Community Articles
General News · 13th February 2021
Hayley Newell
YOU did it, WE did it, WE all did it together. We have the funds to fully pay off the Rainbow Ridge land debt!
We did it with hope, with help, with luck, sometimes with hand wringing and restless nights, but mainly we did it with your support and love.
We could never have dreamt so big or been so bold, but for all the community members who lent us and gave us the money to buy the land. Without you, each of you, it would still be only a dream. You donated your coffee money, you hosted fundraisers, you gave us what you could afford, you loaned us money interest free or you forgave portions of the interest. You kept showing up and shoring up this dream of affordable housing on Cortes; on land that will be held for community need, for connecting public trails and wildlife corridors, protected in perpetuity.
Even though it is Valentine’s Day, I suspect for most of us, love is not parceled out once a year, but is part and parcel of how we live each day. Our capacity for loving extends way beyond a person or even persons. It extends to animals, to our homes, to the land, sometimes to our countries and to our planet, which is home to us all.
This past year we have hunkered down in order to preserve ourselves and those who may be more vulnerable. With an uptick in awareness and consideration about what really matters, there are so many ways to show up and so much worthy of our attention and care, both at home and in the larger world.
But on this day, we the board members and staff of the Cortes Community Housing Society & the Seniors Society wish to say to you, our ex-loaners and donors, our supporters, our fellow island residents, our volunteers, our friends, our cheerleaders and guardian angels, WE did it.
We know that it takes a community to raise a village. We also know that it takes a particular kind of action to protect and support that which we love and care about. Enriching our home, by ensuring that we remain a diverse community of all ages, makes each of us stronger.
To you all, a heart-filled Valentine’s day, every day.
With gratitude and delight,
Sandra Wood, Housing Co-ordinator
on behalf of the Cortes Island Seniors Society (CISS)
and the Cortes Community Housing Society (CHS)
We did it with hope, with help, with luck, sometimes with hand wringing and restless nights, but mainly we did it with your support and love.
We could never have dreamt so big or been so bold, but for all the community members who lent us and gave us the money to buy the land. Without you, each of you, it would still be only a dream. You donated your coffee money, you hosted fundraisers, you gave us what you could afford, you loaned us money interest free or you forgave portions of the interest. You kept showing up and shoring up this dream of affordable housing on Cortes; on land that will be held for community need, for connecting public trails and wildlife corridors, protected in perpetuity.
Even though it is Valentine’s Day, I suspect for most of us, love is not parceled out once a year, but is part and parcel of how we live each day. Our capacity for loving extends way beyond a person or even persons. It extends to animals, to our homes, to the land, sometimes to our countries and to our planet, which is home to us all.
This past year we have hunkered down in order to preserve ourselves and those who may be more vulnerable. With an uptick in awareness and consideration about what really matters, there are so many ways to show up and so much worthy of our attention and care, both at home and in the larger world.
But on this day, we the board members and staff of the Cortes Community Housing Society & the Seniors Society wish to say to you, our ex-loaners and donors, our supporters, our fellow island residents, our volunteers, our friends, our cheerleaders and guardian angels, WE did it.
We know that it takes a community to raise a village. We also know that it takes a particular kind of action to protect and support that which we love and care about. Enriching our home, by ensuring that we remain a diverse community of all ages, makes each of us stronger.
To you all, a heart-filled Valentine’s day, every day.
With gratitude and delight,
Sandra Wood, Housing Co-ordinator
on behalf of the Cortes Island Seniors Society (CISS)
and the Cortes Community Housing Society (CHS)