Gratitude for the helpers

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As the beloved television personality Mister Rogers famously said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

These days, we see the helpers everywhere. They are the first responders, farmers, mail carriers, grocery store employees, pharmacists, factory workers, health care workers, delivery drivers, civil service employees, journalists – all  working to keep us safe, nourished, healthy, and informed during this challenging time. The word gratitude comes to mind when we seek to render the feelings from our hearts into words.  It encourages us not only to appreciate the gifts but to repay a priceless service if we can — the sociologist Georg Simmel called it “the moral memory of mankind.”

It can be challenging to express our gratitude to our neighbors, our friends or maybe a member of our family, serving our Island community in one capacity or another. Many of them are visible helpers, who we are swift to acknowledge while others may be contributing and serving from behind the scenes, making things happen. 

Together, let’s demonstrate our gratitude and let these frontline helpers know how much we value their service and their commitment to us. Think of someone who has helped you, perhaps by giving of their time, resources, or putting their own safety at risk to help others and add it to the comments on this page.  It is more than fitting to fill pages with our gratitude to let them know how much we appreciate them!

Who are they? They are our helpers behind masks; our heroes without capes!

Toni M Kauffman
Vineyard Haven

On behalf of Racial Justice Human Dignity Committee-We Stand Together/Estamos Todos Juntos

1 COMMENT

  1. Thank you to the MVY Coop for getting us wonderful, healthy, and delicious groceries at great prices, and arranging for safe pick up and delivery!

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