Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/612945
DECEMBER 9-15, 2015 UCW 5 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Last week 's news t hat Barbara Marshall had been escor ted f rom Jubilee House by Cumberland Count y sherif f 's deput ies lef t me feeling empt y and saddened. Marshall founded t he non-prof it in 2007 to prov ide ser v ices to women milit ar y veterans, and she and her charit y gained nat ional at tent ion four years later when hundreds of volunteers rebuilt a modest home into a spect acular one for t he telev ision program "Ex t reme Makeover: Home Edit ion." Even First Lady Michelle Obama paid a v isit and sang t he nonprof it 's praises. It has been a long , slow dow nhill slide ever since, one t hat I w ill not det ail here. It has been clear almost f rom t he beginning , t hough, t hat while Marshall had all good intent ions, she simply was not equipped eit her f inancially or organizat ionally to carr y t hem out . Her cause is noble, and while women veterans in our communit y and elsewhere do need a my riad of ser v ices, t hose needs are bigger and more pressing t han Marshall's charit y, and probably many ot hers, can address. Similarly, I f ind it hear tbreak ing to see veterans and t heir loved ones pleading on telev ision for donat ions to build t hem homes, buy t hem prost het ic limbs, and prov ide for t he basic needs of t heir families. We, t he American t a xpayers and direct benef iciaries of t he sacrif ices made by our ser v ice men and women and t heir families, should be foot ing t hose bills w it h pride, grat it ude and humilit y. Our veterans should be respected, cared for and honored. They are not charit y cases. President Bush t he First advocated for what he called " fait h-based init iat ives" and blessed t hem as "a t housand point s of light ." A s best I underst and his concept, it means t hat religious groups and organizat ions of all st ripes, colors and t heologies should step for ward and do all sor t s of good work s for our fellow Americans so t hat government does not have to. It is a terrif ic not ion, and in t rut h, it delineates what t housands of religious organizat ions have been doing for generat ions any way, helping "t he least of t hese" by quiet handout s to indiv iduals and families v ia large scale and sust ainable charit able programs. Two crucial issues af fect fait h-based and ot her private charit able init iat ives. The f irst is responsibilit y. The Barbara Marshalls and ot her volunteers in communit ies t hroughout our nat ion do wonderf ul and of ten t hank less work, and people are of ten bet ter of f for t heir ser v ices. But at t he end of t he day what many of t hem achieve are millions of needed and welcomed act s of k indness, not ongoing programs. Many of t he recipient s of such k indnesses st ill need various and reg ular social and healt hcare ser v ices t hat require t he ef for t s of paid st af f to deliver and shoulder responsibilit y. Only a precious few ver y large fait h-based and charit able organizat ions can even dream of prov iding such ser v ices. That is why when human ser v ices are required on a comprehensive and long- term level, t hey have t radit ionally been delivered by government, somet imes in par t nership w it h ot her ent it ies, and st af fed by people whose primar y interest s and livelihoods lie in execut ing such ser v ice programs. The second issue involves t raining and professional sk ills. No volunteers, however well- intent ioned and dedicated, can prov ide for t he social and healt hcare needs of people who have long-st anding problems w it h pover t y, physical and ment al healt h, addict ions and ot her condit ions and life sit uat ions which render t hem "among t he least of t hese." Here again, a compassionate societ y t hat decides to address such human problems in a collect ive manner has few opt ions but to do so t hrough programs paid for, delivered by, and responsible to t he government at some level. We Americans began t he decision to do t hat around t he t urn of t he 20t h cent ur y when t he concept of social responsibilit y took root . Despite some failures and some excesses, we have cont inued reaching out to our fellow cit izens in such ways t hrough ef for t s under w rit ten by people all along our polit ical spec t rum. President George H. W. Bush sang a lovely and morally right t une in encouraging volunteer ef for t s on behalf of our nat ion's needs, and many can be and are addressed successf ully by volunteer ef for t s. Think how many historic buildings and places have been preser ved, how many museums conceived and brought to realit y, how many impor t ant issues brought into t he public spot light by dedicated and focused volunteers. Think how many homes are repaired, how many bodies fed and warmed, how many hear t s touched by t he fait h-based charit y Operat ion Inasmuch in our ow n communit y. Think, too, how much each of us can accomplish if we best ir ourselves and do t he right t hing for t he volunteer causes t hat interest us in our ow n communit y and beyond. But k now as well t hat we as a nat ion long ago under took a collect ive responsibilit y to and for each ot her, and t hat responsibilit y has become woven into t he fabric of our social cont ract . Not even President Bush has suggested we unravel it . When Good Intentions Are not Enough by MARGARET DICKSON THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET MARGARET DICKSON. Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. For decades, organizations like Operation Inasmuch have provided services to the community through volunteers. But that is not always enough.