Keeping the community warm

Sunlight breaks through the trees along Fletcher Schoolhouse Road in Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

No amount of good is too small to make a difference. That's been proven time and time again during the pandemic, when acts of kindness and support for neighbors have been very welcome news.

Such is the case in Cape Cod, where a knitting group is providing some uplift for a local nonprofit and the community. Through Nov. 28, the Cape Cod Cultural Center is the location for a pop-up store of hand-knit items made by the Bass River Knitters over the summer, including hats and gloves. Some items will also be sold through the holidays there.

Not only does this annual sale help keep the community warm and keep the knitting group connected, but all proceeds from sales go to the cultural center, as they do each year.

Lauren Wolk, the center’s executive director, told the Cape Cod Times the local group has raised $20,000 for the organization over the past decade.

“And the contribution that the Bass River Knitters make by donating the proceeds from their sales warms all of us here at the center, too," she said in the Times' report. "That contribution will be especially important in this extraordinarily challenging year.”

Though challenges have been the theme in 2020, so have community connections, and in many cases they've seemed stronger than ever. Throughout New England and beyond, people have pulled together to help their neighbors and local organizations, and it's been inspiring to watch. It shows that the most difficult times often make expressions of neighborly kindness multiply, providing hope where perhaps despair used to be. And furthermore, it shows we're made of goodness and compassion.

As we move through the upcoming weeks, let’s remember how strong we truly are when we work together for the greater good. Whether that leads to efforts large or small, we always outshine the darkness by helping others and cultivating hope together.

— Gareth Henderson