Letter from the Executive Director:

The best way to sum up what we do and why we do it can best be related via of a story. This story was told to me some years ago and it still holds true today. Read and enjoy:

One At A Time

A friend of ours was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that a local native kept leaning down and picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and time again he kept hurling things out into the ocean.

As our friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach, and one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water. Our friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said “Good evening, friend, I was wondering what you are doing?” “I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it is low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I do not throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”

“I understand,” our friend replied, “but there must be thousand of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get all of them. There are simply too many. And don’t you realize that this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?” The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, “Made a difference to that one!”

Speaking as the Executive Director, I am right where my God would have me to be. I am armed with the necessary knowledge, values and skills to continue the mission of advocating for those whose voices have long been ignored. I, too, have been afforded the opportunity to learn more about many facets of service delivery as it relates to those with disabilities. I accept the challenge, and personally speaking, would have it no other way. Together, we at Nia Association are making a difference for each service recipient “one at a time”.

Cheryl Durham