What does community mean?

What does it feel like?

Do you know someone who has made a difference through his or her actions of kindness, commitment, or simply by his or her presence?

Do you realize your power to be the difference in someone's life?

Imagine the difference we can make when we are connected to our natural impulse to be kind. When we are empowered to use our unique gifts to contribute to the lives of each other, whether it is through simple acts of kindness, through a deep commitment to the dreams of another, or simply through our presence.

Community is a place of diversity and abundance.

How might we learn to discover and include the gifts of everyone?

There is the gift of love within families.

We often see unconditional love and commitment in action as families respond to challenges together.

There are the gifts of people with a passion and commitment to working for a better world, who tirelessly persevere in the midst of difficulty.

There are the people who offer a quiet gift in our lives simply through their presence.

And there are the difficult realities of many people's lives. Some are marked with adversity, isolation, rejection and suffering.

What can people who have lived on the margins teach us about the love, generosity and caring of human spirit?

We are a community of citizens, privileged to experience the unique contributions of many extraordinary people, whether it is a person who lives with unusual circumstances and has experienced adversity, a family member, a friend, or a courageous coworker.

Too often we have not taken the time to share and celebrate unique experiences.

We invite you, writers and artists of all ages, to share your stories. Stories that highlight and celebrate how we can be the difference we wish to see in the world. We invite you to share your stories of inspiration; stories that reflect the many ways we as people make a difference for each other.