Your Neighbors Are Struggling. You Can Help!

Mark your calendar for Friday, November 17. You’ll be glad you did by the end of this article.

If you think you’re like most people in our wonderful community, you’re probably feeling okay. Maybe better than okay. Sure, summer could have lasted a little longer, but in trade we can already start to imagine the satisfying smell of a Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixings. The US economy continues to improve. Unemployment is lower.

Right here in Saline, our citizens have recently been able to support much needed improvements to public school properties. Our municipality has added and nicely maintained pleasant paths for quiet walks and exercise. Better still, many residents are actually able to squeeze out a bit of free time to use these assets.

Even when we read downtown parking discussions here in The Saline Post, it can be too easy to miss the most important part of the story: Parking is only a “problem” because people are coming to Saline to spend money here! It can’t be all bad to have a problem with a silver lining.

And that brings us back to November 17.

Many people right here in Saline are not as well off, not as able to experience so much of what makes Saline the spectacular place that you and I enjoy on a daily basis.

These people are our neighbors, and they are struggling. You probably know them. But you may not notice them.

Some are senior citizens. Years ago, you could have read about them in one of the local newspapers, covering them when they played competitive sports in high school. Announced their marriages. Went off to serve our country in the military. Changed jobs. Today they live very different lives, elderly, on fixed incomes. In these cases, as with those who are disabled, Social Security is not a just-in-case “safety net.” It’s all they have, with no prospect of merit raise or year-end bonus.

But that’s not all. Think about the person that may bag your groceries or serve your coffee. These are people that may even clean your house, take care of yards in your subdivision. Hard working, yes. But at wages of $10 or $11 per hour, can you imagine the challenges they face within their families, trying to make ends meet?

According to Saline Area School District data, more than 500 of the 5,238 students in our own community are on free and reduced lunch programs. More broadly, the United Way has found that as many as 35% of the households in the City of Saline are struggling. Though employed, many are in a category called “ALICE” (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). These are the individuals and families that work, and earn above the poverty level, but less than it takes to survive.

What can we do, as a community, to help?

Let Saline Area Social Service help you help those who desperately need your help.

On Friday, November 17, Saline Area Social Service will host our annual “Thanks-4-Giving” fundraiser, and we’d like to see you there. Part of your price of admission will be a fine dinner at Travis Pointe Country Club and an evening of entertainment provided by Drew DeFour and Saline’s own Brad Phillips. Part of what you’ll enjoy there is the opportunity to interact with other like-minded citizens of our area who are committed to giving back to those less fortunate among us.

But the best part is that you’ll pay more for your ticket to entry than what it costs to put on the event. The rest of those proceeds will go to help your neighbors and ours.  That will be money to help those struggling to make ends meet, help them make it just a little bit further into the upcoming holidays and the new year. Please take a look at the SalineSocialService.com website for more details on this event and what you can do.

Even if you can’t attend, we hope you’ll consider giving. Today.

For over 50 years, Saline Area Social Service has been serving those in our community that are struggling.

Through local support and sponsorships, we provide weekly assistance to as many as 100 households, and provide food for an average of six meals per week to more than 300 people. Additionally, generous contributions such as yours will help us provide school supplies and shoes for the children, and family holiday meals for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. When emergencies and disasters arise, we also want those in need to know that they can come to us for support.

For more info and to join us go to: SalineSocialService.com

Thank you.