There’s a lot to be said for a community– especially from the stance of a local paper– when charitable benefits are arranged on a weekly basis. These events come and go through our pages, and it’s a lot of work keeping up with them all.

But it’s worth it.

When you read the heartfelt words of an event’s organizer, as well as the letters published afterward to thank all who helped or participated in that cause, you begin to understand your surroundings. Your eyes open wide, and each time you turn a corner, you start to see the help that’s waiting there, in case you need it.

Awareness is a lot of the battle. While small, informational pieces about spaghetti dinners and raffles don’t seem as exciting as some of our other materials, they are highly worth your regard. Because, like most items we publish, these benefits are also inviting you to be involved.

Consider the individuals, businesses and local organizations contributing resources and putting in countless hours to make these events (no matter how small they are) happen. Then consider those who will be affected by the success or failure of a benefit: sometimes its a single resident facing a personal difficulty; at other times it’s a community at whole.

The constant is the community. Our community. The fact that notices of benefits and charitable events continue to grace our pages provides all the evidence we need that the majority of these happenings are successful. Likewise, it shows that the citizens of Tyler County have a helpful nature at large. They are an inspired bunch… inspired to continue their positive efforts.

The world is a busy place, and you may not always have the time. Or perhaps you’re not a social person. We won’t try to discredit those claims, but we will encourage you to attend at least one of these social, charitable gatherings. Perhaps you’ll find out that taking part relieves the stress of a busy day. Perhaps you’ll discover that you like being around people after all and find yourself eagerly awaiting the next day, week or month when you have another chance to see them all at once.

There are more events and benefits in Tyler County than we have room to mention, and we would not dare to comprise such a list. With all of the individuals, businesses and organizations present, it would be a shame not to mention one of them. To put it simply, we’d fill an entire issue if we tried to give credit to everyone involved in helping the community on any scale.

Some people will claim there’s not a lot going on in Tyler County. They clearly haven’t read the paper. Great things can happen when we open our eyes. If you happen to be reading along with us, hopefully you’ll find something begging you to take part.