The funds raised by the Moms of Miracles for playground equipment is nothing short of miraculous and a testament to the caring nature of local citizens. YEARS AGO, Iola had a program where residents could “round up” their monthly utility payments and the excess would be directed to the Church Utility Relief Board, a program administered by the Iola Ministerial Association.
In a matter of months the young mothers have raised $132,000 toward their goal of $153,000.
The drive highlights the increasing need for private individuals to raise funds for special causes. Perhaps in a different time city and county coffers would have been flush enough to afford such equipment.
Reduced funding by the state, especially, is forcing many to think creatively of how to keep their causes afloat. Programs that have depended on state funds are learning the well has run dry.
That’s how it should be, some say. If people want a state arts commission, for example, then they should pay for it out of their own pockets. The same goes for food stamps and utility relief. The argument has been extended to health insurance. Some even say Medicare and Social Security, also federal mandates, are governmental overreach.
More and more, it’s those of a conservative bent who laud massive cuts to government programs. It can’t be that they are anti-charity, surely. Or anti-education. Or anti-transportation.
Rather, they want to help the programs of their choice and not be told by a “nanny” state which programs should be funded with their tax dollars.
Trouble is, putting food on the table and keeping the heat on don’t fall into any soft and fuzzy category like playground equipment for special needs children. Sleeping on a park bench and rifling through garbage dumpsters is nasty stuff.
People who don’t pay their utility bills in a timely manner often are cast as poor managers of their money who need to get their priorities straight.
And yes, there are those who try to scam the system, casting every indigent person as a good for nothing lout who simply needs to get a job.
“There are some people who do not want to work but want pity,” came a letter in Monday’s mail from a Register reader.
City Clerk Roxanne Hutton said the program was not very successful. Some were confused, thinking the giving program was mandatory. The program was never promoted. Hutton said it failed from lack of response.
One resident has asked to be kept on the program. The city routinely rounds up her utility bills to the nearest dollar and directs the excess to CURB, Hutton said.
The idea is akin to Terry Sparks’ suggestion to donate excess change to the MOMs group. A habit of tossing quarters into a jar netted him $1,500.
Hutton is open to the idea of restarting the program citywide, saying the decision would be in the hands of city council members.
She wondered if the way people pay their bills would make a difference to the program. Many have their monthly utility bills automatically deducted from their checking or credit card accounts, eliminating the option to “round up” a bill, unless it somehow could be factored in.
Let’s blame Congress for the growing cultural divide between those who support governmental programs to help the poor, the elderly, the retired, the unemployed, and those with a loner mentality.
Today, the term “bleeding heart” is almost spat out, as if it’s a bad thing to be sympathetic to the plight of those less well off.
By evidence of the success of the MOMs group, we are a caring community.
Perhaps a more coordinated effort to raise funds for CURB and other laudable programs would see success.
— Susan Lynn
MOMs success great; maybe we can ride the wave of generosity
