This has been a particularly challenging year for many Licking Countians. Between financial challenges, delayed support for groceries, the ever-increasing creep of development and the impending water wars, we’ve seen how difficult it was to even get to this point in the year that seemed to move simultaneously way too fast and way, way too slow. 

Read more: More Licking Countians are struggling with economy, housing costs

But as I take a moment to think about what I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving – my family is in good health, there is a roof over my head and food on my table, and my 80-pound dog still insists she’s a lapdog – I find myself grateful for more than the comforts and constants of my own life. 

This year, I’m particularly thankful for my neighbors in Licking County. 

Lately, I’ve been thinking about a speech delivered nearly a decade before I was born by then-president George H.W. Bush. He was accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in 1988, and he took the opportunity to urge us – not just his Republican audience at the convention, but ALL of us in the United States – to lead with empathy and care for others. 

“Prosperity with a purpose means taking your idealism and making it concrete by certain acts of goodness. … It means teaching troubled children through your presence that there is such a thing as reliable love. Some would say it’s soft and insufficiently tough to care about these things. But where is it written that we must act if we do not care, as if we are not moved? I am moved. I want a kinder and gentler nation.” 

Later, during his second inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1989, he said: 

“We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the Nation and gentler the face of the world. My friends, we have work to do.”

We did – and still do – have work to do. But I find myself coming back to that idea – of a kinder, gentler nation – each time I think about the ways our neighbors have shown up for one another this year. In the toughest moments, you demonstrated what it means to be a good neighbor, a good advocate, a good friend and a good Licking Countian. Time and again, you reminded us that compassion isn’t something abstract; it’s something we practice, together, in real and tangible ways.

That longing for a kinder, gentler nation has been reflected here at home, across Licking County, in countless acts of generosity, persistence, grace and love. You, our readers, our sources, our supporters and our friends embody that spirit every day. Your support allows us to tell the stories that connect us, challenge us and remind us of who we are when we’re at our very best.

We’ve seen it in the volunteers who made sure families had Thanksgiving turkeys when grocery budgets stretched thin. We’ve seen it in the neighbors who created care packages, no questions asked, when SNAP benefits were cut earlier this month. We’ve seen it in the caretakers helping families through challenges like cancer diagnoses and finding four-legged friends. We’ve seen it in motorcycle riders delivering toys to children in need; in people who provide direly needed healthcare to people who otherwise can’t access it; in teachers who support students however they can; in fans cheering on real superheroes. 

And we’ve seen it in the moments when someone stepped in to help, simply because they could.

Compassion, like so many things, isn’t a luxury. It’s a commitment we make to one another. I am deeply thankful to our team of dedicated journalists at The Reporting Project for honoring that commitment every day — for listening, for showing up, for elevating the voices of those who often feel unheard.

And this Thanksgiving, I’m especially thankful for you: our neighbors across Licking County who continue to trust us, challenge us and partner with us. You’ve helped us rebuild local news in our community, fill in the gaps and create a living history of our community.

Thanks for being part of this adventure with us. We truly couldn’t do it without you.

Julia Lerner is the managing editor for for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.