Together, we are one

Published 9:22 am Monday, December 22, 2014

Like any community, Central Kitsap and Bremerton are people from different cultures and different faiths.

And yet, as members of this community, there is much that binds us together as one.

We mourned together this year — vehicle collisions and crimes that took precious lives.

We struggled to pay bills together. Although unemployment has dropped in our area this year and there’s news of increased hiring at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, we still see long lines at the food banks and hear of folks who are in need of housing and mental health services.

But as in past years, as a community we have stepped up to help each other. Both the Central Kitsap Food Bank and Bremerton Foodline have been able to serve the hungry with more than 1,000 holiday food baskets, as well as weekly groceries.

Kitsap Humane Shelter, too, has seen increased activity. Through the generous efforts of those in our community who love animals, the shelter was able to adopt out 1,000 more animals this year than it did in 2013 when it rehomed 4,197 pets.

We saw need and responded.

Just this week, an anonymous donor came forward and gave more than $73,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County, enough to build an entire house.

There are many more examples: food drives organized by businesses and neighborhoods; volunteers staffing emergency shelters; service clubs doing what they do to meet health and social needs in our communities.

As we’ve seen this year — indeed, as we see year after year — each of us matters. We each have the capacity to make sure no one falls through the cracks. When times are tough, that’s how we survive.

Yes, our communities are comprised of people of different cultures and different faiths, but we all share one thing in common this season: Commitment to make tomorrow better.

We wish you all the blessings of the season and a Happy New Year.