We are pretty lucky to live in a very kind community. Oftentimes you may hear natives or discouraged transplants dwelling on the perceived negative attributes of Sullivan County, but let’s look at the positives.

Recently, the WSUL Heart-A-Thon raised over $103,000 to benefit our local hospital, as well as other local health-related causes. We are blown away with the generosity of donors who give to this great cause every single time. While our health ranking leaves much to be desired, there are certainly many local officials and organizations working to make things better and the proceeds from this fundraiser will aid some of those efforts.

A blood drive held by the County’s three local Rotary clubs (Monticello, Liberty and Livingston Manor) was also a success and did its part to lessen the great need for blood in our state.

Another reason to be in awe of the place we live are some of the amazing people we encountered. That was certainly our thoughts when reflecting on the passing of Sister Kevin John Shields. The stories speak for themselves. She gave so much of her time, and made a tremendous impact on the lives of many.

Generosity and kindness are two traits you don’t have to look far to find in Sullivan County. Whenever someone is faced with a challenge or an organization expresses a need, this community rallies  around them, which is inspiring.

There is so much one could be discouraged about looking at world events - what is happening in Ukraine, how women are being treated in Iran, etc. 

These discouraging events and the daily grind of our own lives may lead us to feeling down or irritable, which is normal. We will say, however, that we hope even in those moments, you turn to kindness and are generous. It doesn’t mean you have to donate to a cause to make you feel better, it could simply be to offer  some words of encouragement to a friend or a coworker going through a difficult time.

But in the end, you can rarely go wrong with being generous and kind.