A Note from our Manager of Volunteers, Drew Moran:
June is here again in Lakeview, and every year around this time we celebrate Pride. It’s not just a festival and celebration of LGBTQ people, but a time to celebrate the beauty and importance of diversity in our community. The Nourishing Hope family has always prided itself on our diversity and our constant efforts to engage people in our mission of every nationality, religion, race, ability, gender and sexuality, with dignity and respect. I think that is what makes this place shine, as a beacon for our clients and as a safe space for those searching for something larger than themselves.
Much like gender and sexuality, hunger doesn’t discriminate on a basis of race, religion, nationality or other things that would divide us. We’re growing to understand that until all of us are equal — have access to food, housing, education, workplace equality and pay equity — we must continue to step up to the plate in support of people of every stripe, because their plight is our plight. We know that hunger disproportionally affects the LGBTQ community, especially trans people and young people that face adversity at such a vulnerable age. Let Pride serve as a reminder to all of us that our work towards equality is intertwined, and we can achieve much more together than we can on our own.
I’m overwhelmed with gratitude on a regular basis seeing volunteers, donors and clients working together towards a common goal — and I am proud. I’m proud to live in a community that holds up the most vulnerable among them. I’m proud to work with such amazing people dedicating their time and their resources to serve people they don’t even know, who’ve had a turn of bad luck, or weren’t given the same opportunities in life. I’m proud to work at a organization that not only allows me to be open about who I am, but celebrates it and values that diversity of thought and experience. But mostly, I’m proud of you. Thank you for coming in time after time, can by can, dollar by dollar, smile by smile, we are making a difference.
No matter your stripes, be proud.
Happy Volunteering,
Drew Moran