There is beauty in summer, the sun, the
birds, the flowers, picnics and barbeques, and a bit of nostalgia for quieter
days of childhood. Summer for a person in need, however, can be one of the
scariest times.
In summer, a parent who is struggling to
support children has to find child care.
They have to take care of those babies reliably to allow him or her to
get to work. One to two meals which used to be provided by school lunch
programs 5 days a week, now have to be provided for from the same small budget
that was barely getting them by. In summer, a child pulls out last year’s
shorts and discovers they no longer fit, while mom looks at her bus fare and
has to decide between clothing her child or getting to work. In summer, many children
will languish inside for lack of safe or stimulating places to keep
active. And they will fall further
behind higher-income peers who are engaged in summer learning opportunities. In summer, an older adult in need looks at the
electric bill and makes a choice between the cost to make the temperature
tolerable and safe and the cost of a life-giving medication. In summer, a
victim of domestic violence wears long sleeves to cover the marks left by their
abuser, pretending to be cold. In summer, a person struggling to be employed
has competition from teenagers who consider their cell phone payment a need.
This summer, if you are able, I encourage
you to get involved. By making a donation, volunteering, doing a project, or
praying for the clients, staff and volunteers of Dove, Inc. you can help to bring the beauty of summer to
a person in need. Together we can create
a summer that someday they will look back on and remember as the one that made
all the difference.
Sincerely,
Christine Gregory
Dove, Inc. Executive Director
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