When America was attacked Sept. 11,

When America was attacked Sept. 11,

Americans responded. Those of us, who had -

jobs to do, those trained in emergency, security and medical services, turned to their tasks, sometimes placing themselves in danger.

Many of the rest of us wanted also to do something, and we did. We prayed; we gave blood, and whether it was in support of the many fund raising activities, or simply writing our own check to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, one of the special 911 funds, or other charity, we gave needed assistance and financial support to the many victims and their families who needed it.

We can all be proud of the way individual Americans responded to those in need.

But as a community, we cannot afford to let emergency charity benefit at the expense of our regular, community charitable needs. Several Fire and Rescue companies in Rappahannock including Amissville, Sperryville and Flint Hill, as well as other charitable organizations are just beginning their annual fund drives.

It is times like these that we always ask more of our non-profit assistance and service organizations. The emergency is not over. Most of our emergency contributions went to needs outside our community.

Now, many of us will be asked to contribute to our own community needs, at levels more than we did last year, in addition to what we have done in response to September’s emergency. Our response will be another measure, here at home, of America’s strength. We encourage you to give locally.