Welcome back, friends! 😁 🌱
This weekend, a woman’s car failed to start at a local business, and she asked if anyone inside had jumper cables. Another woman had the cables. Someone else jumped in to get the car started. I know this sounds like a simple story that happens all the time, and it is. But it’s important to point out again, we as humans take care of each other.
Taking a bit of time to rest has proven incredibly helpful. I rested, reflected, and refocused. Now, I feel like I have a better sense of where we are moving here at Sowing Hope. I am so excited! 😄
I do want to apologize this post did not go out yesterday like I had planned. I have been fighting sickness and did not have the energy to finish the post yesterday. I should be back to normal Monday postings now with a Paid Subscriber Update coming Saturday.
Update
So many good things have been happening from continued job growth, to 0% inflation (prices actually fell for groceries), historic investment in train infrastructure announced, and all the wonderful trends we see from people taking care of their neighbors during the holidays. I have a lot to catch up on. 😁
Good News
Train Investment
I literally just talked to two co-workers about how cool it would be to have more investment in trains (👋 hi you both if you read this 😁). The next day, the Biden Administration announced a huge investment in train infrastructure that will make us more connected, create jobs, and give us better access to jobs (link).
You can see the plan ranges over 44 states and varies from making existing passenger rail faster to creating new lines like in my home state of Tennessee.
I dug more into the Tennessee line, and here is what I found (link):
$500,000 of federal funding secured to analyze connecting Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta.
The analysis will evaluate costs with more funds available later.
The project prioritizes Nashville to Chattanooga with a possible extension to Memphis.
I am so excited about this progress. That last point suggests us West Tennesseans can call our state legislators weekly telling them how important a Memphis to Nashville train is to us. I hope you share in my excitement about this. 😁 🚉
Kids Investment
I wanted to finish with news related to the holiday season. Here in Henry County Tennessee, we have something called the Family Resource Center…its an awesome resource that just quietly fills needs as it can for families in our neighborhoods.
This year they gathered $13,052 in toy donations plus an additional $2,825 in financial contributions (link). As a result, our community was able to make sure 157 kids have something for Christmas and ensure their families get the joy of seeing their children receive something special for the holidays.
If you helped in any way for this, thank you so much! 😁 ❤️ If this sounds like something you’d be interested in helping with, I can give you more information in advance next year.
Final Thoughts
Whether you lend someone your jumper cables, jump for train investment, or cherish a kid getting an unexpected present, remember that thoughtful neighbors make good neighbors.
Don’t forget to be awesome, and I’ll see you next week. 🌱
That is exciting! Claire and I was actually talking about the possibilities of us moving to northern Virginia and how we would access to more train transportation. It would be great if Nashville gets included.