Brightening a dim view

The weather has been so dreary. And the evening news is lessuplifting. Even the most patriotic of us must admit, as financialprospects dim and our involvement in the Middle East lingers, thatthis is not one of our country's brightest moments. What should be ahopeful and exciting time in American politics has devolved into dayafter day of muckraking and name-calling. It seems as though eventhe prospect of absolute power corrupts absolutely. Thinking ofideas for an upbeat column is a daunting task. Still, in spite ofthe crummy weather and the cost of gas, the miracle of spring isupon us. There is awakening, and hope. It's a little warmer in themorning when I take out my dog. That warmth, combined with a bit ofbird song, is enough to kick-start the joy that keeps me going inthe dark times. That joy renews in me the certainty that my lifemeans something, that my actions make a difference and that,depending upon my choices, I can be part of the solution rather thanpart of the problem. As the director of a program that providesservices to homeless women with children, I have observed hundredsof people selflessly reach out to help families with whom they haveno direct ties. And I have seen that selflessness is the key to self-esteem. For several years, a Lancaster Country Day School student,Adam Manacher, has come to Milagro House with his friends and cookedand laid out wonderful Thanksgiving and Easter feasts for ourmothers and their children. For nearly a decade, my friend, JimZink, has made it his responsibility to see that, twice a week,leftovers from the generous booth-holders at Central Market aredelivered to the women and kids of Milagro House. There have been adozen children over the years who have given up their own birthdaygifts to collect toys and books for our children. Just as manyfamilies have "canceled" their holiday gift exchanges and spenttheir money and time serving the families in our program. There arescores of students from Franklin & Marshall College, MillersvilleUniversity and Elizabethtown College who travel to Milagro House totutor our moms and their children. They do it not because it is aclass requirement, but because they know it's the right thing to do.Trust me, that one-on-one time can make all the difference to astruggling student. I have watched Milagro House staff membersrepeatedly give up their evenings and weekends to supervise outsideactivities, give presentations about our program and providetransportation to events for our families. And not one of them evermutters the words "comp time." Our GED teacher, Nancy Barton's,husband, daughter and father-in-law are regular tutors at MilagroHouse Education Center as are local teachers, doctors and businesspeople. Alexis Schreier has worked for years with us, developing a"Birthday Box" program that insures every Milagro House child has acake, balloons and at least a few toys for his or her birthday.Hundreds of people have helped Alexis in her efforts. Our friend andneighbor, Luis Ruiz, works for hours every day supervising our"giveaway" shop on South Christian Street, keeping things in orderand making sure that our neighborhood benefits from the overflow ofdonations with which our community blesses us. Women from ourcommunity baby-sit our children, staff the front desk, teach lifeskills and offer love and counseling to our women and ask nothing inreturn. Men from all over our area come to Milagro House to buildthings, haul trash and paint. They teach our boys basketball basics.I could list names forever but the point I really want to make isthat, even when things don't seem as ideal as they could be, it isstill a beautiful world. Instead of pondering CNN reports, orspending hours on the Internet seeking an uplifting story (or adecent weather forecast), time might be better spent observing thosearound us who are willing to make sacrifices, big and small, for thegreater good. You know what? It looks like it's clearing up alittle. Time to put the newspaper aside, let my dog out to play andsee if my next-door neighbor needs some help moving the deadbranches out of her yard. Renee Valentine is founder and executivedirector of Milagro House, a long-term, education-based,transitional program for homeless women and children. E-mail her atrenee@milagrohouse.org.