One of the first books to capture my imagination growing up was A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. As I reflect on where we are as a country, a region, and a sector at the midpoint of summer, I return to a slightly adapted version of that phrase. For our region, this season really is a tale of two summers, often lived side by side or right in the very same neighborhood.
One summer is the one of rest, vacation, and play. Waterfronts are full of families walking, picnicking, and enjoying summer concerts. Trails are full of people taking in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Airports are crowded with people taking off for their long-awaited summer adventures. I’ve been thinking about these moments of joy a lot this month, how a walk along the water, a family meal on a patio, and an unhurried evening can all be small but real expressions of human flourishing. And I’ve been struck by how much of that ease doesn’t happen by accident. It’s made possible by the nonprofits and businesses that build and maintain our waterfronts and trails, by funders and public initiatives that support these efforts, and by people that choose to show up and enjoy them.
That’s one summer, but here’s the other.
For families with kids, summer often means the disappearance of the structured days and school meals that they relied on. In a typical recent summer, only about 16 kids received summer meals for every 100 who relied on them during the school year. Our region is also adjusting to hotter summers than many grew up with, a shift that’s made things like cooling centers, shady parks, and hydration access essential for everyone, especially neighbors living unsheltered. Our region has learned and adapted a lot in recent years, with new summer food banks, life-saving cooling centers, and outreach teams delivering water before a heat wave begins. It’s important to hold that progress up, and thank the nonprofits, public agencies, and volunteers who do the work of building and maintaining these essential services every summer.
So it’s the same season, the same long days, the same sunshine, but a very different experience depending on where you sit. And while there can be real sorrow tucked inside vacations and rest, and real joy that shows up in the midst of difficult days, naming some of these contrasts is an important first step in closing the gap.
It’s my conviction that no one organization or sector can close the gap alone. But I do believe that everyone who has chosen the social sector — whether we’re funders, nonprofits, volunteers, or just people who care about the health of this region — has a real role to play in this ecosystem of people looking out for one another. For some of us that looks like funding the infrastructure that addresses the core of these issues. For others it’s the daily work of staffing a shelter that offers cooling centers, checking in on an unhoused neighbor during a heat warning, or volunteering for a summer food site. For all of us, I hope it means letting our belief in our neighbors shape how we spend our own summer, because caring for the people around us is simply who we are as a sector and as people of goodwill.
Wishing you all rest, joy, provision, and the space to hold both summers in view.
Romanita Hairston
Chief Executive Officer