As we enter the holiday season and near the end of the year, I need to tell you how grateful I am to you. This past year you made it possible for a little brown eyed, cherub faced boy to laugh again after years of abuse. You were there at 2:00 a.m. when a distraught 17 year old girl was brought to us by the police after having  

been raped. And it was you who paid their back rent and were responsible for Jennifer, with her broken arm, and her two young children waking up in their own beds today. It was you who talked a drug crazed young man from jumping off the Skyway Bridge and it was you who held the hand of a confused and disoriented grandma laying in the back of a TransCare ambulance. 

This past year, your financial support made it possible for us to respond over 168,000 times to people in crisis. You'll never know most of these people, but there may be some you will because they are a family member, a coworker, a neighbor or a friend. But whether you know someone who has been helped by the Crisis Center or not, you can still say to yourself, "My gift made that service possible!"  And that's why I am so grateful to you. Your generosity is what allows us to do  

what we do.

As we end this year and look forward to the promise of the next, there's one thing I know - the problems we help with (suicide, mental illness, rape, abuse, financial emergencies) won't go away. There will still be thousands of people teetering on  

the edge of some cliff about to fall over unless you and I help. I know you can't be there in person, but you can still be there. By making a donation before the end of year, you can assure that a child receives the counseling she needs to heal.  You  

can help a young girl to feel safe again after her assault. You can keep a single parent family at risk of eviction in their own home. You can ensure that the mentally ill are cared for with dignity and compassion. Your gift can do all of that and more, but please don't wait. We - they - are counting on you. 

Thank you for supporting the Crisis Center and this work of help, hope and healing now and in the days to come. I am truly grateful.