Writing my own Eulogy

I was in my early 20s and on one of those mountain-top camps that can (and did) change my life. The speaker issued a challenge, spend 10 minutes writing your eulogy that you would like to be read at your funeral. This confronting exercise had a way of focusing my priorities and defining life goals. I wrote, 'Mark was known for serving the poor.' My vague promise to myself took me 20 years to put it into practice.?

In 2017 I became CEO of West Houston Assistance Ministries (WHAM). WHAM's mission is to empower and transform neighbors' lives from crisis to self-sufficiency by providing healthy food, financial support, housing, medical resources, education, and job readiness. We work with people in pain, struggling to exist, and often feeling trapped. Finally, I was serving people experiencing poverty. But it isn't just the poor WHAM helps; when there is a disaster such as Hurricane Harvey, or the pandemic, WHAM pivots also to be a disaster relief agency. The difference between usual operations versus disaster relief work is the need. In times of disaster, people who are otherwise ok are suddenly without a job or home. The workload increases significantly. Before the pandemic, we had around 30,000 assistance encounters a year. During the pandemic, this grew to nearly 140,000 encounters. It was busy! And it still is.

What is happening now is that the need for our services remains high while the funds available to meet the demand have declined. This isn't unique to WHAM; the Giving USA 2023 report recently described that charitable giving had fallen 10.5% in the past year. If you look at the most significant section of giving, individual gifts, this figure is a concerning 13.4% decline across America. The report states that this is due to economic uncertainty. This makes sense when considering the S&P falling by 19.4% and inflation peaking at 9.1% in June 2022. Many donors either need their disposable funds or are still determining the future.

As a CEO focused on assisting people experiencing poverty and transforming lives, I am acutely aware that now more than ever, we need generous people to step up and help. The need is great; there is no question. Now is the time to donate.?

To find out more about West Houston Assistance Ministries and to make a donation, head to?www.whamministries.org/thrive