Those who have met me may know I’m a morning person. Not just an “ungrumpy” person in the morning, but a “jump out of bed and get going” morning person. I’ll get up just to watch the sunrise. The photo: 7:30 am one April morning, while out for a walk!

While sunsets are always stunning, there’s something different about the light in the morning. For me, each new day is a blank slate. Regardless if yesterday was a good day, a bad day or a roller coaster of a day, today’s sunrise says there’s a new opportunity.

As the new year starts, people tend to ponder new starts, and fresh beginnings. So not just a new day, but a new year. 

Sunrises and fresh starts are on my mind today as I wanted to let you know the financial crunch of late December has been met by our community. While there is some processing, logging, and tracking still to do, it looks like the year will end on the positive side! 

That means you, our donors, have ensured that the vital programming that our community relies on could continue in 2024. Your financial donations let us know we have your financial support. The United Way is, after all, 100% fundraised, no government transfers to do this work. But more importantly, your support tells those being helped, that you are there for them as well. 

There is a lot of work to do in 2024, it’s going to be a rough winter for a lot of people. BUT your support has given us so much hope, and we’ll forge ahead supporting them as much as possible. 

Thank you

Francesca

Francesca Dobbyn
Executive Director