Dear Friends,
Giving back, and thinking ahead. Lifting up, and not putting down. WCCN and its community of supporters continue to evidence their commitment to giving back and laying the groundwork for a future we want our children to live and work in with pride. In this issue, you will read about our long-time supporter and WCCN community member, Father Tony Kroll, and how he got the next generation in Butler, Minnesota to think about how much of a difference they could make if they acted together to reach a goal bigger than themselves. No matter where we are from or how old or young we are, each of us can do something to build a better tomorrow. Sometimes, it is just a matter of someone showing us the way, or providing us the means, to take a part in building the future that we want today, and tomorrow for our children and their families. Father Kroll lives those values and is part of a larger WCCN social justice and change activism tradition and community comprised of each of you.
Now more than ever, we need WCCN values to prevail. We live surrounded by a discourse that too often divides and demoralizes, rather than raising the potential within each of us to lift up, and not put down, the remarkable achievements and contributions of another American. Often these achievements and contributions of our fellow Americans go un-noticed. But, they are many, as we learned from the Day Without Immigrants Strike this past month, and as we learn from our micro-borrowers and smallholder farmers that produce our daily food necessities and daily drink luxuries like our premium cup of coffee. Farmer and WCCN micro-borrower Marina Mazariegos is one of those contributors. Far away in the mountains of Honduras, she painstakingly cares for the land and its well-being, by maintaining her organic farming practices and teaching them to her children. Read her story and judge for yourself how she takes care of herself, her family, and our shared precious natural resources in the Americas. At WCCN, we know that if you want to make a better world tomorrow, you have to act today. And, if you want fewer economic refugees arriving to your neighborhood, then you need to create opportunity in their neighborhood. Opportunity does not just happen. It has to be catalyzed. By supporting WCCN, that is exactly what each of you do.
Like the teens of Butler, Minnesota, each of us pool our resources together, catalyzing others to lift themselves up, to reach a goal, to improve lives and communities. Together, we are creating a perpetual cycle of social change and economic opportunity. We invest in it. We do it. We see the results. Thank you to each of you for your continued support, for giving back, and for thinking ahead.
Sincerely,
Nancy Metzger
Executive Director
