Over the years, I’ve come to think of November as the month that kicks off the season of giving—whether it’s giving thanks around the holiday table, sharing a plate of cookies with friends, or exchanging gifts with family. So, in keeping with that spirit, Ed and I decided that November would be the perfect time to shine a light on the many nonprofit organizations in our communities that give so much to those who may need a little help from time to time.
You’ll see many such stories in this edition—stories of those who give to help others, but who could also use a little support from their friends and neighbors. And if I’ve learned anything while living and working in this community, it’s that you folks take care of each other. That was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt recently at the Southeast Weld County Chamber Military and First Responder Appreciation Luncheon.
The luncheon just happened to coincide with the recent discontinuation of SNAP benefits, and an email went out asking if those registered could please bring donations for the local Loaves and Fishes Food Bank. Well, ask and you shall receive! The number and amount of donations received was nothing short of amazing and served as yet another reminder that our communities take care of their own.
Kyle Clark of 9News published a commentary on November 3rd that touched my heart, and I’d like to share it here in the hopes it will touch yours as well. Kyle had recently received criticism for a microgiving campaign initiated to raise money for the Weld Food Bank, and he said this:
“I want to directly address a concern—a criticism—that I heard from a number of you about the fact that we have started this campaign by raising $85,000 for the Weld Food Bank in deep red Weld County. ‘They voted for this,’ is what a number of you have told me. ‘Teach them a lesson,’ others have said. I cannot disagree more. For starters, I do not know the personal politics of everybody standing in the food bank line, but I do know that half of Colorado’s 600,000 SNAP recipients are children. They didn’t vote for anything. And what lesson is a child supposed to learn from hunger?”
Those words struck a chord with me. I remember going hungry as a child, and I still remember the lesson I learned. I learned that I never, ever want another child to know what it means to be hungry—or thirsty, or cold—because I’ve experienced all of those things myself. That’s why, when I saw that wagon full of food at the luncheon, it touched my heart deeply.
To continue with Kyle’s message:
“Some are gaining power through division… you all prove that there is also power in compassion, and in seeing people instead of just politics.”
Well said, Kyle… well said.
Editorial November 2025: The Season of Giving
