Saint Francis 2023 Annual Report

A message from Cabell

2024 has me worried. Out there in the world, wars are popping up. Here at home, the pundits say this election will have us all at each other’s throats by the fall. Everywhere, the weather is weird. Sometimes it feels like everything is crumbling. So after some thought, I’ve decided to address my anxiety by becoming a Puppy Raiser. That means that an eight-week-old puppy will come home to live with me. I will adjust my schedule and rework my routine – by which I mean I am going to upend my life. I know I am going to fall head over heels in love with this puppy, and then I will give this precious creature away. Basically, I am planning my own heartbreak. Two reasons: First, a puppy will make me focus on the immediate and the small, which will keep me grounded and happy. When you have a puppy, you do things like sit in the grass and play. You go for walks that are derailed by mundane occurrences like a leaf on the sidewalk. You celebrate tiny victories. The experience is often ridiculous, sometimes frustrating, and always refreshing to the soul. Overall, it is an excellent antidote to national and international problems over which I have no influence. Why? Secondly, it will plug me directly into the Saint Francis family. I can’t say enough good things about these people. They are all participating in their own ways in this vast effort we are making to change the world for people with disabilities. You will read about

some of them in this newsletter. In my job, it is easy to get caught up in strategic planning, budgets, oversight, and other logistics. Puppy raising will put me closer to the people doing the work that makes our mission sing. I am inspired by our volunteers, donors, and staff, all of whom give freely of their hearts, talents, and resources to make our world a fundamentally better place. I am looking forward to spending time with them as a puppy raiser. I will admit, I am scared - because if everything goes well and the puppy succeeds, my heart breaks. Confusingly, I am also anxious, because I don’t want to mess up and cause the puppy to fail. It’s a complicated bundle of emotions, but it feels right. Maybe it feels right because I don’t think we are supposed to sit back and watch the world crumble. I think we are supposed to pitch in, pick up the pieces, and help put things back together wherever and however we can. I am deeply grateful to work with people committed to bringing joy and hope to this tired, increasingly grumpy, old world.

Wish me luck!

Executive Director

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