Vote Daily

Not long ago, a man said to me that he could hardly wait for another three and a half years to go by for the next major election. I’ve thought a lot about that comment; it made me quite sad. I’m sure no one in the electorate got the outcome they wanted in every case. And no matter what one’s political affiliation is I’m fairly certain that we all feel there are things in our world—our country—our state—our local community—that we would like to see changed. We all have a preferred vision for how things should operate, how we would define a successful economy, how we understand fairness/justice/equality, and what we want in place for future generations.

The truth is that people have many ways they can affect change that have nothing to do with politics or elections.

Every day a volunteer gets to vote for what they want the world to be like by what they do with their time--not just once every four years. Every day a donor gets to vote for what they want the world to be like by what they do with their dollars—not just once every four years. Every day, people vote with their attitudes, with their work, with their feet. Every day there are opportunities to make the world, or one’s corner of it, a better place.

For example, the Town of Hilton Head Island is undertaking a Visioning Process designed to involve as many people as possible in creating the future of Hilton Head Island. Your opinion does matter. You can take a survey. You can sign up for other ways to make your point of view known and understood. The strength of our diverse community is the knowledge, viewpoints, and hopes and dreams of all. By gathering as much of that information as possible, a superior vision for the future will be generated, and from that vision could come a new reality. Find the survey here.

There is also a massive undertaking by the Town of Hilton Head Island, the Hilton Head Public Service District, and Community Foundation of the Lowcountry to provide sewers to heretofore-underserved residents of the Island—positively impacting public health, the environment, and the economy. If asked to participate, please vote for positive change with your time, your dollars or both. Learn more here.

There is an amazing array of Lowcountry charitable organizations that are making a difference in the lives of us all (I can’t imagine that a single person is not touched regularly by the arts, culture, environment, education, healthcare, public safety, religion, animal welfare and beyond provided by the nonprofit sector.) Again, you can vote at any time with your effort and your dollars to assure that this amazing work continues.

Vote daily with your hands, heart and wallet. Living generously doesn’t happen once every four years; it happens every day.

Denise K. Spencer
President and CEO