Dear friends,
Twenty-one years ago, I moved to Plymouth to raise three beautiful children with my wife Terri. Like so many of us, as I settled into my own neighborhood, I did not know how my work would come to be the work of Interfaith Outreach. I write to you today as a neighbor and a partner in this work.
I am honored to serve as the Interim Executive Director. As we move forward, I look to do so as a listener, supporter, and guide.
You already know that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reimagining creative and effective ways to deliver services to clients and engage with our community. We are so grateful to be able to persevere in this work with strong support from you and our other neighbors. Because of you, families receive food, financial support, and wrap-around services even in these challenging times.
Additionally, you know that since May, across America, and here at home, communities have committed and re-committed to addressing systemic racism and its impacts on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Addressing systemic inequities is foundational to all of our work. As an organization, we continue to commit to bold action, courageous conversation, and learning.
Together, with our neighbors, we stand in service of a community becoming the best version of itself.
Through all of this, there are things that have not changed about Interfaith Outreach. We are blessed with a seasoned and talented staff who are rising to meet the ever-present challenges of these unprecedented times. They are a mission-oriented team that says “yes” as they continue to bring forth the changes that allow us to do our work differently — and do our work better — in these times. We are blessed to be surrounded by a community of neighbors and partners whose manifold gifts make a real difference each day. Similarly, we are blessed that our clients continue to trust us to hold their stories and walk alongside them as they navigate hard times.
Extraordinary times do not call for extraordinary people, they call for ordinary people willing to do extraordinary things. At Interfaith Outreach, we get to witness those extraordinary things and those just-in-time miracles every day. This is only possible because we do this work together with you. Thank you! I respectfully request your continued support of this wonderful organization and our mission. I want to hear from you and I welcome your input, thoughts, and questions in the weeks ahead.
With all my very best,
Tom Burke
Interim Executive Director
Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners
tburke@iocp.org