These little stories are from an article about people who are making a difference, and I thought little pieces of it might make good late night posts. A little bit of inspiration, perhaps, at the start of an open thread.
But talk about whatever you want!
In a year that made many of us want to give up, these unsung activists found a way to help others.
h/t hazmat
🌼
The Unofficial Czar of the Migrant Crisis
It would be difficult to find a single person who has done more to meet the immediate needs of migrants than Ruth Messinger, the former Manhattan borough president and 1997 mayoral candidate, who is now 83. Her involvement took hold at the beginning, when she greeted the first wave of migrants arriving on buses from Texas to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in the summer of 2022.
“It was an easy thing for me to do,” she said.From there, she leveraged her many connections to mobilize a network of dedicated volunteers, faith leaders, nonprofits, institutions and private philanthropists to feed, clothe and shelter the migrants. She is constantly pushing the mayor and state and federal governments to do more to meet the enormous challenges that attend the influx.
And she is no less nimble as a fixer on the ground. When a school in Harlem offered to store clothes for the many migrants who needed them, they soon realized that they needed more shelving. Ms. Messinger quickly found the money to pay for it.
“She is the superhero that guides us, connects us and inspires us,’’ said Judy Bass, co-chair of the Synagogue Coalition on the Refugee and Immigration Crisis.
From Six New Yorkers Who Made the City a Better, Cooler, Fairer Place in 2023. Written by Ginia Bellafante, who writes the Big City column, a weekly commentary on the politics, culture and life of New York City.
In a year that made many of us want to give up, these unsung activists found a way to help others.
h/t hazmat
Open thread!