My grandmother lived to be 100 before passing a few years back. She was fiercely independent. I remember my mom calling to let Gram know she'd be over later to mow the yard (with a push mower, mind you). More often than not, by the time she arrived, Gram had already finished. We'd say, "Gram, let us do that for you." She'd lift her chin and say, "I can do it."
That memory shaped my belief in the importance of independence because I could see what it meant to her. That "doing for" someone, while it may be well intentioned and comes from a loving place, shifted something in her eyes.
Doing for oneself often brings a sense of pride, of self-confidence, and of self-fulfillment. It boosts emotional well-being, supports cognitive health, and fosters social connection.
It's something I'm so proud to see daily in the work of our EPI team. There are times when support means stepping in. Just as often, support means stepping back, encouraging, teaching, and allowing someone the opportunity to do things for themselves.
Our children and family services team is working with little ones (and the parents and teachers of little ones) to foster their early childhood development. They pour their hearts into the research and best teaching techniques as our environments evolve around us and nurture the growth of the youngest among us. We celebrate and support each step they take (quite literally) as they find their way to do for themselves.
Our community services team is working with adults with disabilities. When others underestimate a person's ability to work, we see potential and help create pathways to employment. When others assume independent living isn't possible, we presume competence and focus on identifying skills and supports that make it achievable and we think outside of the box considering technology in new and innovative ways. In other words, we meet people where they are, find out what's important to them, work together towards those goals, celebrate personal achievements, and challenge the status quo.
That's what our team does here. The pride we see in these achievements fuels us forward. Every day, I'm reminded how fortunate we are to work alongside people who are deeply committed to our mission.
As we near heading into our 70th year, we invite you to join our movement to create something special. When this world can feel hard and heavy, reach out to us to find ways to engage and be a part of this movement. It's something to be proud of.
Whether you volunteer, advocate, donate, partner with us, or simply learn more about the people we support, you'll quickly see the impact one person can make. Together, we can make our community a little better and a little brighter.
This article was originally posted in our FY26 Annual Impact Report - view the whole report here.