Opening New Doors

Opening New Doors

A most surprising and inspiring news report appeared this week, in this start to a seasonal frenzy of buying — that is, for giving — sometimes considered giving but too often thoughtless, sometimes reckless, and quite often just cliched buying. The article in the New York Times was headlined We May Be Born With an Urge to Help and it was one of the paper’s most e-mailed stories. It reported that when infants just eighteen months old — too young to have been taught much politeness — see an unrelated adult whose hands are full and who needs assistance opening a door or picking up a dropped clothespin, they will immediately help. The study was highlighted in a recently published book by Michael Tomasello called Why We Cooperate.

Let us hope we still recognize the struggles of others, and respond with the same instincts, in our maturity. Because the Two Thousand and Nine holiday newsletter from the Martha’s Vineyard Donors Collaborative, a philanthropy group here, suggests a lot of Islanders have their hands full and need someone to open a door for them during this recession. The newsletter is due to be circulated next week, and bears careful reading with its compelling narrative and statistics.

Most startlingly, the donors collaborative points out that fourteen people were homeless on Martha’s Vineyard this fall, up from ten last winter and two or three historically. There could have been more, but for the county helping four families facing foreclosure to renegotiate their mortgages. The Island has no programs, facilities or budgets to help these people, and some have drug or mental health problems, the newsletter notes. The state provides nothing on Island. A dedicated volunteer, working with the county, is trying to coordinate help from private donors and asking for state aid.

Unemployment is much more widespread on the Vineyard lately, and not just in the off-season any more. In fact there were more people here unemployed in the summer this year than in the winter of last, according to the collaborative’s analysis. The Serving Hands program distributed food through the summer this year for the first time.

Meanwhile more than half of the Island’s health and human services agencies saw contributions drop, and despite cutting staff, salaries and services, almost half of those agencies expect to run a deficit this year.

The newsletter points to the difference made still by many donors whose contributions of money, expertise or simply time and heart. How can you help? There is money, a small or large check, or a note in your will, of course. But there are other ways to make a difference: write letters to rally for a cause, letters to the media or to legislators; get involved, doing anything from babysitting to board duty; take a casserole to an elderly neighbor or a friend working two jobs, or with no job.

It takes only twenty-five dollars to buy a nutritious holiday dinner with all the trimmings through Serving Hands; it takes only a couple of dollars to add a can to the Island Food Pantry collection box. The annual Red Stocking appeal is underway; buy a child a coat or a toy car, or volunteer to help coordinate this massive act of generosity. Wrapping and stacking all those tokens of Christmas love really does balance out a year’s headlines of human selfishness. And who knows, the toddler who receives that gift you helped to deliver may be the one who opens a door for you some day.

» Share Your Feedback

Your town





Security Check

Please type the text shown above

Your name


Your Email Address


Your Comment

Submit
Feedback

The Vineyard Gazette welcomes reader comments. The comments are selected for publication but are not edited. Please keep your comments brief and on topic. The Gazette reserves the right to remove comments at any time for any reason, and will restrict access of registered users who repeatedly violate our terms of service.

Print Article

Send link by email

More from this issue

Back to top