By Jean Nash Wella

November is the month that begins the holiday season. It is the time when family and friends gather to give thanks, break bread, fellowship and reminisce about times gone by.

This is the season of giving and sharing. Giving, not measured by size or amount, but rather by value or deed. Quite often a little goes a long, long way especially when it comes from the heart.

One area in particular concerns us. I need not go through a litany of the problems we face in the coming years if our children cannot read, or understand basic math, or do not know their history. In the past several issues we have focused on organizations that are working with young people, tutoring, mentoring, loving

”Saving Our Own Community.” A Better Chance featured in this issue is one. There are innumerable others that could use your help. Even passing along the information to a parent or guardian that would give a young person the opportunity for a better chance of any kind is a small, but ever so important, good deed.

On another front, we must become more cognizant of and proactive concerning the health crises that plague our community, among them cancer, HIV/AIDS and diabetes.

On November 15, Rev. Dr. David Jefferson and the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark will host an event designed to heighten awareness of this disease, which is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputations and heart failure. Even our children are at risk for diabetes because of the increase in obesity in the very young.

We applaud the clergy leaders and their organizations that are giving of their time and resources to answer the call to service as sponsors of this initiative. Kudos to the volunteers of the African Americans for Diabetes Awareness Committee who give tirelessly of their time and energy in their commitment to alleviating this disease, which is highly preventable.

Sharing is God-like. After all, it was the greatest of all prophets, the Son of Man, the Prince of Peace, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who proclaimed, “Let he who would become greatest among you, be the servant of all.”