Chairman's Perspective - April 2022

Our people’s propensity for doing good

Help for our city sister in Ukraine — Brovary, outside Kyiv

I have never started a speech, written an article or any other form of communication, for that matter, with the sometimes-overdone dictionary definition of a word, but it really is necessary here. So here goes …

Webster defines propensity as “an often INTENSE NATURAL INCLINATION or preference.” Using that definition for propensity, it is my belief that the people who call this area home have a propensity for doing good. I hope this is stating the obvious to each of you, but after what I have witnessed over the past few weeks, I cannot help but say it out loud.

I, like many of you, have been horrified by what I have been witnessing on the news and social media regarding the tragedy that is unfolding in the Ukraine. I also, like many, have felt the strong desire to do something to help out, but I didn’t know where to begin.

Thankfully, there are people in our great community that were already well on their way to figuring that out. I received a request on March 3 from the City of Rockford and the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau asking if the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois would be willing to participate in a funding campaign, along with Kids Around the World, to provide much-needed supplies to our sister city in Brovary, Ukraine.

The mayor of Brovary had made a personal plea to our city to help them out, and their needs were both urgent and critical.

(psst. … Don’t feel bad if you didn’t know we had a sister city in Brovary or that Brovary was a suburb of Kyiv where the fighting has been non-stop. I didn’t either, but I have learned a lot in a few weeks.)

An Outpouring of Support

So this is where the definition of propensity comes in to play. … It would have been very easy for all parties involved to simply say we don’t have the time, the knowledge, the funds or any other number of legitimate reasons, to get involved. But I truly believe the people of our community have an INTENSE NATURAL INCLINATION to do good. So in a matter of two days, the campaign was publicly kicked off.

I was not prepared for what I have witnessed since our March 5 news conference. Just at the Community Foundation, we collected more than $20,000 in the first few days, and that number has risen to more than $50,000 in just a couple of weeks.

Kids Around the World has seen similar levels of giving.

With these dollars collected, critical supplies have already reached the hands of those most in need in Brovary, including generators, medical supplies, cots and many other items. Pallets of food and vital medicines are in route as I write this, with more to come.

In a time of uncertainty and economic hardship for many in the Stateline, it has been truly amazing to see the outpouring of support. We have received gifts from $10 to $5,000, all of which are equally meaningful. There have been two local artists that created and sold art to support the people of Brovary, and we have received offers of donated goods and even an offer to host refugees.

We have had gifts come in from all across the country as local people spread the word, and I actually received an email from a student in Brovary offering to assist if we needed any help with logistics. In addition, the well wishes and personal stories that have accompanied many of the gifts has been truly touching.

I have the good fortune to witness the propensity of the citizens of this area to do good on a regular basis through my job, but I felt compelled to share this one powerful example with you. I, for one, am very proud to be a part of this giving community.

Dan Ross is chair of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce and president of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.