-warming reminder of the giving nature of our community
Honestly, when I realized the number of activities going on in Whitley County this past Saturday I was…worried…and excited too. Would they all be successful?
Often, groups try to be careful and not plan activities at times that conflict with other major events happening within our community. This calendar conflict can’t always be avoided and once in awhile we have to just…have a little faith. We have to hope things will be alright. We have to hope people saw our fliers, read our signs, hear about our events from friends and that when the hour strikes, they will walk through the door.
Saturday night was a beautiful indication that it is, indeed, possible for many things to happen in our community simultaneously and that all can be successful. I am in awe that in one evening, the Columbia City Rotary raised more than $22,500 for scholarships, First Church of God’s Go And Produce (GAP) raised $7,000 to build a medical facility in Haiti and Faith Christian Academy raised nearly $5,000 to continue providing faith-based education to students in Whitley County. That is a lot of money to be generated in our community in just one evening – essentially at the same time. While there might have been some overlap, largely each event brought together a different audience of supporters. And these weren't even all of the events -- there were others as well. The Indian Springs Middle School cheerleaders, you might recall, were collecting cell phones for soldiers at Bones Theatre and Etna United Methodist Church was hosting a noodle dinner. I haven't heard how successful those events were, but with the magic that was Saturday evening, I'm hoping they did well too.
In each case, with regards to the three groups whose success I've heard about this week, the amount of funds raised broke records and exceeded expectations.
What does it say about our community and the possibilities here when we can put on multiple events for varied groups of people and that all the events are successful? We’re interested in helping our neighbors, in supporting our children, in coming to the aid of strangers and finding the means needed to make good things happen. I think it also says that we are a kind, compassionate, giving community – the kind we can all be proud to belong to.