Who Am I Voting For Next Week?

Election Day is next week and I can’t help but think that this is one of the most important elections in my voting life. When I was a younger person, not yet into my career, I remember feeling like it didn't really matter who we elected into government positions. I had this feeling because it didn't seem to me that government affected me that much.

As I have grown up, started a family, and worked at CANI, I have absolutely changed that view. We are affected by government throughout most aspects of our lives. And without question, the non-profit world is profoundly impacted by the decisions, or lack of decisions, that our governments make.

Even though I've decided who I am voting for, I would absolutely say that I wouldn't care who was elected, if it meant that our elected officials would work better together and that we would all tone down the partisanship. The people of this country are so much more similar than different, and I think we've lost sight of that. I have family members with vastly different viewpoints, and I love them all. I have friends with vastly different viewpoints, and I have the same amount of fun with all of them. I have coworkers with vastly different viewpoints, and we get a whole lot done here at CANI every day. I think our government and society can be just like this, and my hope for this election, and any election, is that in the end, we focus on what unites us.

We all know that there are lots of decisions made throughout our lives that both help and hurt us. No matter who is elected as President or what Congress looks like, that will continue to be the case. But as I have mentioned before, what hurts us at CANI even more than a change here or there has been the lack of decisions of any kind. The uncertainty of what is going to happen, the delays in implementation, and the problems caused by starting and stopping services make programs nearly impossible to manage.

In my position at CANI I have had the pleasure to meet many elected officials, from different parties and at different levels of government. I can say that absolutely, all of these folks care about the people they represent and care tremendously about their nation, state, and local community. I have been impressed by the knowledge and dedication of all of those I have met. We have the greatest governmental system in the world. We absolutely have the potential to be the greatest government in the world.

I have high hopes that this election will result in us reaching that potential, and it starts with each one of us. If you have a vote, please, please do so. I am not going to mention here who I am voting for because it doesn't matter. What is most important is that we all show that the people of this country are engaged in our democracy. And if we all join our elected leaders with a focus on compromise and getting decisions made, I feel that we will be in a much better position to reach our potential as a government and a nation.

Getting Things Done for America

On Thursday morning at our RECAP event, CANI’s AmeriCorps members will be making their pledge. It is as follows:

AmeriCorps Pledge 

I will get things done for America –

to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.

I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.

Faced with apathy, I will take action.

Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.

Faced with adversity, I will persevere.

I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.

I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.

This is our first group of AmeriCorps members, and we are tremendously excited to bring this program to northeast Indiana. It is the culmination of about two years of work with our partners United Way of Allen County and Lutheran Social Services. We have been working hard on this for so long because we know that AmeriCorps will help make our community stronger and will help us get things done.

Our members will be working in various areas within CANI, including our Head Start program and Covering Kids and Families program. They will be helping us in our Community Economic Development programs as well as helping us increase our organizational capacity to serve people. They will also be working in programs at Lutheran Social Services and helping with projects at United Way. They will be serving families who need help. They give us yet another resource to accomplish the work of our organizations.

On Sept 20, CANI Corps members worked at
Community Harvest Food Bank on their first of
many service projects that will be conducted
throughout the year. 

I am deeply impressed by the service mindset of our members. They are focused on helping people. They are dedicated to strengthening northeast Indiana and the organizations they will be working with. I know that we will all learn a great deal from these individuals over the coming year.

I am particularly excited because this is just our first year, and we are looking at this project as just the first step in growing the program and adding many more partner organizations in the coming years. We are getting our feet wet this year, we are learning a lot about the program and how to administer it. In coming years we hope to add more member slots, so the impact of these incredible individuals can spread throughout our community. I have already been approached by many different organizations desiring their own AmeriCorps members.

The potential we have both now and in the future is truly exciting and we welcome our inaugural group of members into the CANI family.