Hannah's Socks • warm feet, warm hearts

...it's important to solve community problems." This is a quote from today's Toledo Blade. As I continued to read the story my son interrupted and asked me why was I smiling so big. I called all 8 children into the room and read the story to them and we talked about the importance of helping and reaching out to fellow citizens. All of them had their own ideas of what they could do to help even more.

My oldest son offered to help a neighbor who is older take out their garbage, my 4-year-old said that he could pull his weeds because he has a lot of weeds! I chuckled. I told them that anytime you volunteer to help another no matter what, it is important.

Another quote from the same article stated that volunteering can have a positive, substantial impact on the life of a youth. Oh, and the reason I was smiling so big was because the article stated that Midwesterners are more likely to volunteer their time than are people elsewhere in the United States. Please take a moment to read the entire article.

This morning over my first of several cups of coffee I was looking at the list of sponsors for the first Hannah's Socks fund raiser. I kept thinking, wow. The support from area businesses and from families donating money has been incredible. My young daughter Hannah and her compassion for another human being has spread to many people. Many of you are reaching into your pockets and donating socks, money, and volunteering to help us in one way or another. Each of you are making a difference in your community and surrounding communities. We won't solve homelessness or domestic violence issues but collectively we will make a difference and for that I am grateful to every one of you.