Important News

Reflections on the year

Have you ever watched someone take their first deep breath in days?

We see it here all the time. A mom or dad walks through our front door for the first time, exhausted and scared, holding a bag they packed in about five minutes. Then we hand them a room key, and you can see their shoulders drop. Tonight, at least, they know where they’re sleeping.

As the year wraps up, I’ve been thinking about how many of those moments we’ve had. Families of kids getting care at Shriners and UC Davis Medical Center have come to us from all over, in the middle of the hardest stretch of their lives. Just through our partnership with Shriners, we’ve welcomed about 50 families for a total of 2,872 nights. That’s 2,872 nights a parent got to sleep close to their child instead of in a car, a waiting room, or a hotel they couldn’t afford.

And here’s the thing: that happens because of you.

Every gift, every volunteer shift, every box of supplies dropped off, every time you told a friend about us. Those are the bricks. You might never meet the dad who finally had a quiet place to make a hard phone call, but you built the room he made it from.

One family who stayed with us, the Morganfields, sent us a note recently that I can’t stop thinking about. They wrote: “You created a safe and peaceful environment where we could breathe, regroup and find strength.” I’ll share more of their story soon.

That’s what Kiwanis is all about. Our motto is simple: We Build. We build shelter, we build hope, and we build a place where families can stay together when it matters most.

Keep an eye on your mailbox and inbox in the next few weeks. We’ll be sending a letter with the rest of the Morganfields’ story and a look at what we’re hoping to build next. I hope you’ll take a few minutes with it.

Until then, thank you. Really. You’re the foundation this House stands on.