The sun continues to shine brightly in Seattle—hopefully this lifts your spirits as it does mine. Last weekend a friend shared a wonderful blog post, which suggests that how we respond to this crisis could be “our finest hour.” It spoke to me because at SWS we are embracing this opportunity as a time for creativity and compassion, specifically around staying connected as a community. Imagine if we could make our response to this crisis our finest hour.

Imagine if a year or two from now we looked back on this and told the stories of how we came together as a team in our community, in our state, in our nation and across the world. Your contribution to the finest hour may seem small, invisible, inconsequential—but every small act of ‘not doing’ what you were going to do, and ‘doing’ an act of kindness or support will add up exponentially. These acts can and will save lives. The Apollo 13 crew made it their finest hour by letting go of the word “I” and embracing the word “we.” And that’s the task required of us. It can only be our finest hour if we work together. You are all on the team. And we need all of you to shine in whatever way you can.

I’m excited to share that in partnership with the Parent Association, we are developing an online platform that will offer an array of resources drawing upon the gifts and skills of our community members, and offering opportunities for us to support and care for one another. Possibilities include ideas for self-care, childcare, books and movies, as well as practical skills, ranging from tech to carpentry to cooking. We envision bringing moments of beauty and calm through music and artistic offerings, live and recorded. The ideas are limitless, and we look to our community to come together in new ways, with the cherished open hearts, hands, and heads for which SWS is known.

This crisis touches on many of the things we care most about—our health, our families, our professional vocations, our financial security—and is fraught with emotion and anxiety. I do believe this can be our finest hour, and that we each will shine in whatever way we can.

With deep appreciation,
Tracy