Giving Thanks

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for many things: family and friends, adventures I've had, experiences that help me grow.  I am also grateful for the work of caring people and grassroots organizations, like Cherry Street Mission Ministries, that house, feed  and clothe the homeless, the addicted, the abused, the hopeless.

Cherry St. Mission in downtown Toledo has been helping individuals and families in need for over 65 years.  It serves the northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan areas.  The Mission's brochure (right) tells the story:  Every year it provides over 273,000 meals for the hungry, 84,061 nights of refuge for men and women, 814 families with furniture,  close to 7,000 with clothing and household items.  It helps people find housing and employment, provides educational resources and spiritual growth and, most of all, it offers hope.  "Every meal, every program offers hope for new life!" That is the guiding vision of Cherry Street Mission.

Cherry Street Mission is 65 years old.  That's how old my brother Loren is now. His compassionate and giving spirit continues to move me. He's an angel of hope. That's why I support the Mission, along with Toledo Streets, the newspaper sold by vendors seeking empowerment and their own means of support. Hope and gratitude.  It's what Thanksgiving is all about.