Here are some words from ICISF’s CEO, Rick Barton, about giving thanks this holiday season:
“This is one of those times we reflect on why we should give thanks. There is always the value of family and friends. Another idea is to take pleasure and joy in an outcome we share.
Specifically, the work we do collectively brings help to people who rarely ask for help, and when they do ask for help it may only be as a whisper or they ask when it is almost too late. Our work often includes the frustrating details of bringing the ICISF mission to the people who need it most. We usually do not see or hear about the positive outcomes of CISM work, but we know that good things are happening.
The result of our work is going out all over the world, in neighborhoods, in station houses and precincts, in backyards and kitchens, in private offices, in living rooms, over the back of a pickup truck or during a conversation in the passenger area of a vehicle. People are better because of the existence of the ICISF. I have seen the sadness on the faces of colleagues I admired, and watched them gradually recover because of properly conducted CISM.
Why be thankful? Because, despite our struggles and “out of sync” times, we are each contributing to the successful outcome of CISM and helping people who are often in the role of helping people. Helping save the heroes, so to speak, although we all know the heroes would not generally accept that label. Let’s be thankful that we get to do meaningful work, and that the mission of the ICISF is making a powerful difference in the world.”
