Foundation Director Delivers Message
As seen in the High Point Enterprise - December 2002
Paul Lessard, executive director of the High Point Community Foundation, delivered the following address to his Board of Trustees last week.
The Community Foundation collects private donations, invests them in an endowment, and uses the earned interest to fund special needs in High Point.
This message, Lessard says, is directed to the residents of High Point.
"As we prepare to bid the year 2002 farewell and welcome in the opportunities of the New Year, I wanted to pause and give thanks for the many blessings our Community Foundation has received this year.
I also want to thank the community of High Point for your support and I pray that each of you will be blessed with the following gifts: The joys and challenges of embracing your own vision for how you can personally impact your neighborhood, your community and your country...
* A steadfast desire to move beyond your individual comfort zones and a willingness to step into the shoes of those who struggle and go without...
* The boldness to fight injustice and inequity with passion and integrity wherever and whenever you see it...
* The conviction of your own moral and spiritual values and the predetermination to pass these precious gifts on to your family and friends...
* An unabashed love and appreciation for the awesome privilege it is to be an American and to live in a country that stands for liberty and justice for all...
* A sacred acknowledgement of the great debt that each of us owe to those remarkable men and women who have courageously served and died on distant battlefields to preserve the freedoms we so often take for granted...
* A commitment to building a community that will remind each of us daily that every child in our community is our child, and that every neighbor, regardless of race, color or creed is inextricably bound to us by our common desires for a better and healthier future for us all...
* Finally, a sense of wonder that the God of the Universe would so faithfully bless our community in so many ways and a collective commitment to be good and faithful stewards of these blessings in the year to come."