Dear Partnership,

We hope your new year is off to a good start. 2020 is one for the record books and 2021 is shaping up to be equally history-making.

The Partnership for a Safer Lake County is committed to ending violence in Lake County. We stand shoulder to shoulder with those throughout this country who want a better future for ourselves and our children without violence or abuse. We are saddened and dismayed at the violence we have seen throughout the country and in our own county and state in these last several months. As a community of over thirty-five organizations and individuals, we are committed to understanding the problems in and around Lake County causing violence, educating Lake County citizens in non-violent ways to effectuate change, and assisting victims to overcome violence and abuse.

The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are as relevant today as they were a half century ago. “Nonviolence is absolute commitment to the way of love. Love is not emotional bask; it is not empty sentimentalism. It is the active outpouring of one’s whole being into the being of another.” Love, as Dr. King states, is an active verb.

As we recognize Martin Luther King Day in January of 2021, we are reminded that it is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. Let us follow Dr. King’s example of nonviolence, acts of love, and outpouring ourselves into helping others in our families, our communities, and our nation.

                                                                                         Your Partnership Co-Chairs

                                                                                         Pat Davenport and Charlene Quint