Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

Family Circus © 1994 Bil Keane, Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

For many years after it appeared in the Grand Rapids Press in 1994, I kept this Family Circus cartoon pinned on the tack board above my desk.

As a fund-raiser seeking to encourage financial support by sharing a critical need in a compelling way, I needed Lucy’s encouragement to begin and end every day in gratitude, grateful for each opportunity to share the story, each pledge of support, each contribution. After all, today itself is a GIFT!

However, to fully experience today as GIFT also entails looking forward to the future with hope. And that’s the challenge for individuals and families facing housing insecurity, living in the crucible of too few resources to cover too many expenses, the dilemma of a housing market gone awry—hope fades to despair. Blinded by insecurity about tomorrow, they cannot see the GIFT that is today.

Replacing this insecurity and despair with hope is what ICCF Community Homes seeks to accomplish in working for equitable opportunity and affordable homes for vulnerable households and neighborhoods, not just for today, but for the decades to come.

Yesterday… Today… Tomorrow… Your faithful giving to ICCF Community Homes is an investment in a hope-filled future for our neighbors. Thank you!

– Hank Kroondyk

For more information, please visit iccf.org/planned-gifts or contact Hank Kroondyk, ICCF Planned Giving Specialist, at [email protected].

This story first appeared in our Winter 2024 Blueprints newsletter. Click here to explore all stories from this edition.