September 19 is a date you might want to mark on your calendar even though thoughts of fall and college football have yet to completely permeate the Southern mindset.
It’s worth taking the time to make a note for yourself and your friends that on Sept. 19, you will have an opportunity to make a difference.
On that Saturday, the Pickens County Humane Society will hold an all-day concert featuring talent from around the Upstate with proceeds going to complete overdue renovations and changes with their facilities, making their job easier but the lives of their temporary tenants better as well.
And as you know, not all the temporary tenants see another home once they arrive there.
This might be the easiest opportunity to make a difference you may ever have and all it requires is your attendance.
Yes, you read that right: All you have to do is attend and enjoy yourself.
The issues the Pickens County Humane Society faces are out of sight, out of mind problems. These folks have some of the toughest jobs in the world and are so compassionate it’s probably impossible for them to not take the worries and anxieties home with them.
But there’s an even bigger reason to attend.
A tension of intolerance is running through our society and it seems that it’s becoming more difficult to bring varying groups together for a common cause. But if people can’t gather for a good cause because of these tensions, it becomes more and more difficult to achieve anything.
And that’s why this is different.
The very ones that will benefit the most are the dogs and cats, puppies and kittens and in case you didn’t know, they have no prejudice or desire to do anything but love and be loved. How awesome is that?
There’s no love or hate, only trust or mistrust, and that is the result of the actions of people. While we can’t change the behavior of others as a community, we can offset some of the damage.
When you consider the fundraising goal for the year is over halfway met, the cost of a September Saturday is a pittance to pay to help those who do a job the rest of the community wants nothing to do with.
More importantly, the ones who will benefit most have no ability to verbalize to say thank you, but, in the end, one look in their eyes and you know you have done a good deed and should enjoy that feeling.
Besides, the one thing you can count on is the ones benefiting the most won’t complain it wasn’t enough, won’t feel despondent if there isn’t enough money raised, and certainly won’t be coming to your home or calling in the middle of dinner to solicit your help.
But if given a chance, they would more than gladly share their lives and what little they have to offer gladly and without any expectation.
Now that should be something you can get behind.