I spent most of the end of 2019 unpacking the final boxes from my move to Connecticut. Several of the boxes were associated with my dissertation. Sixteen years ago this month, I defended my dissertation where I explored how Little Rock (Arkansas) remembers the desegregation of Central High School. One of the things that struck me in my research was how much silence invaded the landscape of that time. The people who stood out were those who were not silent.
As I wrote my dissertation, I often wondered if I would have had the courage to not be silent. While I hope the answer would be a resounding yes, I know that one can never know for certain given the different circumstances of the time. What I do know is that I am committed now to not being “silent on things that matter.”
With the beginning of a new year and a new decade, I believe it is always a good time to remember the things that matter to us, to our families, to our community, to our nation, and to our world. And then decide how we will demonstrate that those things matter.
The lovely thing is that how we demonstrate what matters isn’t confined to just our words, but can be contained in our actions as well. I am fortunate that as a CEO of a nonprofit I get the opportunity to do both. One of the things that I value about Habitat is the diversity of entry points for things that matter to people. One can find a home at Habitat—pun intended—whether you believe in the American Dream of homeownership or helping children or building community or volunteerism or health or education or increasing the tax base or love construction or probably anything else that matters to you. Your time, your talent, your treasure matter to us and the families we partner with to help build strength, stability, and self-reliance through homeownership. I hope you all will continue to find that Habitat CFC is one the things that matters to you.
Happy 2020!
Cathy Collins, PhD
Chief Executive Officer, Habitat CFC
