LifePath recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a wonderful banquet recognizing various community partners, special volunteers of note, and sustaining financial donors that have helped in part to make a significant contribution to our success over the past 50 years. We are truly grateful for the countless staff, volunteers, community partners, and donors that have all contributed to making our programs possible over the years. In doing so, you have afforded us the opportunity to grow, creating a life-changing impact on the lives of so many people over the years.
That evening, we also had the pleasure of listening to our distinguished guest speaker Riann Duffy, BSN, RN, CPN, who graciously agreed to share their story with us and how their family had been directly supported by the LifePath team during a very difficult time in their lives. It’s one thing to talk about the positive difference that LifePath makes through general conversation, but hearing it from someone who was directly helped by LifePath’s involvement and support is nothing short of inspiring. The speech really conveyed why LifePath’s work is so important in our community and the impact that LifePath has in connecting valuable resources with those in our care.
There are not very many non-profit organizations out there that can say that they have been around for 50 years.
This is the power that LifePath has on families, their loved ones, and our local community. Through the combined efforts and compassionate support from dedicated staff, caring volunteers, collaborative community partners, and financial contributors, together we have helped to build and provide valuable programs and services in support of those we serve throughout our community and beyond.
Wow! Fifty years! That’s quite a chunk of time. Thinking ahead 50 years from now, it will be 2074. That’s hard to envision, even for me at my age. I remember being a young kid and thinking how far away 50 years was. You know, that point in time in the far distant future that we couldn’t really see, but could only imagine in our minds what it might be like, and then in a flash, distracted by all that happens in between, here we are fifty years later. I’m sure we can all think back to a similar moment in our childhood and how distant that milestone seemed at the time. It’s really incredible how fast it all goes by. As the saying goes “time flies,” or as the joke goes, “Why did the kid throw a clock across the room?” Answer: “To see time fly.” I know, I know, I hear the groans from here. Moving on.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always viewed age as a vertical number of sorts, moving ever higher in elevation each year vs. a horizontal number on a line bar or a flat railroad track. As we celebrate each birthday or anniversary, the higher in altitude we climb, we in turn increase our vantage point ever higher. Not only does each new milestone provide an opportunity to reflect on all that we have learned, experienced, and accomplished, it also provides us with a better viewpoint looking forward, seeing not only what lies immediately ahead of us, but also what potentially awaits us in the distance, allowing us to strategically forecast and to plan our next steps along the way.
I believe this philosophy applies to both businesses and individuals respectively. For the higher our vantage point becomes in life, the better equipped we are to plan for the future in creating the best possible scenario moving forward. Individually, as we go through each decade of our lives, we come to recognize that we gradually transition from being the helped, to being the helper, and then back to being the helped again. Throughout these phases, we all make a point to exchange and share as much information, knowledge, and wisdom as possible with one another, with the goal of ensuring that important information is passed along the way in the process from generation to generation.
Organizations act in a very similar fashion in an effort to continue their longevity as well. As businesses look to continue making a difference in their community, the need to adapt to changing variables becomes imperative, developing new collaborations, systems, and processes along the way that create continued stability to keep operations moving forward for many years to come.
As LifePath strives to navigate the rough seas ahead, we take solace in our longstanding and impactful history. There are not very many non-profit organizations out there that can say that they have been around for 50 years. We take great pride in being a part of that esteemed group.
We are truly grateful for the tremendous impact that LifePath has collectively been able to make over the last 50 years with the help of so many throughout our community. We look forward to charting a course of refined strength and resiliency with your continued involvement and support, as we embark on the beginning of our next 50 years. Our thanks for all you do to support our efforts.
To join our efforts in making a difference, please consider becoming a volunteer with LifePath. It’s fun, enriching, and very rewarding. You can also choose to express your support with your donation today by clicking here or by calling 413-773-5555. Thank you!
