December 2001 - The past six weeks have been unlike any other in my lifetime.  These have been difficult times for all of us. I never imagined a day that I would see terrorism on this scale in our country.  I’m overwhelmed at times with feelings of grief and vulnerability, followed by simultaneous, contradictory feelings of both fear and hope for the future of my country and my family. 

Now that more time has past, I see the need to draw strength and comfort from family, friends and neighbors.  Not only do we need to get on with “normalcy” in our lives, but also I sense the effects of September 11th  have driven us all to be more compassionate and empathetic than ever before.  And I see a new kind of patriotism unifying America, a new sense of brotherhood and compassion for each other. Here in Santa Barbara we have embraced this "new spirit of unity" by striving to make the Unity Shoppe more successful than ever this year.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with my favorite yearly charity, Unity Shoppe (AKA Unity) is a local charity organization that provides food, clothing, books and toys to underprivileged families in Santa Barbara County.  Unlike most charities, Unity is structured to bring not only life’s necessities to those in need, but it does so in a way that preserves the recipient’s dignity.  Unity provides low-income individuals and families with choices, allowing them to “purchase” goods that their family actually needs.  With the help of the community, Unity is able to help over 10,000 local people on an annual basis, and 7,000 of those are children. 

The importance of helping low-income families in our community is immeasurable. Unity provides a simple, yet effective way for those in need to avoid welfare, and ultimately, homelessness.  Our focal point is to assist families who, with a little help from Unity, when in a time of crisis would need not use their rent money to feed their family.  In that way they can keep their home and their family together until they can get back on their feet.  Unity helps parents feed and clothe their families so that they can keep their cars, their jobs, their homes and their self-respect.

My involvement with Unity spans over 15 years, and I am currently an active member of the Board of Directors.  Many of you have generously donated time and financial support to Unity in the past.  For that, I thank you all and look forward to your help and involvement again.

This year Unity is pushing up to the next level.  We have high hopes for our annual fundraising telethon that will be televised live on our local ABC affiliate, KEYT-3, on Saturday, December 1.  We have hired Joe Lake as our interim CEO to guide us through this restructuring period.  Joe has an outstanding resume for orchestrating successful non-profit development.  He was instrumental in guiding the great success of many non-profits nationwide such as Children’s Miracle Network and Larry King’s Cardiac Foundation.  I am confident that with Joe’s help, our visions for Unity will take us to the next level.

On a grander scale, Tipper Gore’s office has expressed interest in potentially developing Unity Shoppe organizations nationwide.  So our job now is to create a hugely successful working model in our community on which a national program can be based.  It would be quite an honor and delight to see an organization that is so effective at helping those who need it the most achieve a nationwide level of success.

There are people in every city of America that need a helping hand every now and then.  And they are people just like you and me. As the holiday time approaches this year, I urge you all to find the compassion to donate or volunteer in your local community.  By helping our neighbors during their time of need, I hope we will all feel this “new spirit of Unity” spill forth from our local communities to our nation.~ Kenny Loggins