Dearest RARE Family,
I sure hope this message finds each and every one of you faring well as we work through these highly unusual times. Many of you have heard me note that it’s through the challenges we face in life that we come to grow as individuals. Little did we know that 2020 would be a year of such immense challenge but let us not forget how far we have come, and the growth we all have experienced.
Rather than focus on the challenges we face, we at the RARE AmeriCorps Program strive to focus our attention on the opportunities. Yes, we have all been challenged in unprecedented ways this year, and yet we rise to the occasion, keep our heads up and our hands clean, and continue to get things done for rural Oregon. And in doing so, we garner the priceless gift of personal and professional growth and progression.
As you peruse this edition of our Alumni newsletter you will learn about the resiliency of our members who stuck with and continued to make positive change happen across the State of Oregon throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. You will also read about how the RARE AmeriCorps Program has responded to the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, which this past year’s cohort helped develop and drive. I walk away from this last service year inspired and hopeful for all the future has in store for the RARE AmeriCorps Program and for rural Oregon as a whole.
We have a long road ahead and there is much work in store, but if there is one thing I truly believe… it’s in the power of this group of movers and shakers to make positive change happen. With that, I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from author Margaret Mead – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Let us work together, our small but mighty group, to be the change we want to see in the world!
In Service,
Titus Tomlinson, Years 13 & 16
RARE Program Director