A Gathering Storm
Over the past 18 months the national economy has deteriorated at an unprecedented rate. Job losses, bank failures, real estate foreclosures, and unemployment figures continue to rise at historic levels; all of this at a time when paychecks and benefits are declining disproportionately. The national unemployment rate currently stands at 9.8%; during the same period last year it was recorded at 6.5%. Here in Massachusetts, unemployment now stands at 9.3% - a sharp contrast to the 5.6% figure of exactly 12 months ago.
The unraveling of our nation’s economic infrastructure has driven more Americans to food pantries, homelessness, and desperation. Many suffer in silence, agonizing each day over basic financial obligations they are now unable to meet. Families, faced with mounting economic pressures, find themselves feeling isolated, detached, and hopeless. The most vulnerable among us - our children and our seniors - are witnessing the destruction of confidence within their homes as they and their families try to cope.
Sadly, many of us are acutely unaware of the suffering just across the street, around the corner, or a mile down the road. Behind the well kept exteriors of our neighbors’ homes there is a silent storm that is ravaging all too many lives. Here in Sturbridge there are too many seniors who are facing the most desperate period in their lives. Men and women who have contributed to our community for years are now bracing for a winter that looks to be even more bleak than that experienced a year ago.
During our inaugural 2008 winter (October – February), the REAS Foundation processed 50 applications, 43 of which were approved for energy assistance. In the month of October 2009 alone, we have already received 17 requests for assistance. There is little doubt that in today’s spiraling economic climate, the need for assistance will be significantly higher than that witnessed last year.
More and more Sturbridge seniors are finding themselves with fewer options and are reaching out for help for the first time in their lives. For many it is a bitter pill to swallow. Years of hard work, frugal living, independence, and hopes for a comfortable retirement, have been supplanted by disproportionately rising costs and diminishing returns on their lifelong savings. Despair is creeping in.
The REAS Foundation is seeking your support in hopes that we as a community can ease the burden of those who built this magnificent community. Your tax deductible contribution can literally mean the difference between having to forgo much needed prescriptions or daily meals in order to have the funds necessary to pay the heating bill. Rest assured this is not hyperbole; it is a fact of life that we witnessed much too frequently last winter. It is also a fact that the generosity of Sturbridge residents altered the course of events for many seniors last year, bringing relief and hope to those in need.
Once again, as the storm gathers, we turn to you in our efforts to ease the despair now mounting within our community. Please consider joining our 10K Circle of Friends, wherein we hope to raise $10,000 by way of a $10.00 contribution from 1000 residents. Bear in mind that no contribution is too small and we welcome any assistance you might be able to provide. Donations can be made directly though our website via PayPal at www.reasfoundation.org. Checks made payable to the REAS Foundation can be mailed to: REAS Foundation, P.O. Box 737, Fiskdale, MA, 01518.
We thank you for your consideration as we endeavor to assist those qualifying Sturbridge seniors in need.
Thomas R. Creamer
Executive Director
REAS Foundation, Inc.