Authored By: Jamie Menges

Another year nearly in the books! Look around at our community—beautiful holiday light displays, a kinder, gentler version of the everyday hustle and bustle of a growing community in the shadow of the holiday spirit, development everywhere we look, a thriving business community, and city leadership ushering us forward with a clear vision.

What’s not to love about life in Dublin? We are blessed in so many ways, and in Dublin, our focus is always forward, with a respectful nod to our past. However, I would challenge each of us to pause, even if just for a moment, and realize that even though we are a thriving community by any standard, we still have families facing daily struggles as basic (yet complex) as providing enough food to feed themselves, proper clothing to meet the demands of an Ohio winter, and keeping a roof over their head.

We have children who go to bed hungry every night. The Dublin Food Pantry estimates there are nearly 500 families who they have not yet been able to reach, who on a daily basis make choices about what meal(s) they may have to forgo – and this is not isolated to adults. We have children whose school lunch is their primary meal each day, unsure if there will be food on the dinner table.

Yes, in Dublin, OH.

Believe it or not, the needs in our community are plentiful. At The Dublin Community Foundation, we are focused on identifying transformative community initiatives to enrich and advance the quality of life for Dublin residents. These efforts are as exciting as helping raise money to support the new Dublin Public Library, providing financial resources so the Dublin Police Department could reinstate their canine unit (check out Finn!), contributing to the back-to-school supplies drive that Welcome Warehouse sponsors each year, or trying to make sure those backpacks get stuffed by the Dublin Food Pantry in partnership with the Dublin City Schools summer feeding program aptly named Blessings in a Backpack.

We are so proud of the work we are doing, and yet we still stand in a huge shadow of need. But if you look closely, we are energized like never before, because we know the rapidly growing Dublin community will not look the other way from those who are faced with the challenges of hunger, clothing, and shelter.

As we close the door on 2018, I challenge each of us to ask if there is anything more we can do to help those in need.

Here’s how you can help:

• Contribute your time and talent as a volunteer—tell us more and we’ll find a great outlet for your gift!
• Support us financially— there are countless ways to give and we would love to guide you to an option that best works for your family and finances.

For a broader education on the mechanics of giving in a tax-advantageous way, I encourage you to read this.

Whether we give our time, our money, or our goods away, the desire to help someone in need can bring great satisfaction. Given the amount of time (your most valuable possession) that you give to your community and loved ones, let us proceed with the certainty that kindness resides firmly in your heart. I encourage each of you to join us in our community’s greatest mission – answering the calls of those in need!

We wish you a safe and happy holiday season and a prosperous new year. As a matter of fact, with your help, maybe we can wish everyone in our community a prosperous new year!