New Years Resolutions

The Lewiston Morning Tribune - Business Profile
Published in the February 17, 2004 issue as My View featured writer

What Happened to your New Year’s resolutions?

Like many people I know, New Year’s came and went for me without the creation of a New Year’s resolution list. Instead, I’ve decided to resolve to be a better person all around and to live by my guiding principles.

It’s not as if I haven’t been doing this all along. But I figure it’s a lot easier to reach the broad goal of being a better person than having to check off a list of resolutions I know I should keep but won’t. You know the ones – exercise, eat healthier, etc.

To me, being a better person involves many things. I’ve decided to focus on just a few. Faith, family, and giving back to the community are three important elements I’m starting with.

To be politically correct, I’ll approach faith as a broad topic and not thrust my religious beliefs upon the masses. Instead, faith will mean, for the practical purposes of this article, simply believing in your how higher power, knowing you are here for a reason, and standing behind your beliefs.

Family should be self-explanatory, but can extend to your friends and loved ones. The people that mean the most to you, that you should make a point of spending time with cultivating deeper, more meaningful relationships.

This brings me to the next order of importance – a healthy community. How can our community become healthier? By giving back to our community, incorporating our faith and family into our efforts, each of us can make a difference.

Where do we start? Start with volunteering your time and expertise to causes you find beneficial to a healthier community. I am constantly amazed at the vast resources of nonprofit and charitable causes we have within the Lewiston-Clarkston valley. I’m further amazed that although many people and businesses support the Twin County United Way with monetary contributions (and this is a GREAT thing – don’t stop), they are unfamiliar with the actual functions and purposes of the great organizations that are supported by Twin County United Way funding.

While monetary contributions help non-profits run, non-profits also are in constant need of volunteers to help do the work.

This is where you come in.

I challenge each of you to do some research and pick an organization to give back to. Include your faith and family in your efforts.

You can start by visiting http://www.tcuw.org for a complete listing of the non-profit organizations supported by Twin County United Way. There are also many non-profit organizations and community resources that don’t receive funding through Twin County United Way. If you’re interested in learning more, contact the YWCA in Lewiston and inquire about their resource guide.

Take the time to become familiar with the services we have available in the community so that you can refer friends, co-workers or family to the services if they need them.

Oftentimes we don’t learn of the specific services non-profits provide in our community because those services don’t impact us directly. Our support of those services, however, directly affects the health of our community.

Being involved in organizations that promote a more productive society also is good for the soul.

For business people, efforts can be reflected on taxes in some cases. Keep a log of in-kind donations and ask the organization you’re volunteering for to provide verification of the services. There are many ways to help and much satisfaction is gained from doing so.

Personally, I’ve become an active board member for Willow Center, a nonprofit serving children ages 3 to 18 and their families who have suffered the loss of a loved one. This is a wonderful program overseen by credentialed healthcare professionals who help participants through the grieving process.

Sometimes, grief is misdiagnosed in young children. They begin to act out and are punished for their behavior when really all they need are the tools to cope. Willow Center helps to provide these tools with its programs and in turn the children become more productive members of our community.

For more information on this program, call [phone]

Did I mention we have room for new board members and volunteers?

What are you committed to this year? How are you honoring your faith, family, and community? What is most important to you? Are you willing to do what it takes to help make our community a better one and to be a better person?