Letter from the Executive Director
With an immensely grateful heart, I say thank you for supporting Marion Senior Services and Give4Marion. With your support, we were able to raise almost $7,000 more than last year and some of you indicated that you have never given or have heard of MSS prior to this campaign! I also say thank you for supporting our community, as the entire campaign raised over $1.4 million for over 100 local non-profits. The Community Foundation established this campaign during the pandemic to support our non-profits and this year, we surpassed all of our previous years combined.
In a world that seems to want to constantly divide us, our community proved we are stronger together with an overwhelming show of love for each other. For 50 years, many of our leadership has shared the starfish story and I will share it with you…
Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”
The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled, and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
We all have the opportunity to help create positive change. YOU did that by choosing to support Marion Senior Services and I am extremely grateful.
Executive Director, Jennifer Martinez
