As parents, my wife and I spent the first two years of our girls’ lives getting them to walk and talk. We spent the next dozen years or so, trying to get them to sit down and be quiet.
Funnily, we weren’t always that successful and, as the saying goes, sometimes kids do say the darnedest things.
Shortly before the holidays, I learned that kids could also say the most profound things as well. In mid-December, the SHINE Program, an innovative and impactful after-school program championed by state Senator John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township. and U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta. R-Hazleton, celebrated its one year anniversary with a press conference, a tour of the program and refreshments.
In a room full of elected and government officials, business and community leaders, educators, and parents, it was the words of Iniya Whitmore, a second-grader from the Wyoming Valley West School District, that were perhaps the most meaningful.
Iniya was the youngest of three students to stand up in front of the entire crowd to talk about the SHINE program. With surprising poise and confidence, Iniya described one of the projects her group completed. She concluded by saying, “My favorite part is when we all work together to get something done.”
Amen to Iniya! Her words resonated with all who were listening.
As we enter a new year, the challenges we face as a country, commonwealth and community are daunting. Nationally, we need to address healthcare affordability, trade and economic uncertainty and the ongoing threats of terror and war. Our state is preparing for yet another very difficult budget battle and, locally, we are struggling with a relatively high unemployment rate, an opioid crisis and on-going child welfare concerns.
Given the fact that public sector resources at every level of government are scarce, reasonable people will disagree on how to best solve these pressing problems. Yet, the only way we can ever succeed and get things done is by heeding the words of an insightful second-grader and “work together.”
At the United Way of Wyoming Valley, we remain focused on long-term strategies to strengthen the community by addressing the issues of childhood poverty. We are pursuing four key goals: to increase high school graduation rates, improve grade-level reading, enhance the quality of early childhood care and reduce the incidences of child abuse and neglect. While it is still very early in our transformation, I am encouraged by the progress that is being made and grateful to our donors, volunteers, business friends, partners and funded agencies. There are a lot of people working together to make a difference and change lives.
There is an old Irish proverb that says, “It is in the shelter of each other that people live.” It implies that we are all connected and dependent on each other. Solving the problems that impact all of us, locally and nationally, will require that we work together, seek understanding and respect and find common ground to act for the common good.
Working together to get things done is the very essence of the United Way’s slogan “Live United.” It is the darnedest thing that a shining second-grader from State Street Elementary School captured it perfectly. Iniya, that is my favorite part, too.
May we all work together and live united in 2017.