Recently, my little town in New York was featured in the New York Times. The article touted the lakes, beautiful forests, good schools, and affordable homes. It forgot to mention the community spirit, but how could a real estate reporter cover that? It takes living in this community, experiencing firsthand that generosity and participating in acts of community generosity to fully understand the power of this community.
We moved to Putnam Valley five and a half years ago. I honestly didn't think much about the community until we were confronted with their generosity during and after our house fire. Here are some ways the community reached out to us: neighbors provided places for us to stay, diapers and clothing were immediately donated, so many clothes were donated that each of my six children was fully outfitted for school that fall, thousands of dollars were donated to our family to help us get back on our feet, each of the school principals contacted us to assess immediate and long-term needs, people have listened to us and consoled us, my neighbors have been so patient through the rebuilding process, the post office has bent over backward to help us keep our mail situation under control, we continue to feel the town's love, support, and sympathy for us as we finish rebuilding our home. I cannot think or talk about these experiences without openly weeping. We were so overwhelmed with gratitude at the kindness and generosity extended to our family.
But this isn't unusual for our town, not by a long-shot. Here are some of the things that our town has done to help others over the past 2 years:
We moved to Putnam Valley five and a half years ago. I honestly didn't think much about the community until we were confronted with their generosity during and after our house fire. Here are some ways the community reached out to us: neighbors provided places for us to stay, diapers and clothing were immediately donated, so many clothes were donated that each of my six children was fully outfitted for school that fall, thousands of dollars were donated to our family to help us get back on our feet, each of the school principals contacted us to assess immediate and long-term needs, people have listened to us and consoled us, my neighbors have been so patient through the rebuilding process, the post office has bent over backward to help us keep our mail situation under control, we continue to feel the town's love, support, and sympathy for us as we finish rebuilding our home. I cannot think or talk about these experiences without openly weeping. We were so overwhelmed with gratitude at the kindness and generosity extended to our family.
But this isn't unusual for our town, not by a long-shot. Here are some of the things that our town has done to help others over the past 2 years:
- Provided support through money and assistance to the family of a 4th grader who was killed in a car accident.
- Provided support through money and assistance to the mother of a 5th grader who was killed during the terrible March storms of 2018.
- Provided assistance and help to a veteran whose roof had been damaged from the March 2018 storms and whose insurance wouldn't cover it.
- Wore purple and had a special day to support a young girl who has a rare genetic disease.
- Two local mothers gathered donations to help a large family with multiple small children for Christmas.
- Each year the elementary school gathers donations to send care packages to deployed service men and women.
- Each year the elementary school gathers specific donations to provide several full Thanksgiving dinners for local families.
- Recently a senior at the high school died in a tragic accident. Students created t-shirts in his honor and each of the sports teams purchased and wore those shirts at their final athletic events. The money from the shirts was donated to the family. Homes all around the valley were lit in blue to honor this young man and his family. A go-fund-me account was established and the goal was quickly met.
- When one of the 4th-grade teachers had a severe infection on her brain stem, meal trains were established along with other concrete actions to serve the family--despite the fact that they lived in a different town.
- People are often quite generous in donating time, money, and talents for local fundraisers.
- All three schools have several events and activities dedicated to helping others in significant ways.
- Neighbors rescued a man who had fallen through the ice at a local lake.
I could go on and on. When someone is in need or in crisis, our town steps up. We aren't perfect by any means, you should see the squabbles and fights about cell-phone towers, school budgets, property taxes, etc. But when push comes to shove, if you were in trouble, the town you would want to be in would be my town.
I have relayed my experiences to friends in Sweden and family in Wyoming. They have all been astonished by the support and love we received. New Yorkers have a tough reputation, justly earned. But underneath that gruff exterior, usually lies a heart of gold.
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