A LETTER FROM MIRY

Friends and neighbors, Survive. Hive. Thrive. These are pillars of Miry’s List programming (which you’ll learn more about later in this report), and they represent the three modes of being that our families, team and community of helpers dance between day by day. Each of us is somewhere in the Survive/Hive/Thrive cycle at all times. When I am surviving, I’ll lean in for support. When you are thriving, you have help to give. Because we’re at different points in this cycle, we can help one another, and create meaningful connections. It’s a virtuous cycle.

But what happens if all of us are in “survive” mode at once? Enter 2020, a year Time magazine called “The Worst Year Ever.”

In 2020, each of us learned in a new way (but not necessarily for the first time) what it feels like to be afraid of the danger on the other side of the door. As communities, families, and individuals, we faced heartache, anxiety and unimaginable loss. Many of these losses we may never repair or heal — we will just, at some point, learn to live with them.

The year brought heartache, tragedy, and anxiety of the unknown.

The needs of all vulnerable populations, including the resettling refugee families that Miry’s List serves, were exacerbated by the devastation brought to us in 2020. And that’s precisely where the Miry’s List Hive, our community of support, came in. Our Hive showed up and threw down harder than any year in our organization’s history.

In the isolation, we broke through and created connections, virtually. In the absence of what was known, we learned how to listen, adapt, and jump into action. In the uncovering of new pain points, we curated resources, created collaborations and built infrastructure.

The Miry’s List Hive is led by our incredible Dream Team staff and hundreds of dedicated volunteers. Each member of the Hive performs a critical role in making the impact and continuity of Miry’s List possible. The Hive is powered by our generous donors, whose support fuels us, turning our efforts into sustainable programming.

In December 2020 we enrolled our 500th new arrival family in the Miry’s List program, and we enrolled our 600th family just 6.5 months later! This impact is made possible because of the culture of philanthropy infused into Miry’s List. The family-to-family connections and intimacy of this Hive are essential to mission delivery.

I’ve been tired since 2016. How about you? Let’s keep going anyway. The families who arrive in 2021 and beyond need us more than ever.

Here for you. Here beside you. Here because of you.