If there are still a few people on your list who need a gift, it is time to resort to my personal favorite gift: create a handwritten note for an event or product to be redeemed next year. It is kind of like a gift certificate without the hassle of buying one.
But actually, the best gift we can give can’t be bought in a store. One of the best gifts we can give is showing compassion for others. It is taking the time to listen to one another; it is trying to understand each other; it is simply caring about someone other than ourself.
Before I was writing this, I was lamenting that my oldest daughter will not be spending Christmas this year. She is only four hours away and could make the trip home. But it wasn’t until she explained why that I realized we need to think about others and think about the big picture.
On a regular basis, she volunteers with low-income residents facing eviction…the very people who cannot afford to get sick and miss work. She doesn’t want to risk getting herself sick, nor infecting them. It was a tough choice to be away from her family over the holidays, but it is what she feels is best.
If there is one thing we have learned over this past year, it is that there is no perfect answer. Instead, we need to take the time to listen and be willing to open ourselves up to the idea that we don’t know everything, that we may be wrong, that we may need to change our minds.
And be willing to acknowledge that it is impossible to know everything that is going on in someone else’s life.
More than once this year, I have found myself frustrated with someone, only to find out later that I didn’t have the whole picture.
A friend hadn’t returned the text because they were short-staffed at work as yet another employee was on quarantine. Another friend was terse on a phone call, only to find out later they had gotten into a heated disagreement with their brother-in-law earlier in the day.
And until my daughter explained who she was volunteering with, I didn’t understand why she would choose being home alone in her apartment rather than spending the holidays with her family.
And while will miss her over the holidays, it’s actually not the first time she has been absent Christmas morning. She missed Christmas as well as her grandfathers’ funerals because she was in Germany her junior year of high school. So if we can be apart for 11 months and miss some major milestones, we can do it again if it benefits others.
After all, this is what is great about the holidays. People just seem to be more generous this time of year but it is something we could parlay throughout the year.
Maybe it is delivering a meal to your neighbor who doesn’t like venturing out. Maybe it is creating a gift bags to hand out to those who are down on their luck. Or maybe it is a simple as just listening…listening to someone you don’t agree with, listening to someone who tells the same story over and over, or listening to to your friend who has had everything go wrong this year and is hoping 2021 will be just a little bit better.
At the end of the day, if just tried to understand each other better, walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and showed a bit more compassion toward each other, we could make a our world just a little bit better. We can make our community an even better place to call home.
On behalf of the entire McCook Community Foundation Fund’s Advisory Committee, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday season.
Ronda Graff is considering giving her kids the same handmade certificates as last year: pedicure and massage…with her tagging along.
Linda Graff named McCook Volunteer of the Month for December 2025
By focusing on what is important, we can make an even better impact in our communities.
After a 10-year hiatus, the McCook Holiday Home Tours return focusing on downtown upstairs apartments.
While many people think volunteering is for older residents, serving your community has no age restrictions. And young people can regularly be found lending a hand or offering their services in their hometown. The November 2025 McCook Volunteer of the Month recognizes one of many young people are working to make their community an even better place to call home: Grady Riemenschneider. Currently a senior at McCook High School, Grady volunteers with a wide variety of organizations and groups. As a four-year member of the McCook Community Foundation Fund’s Youth Change Reaction, Grady serves as the ambassador for the youth group’s “Cars Under Stars,” the outdoor movie theater at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds. At nearly every showing, he can be found operating the projector and setting up the parking lot, as well as passing along his knowledge to the next ambassador. In McCook’s FFA program, Grady has held officer roles the past four years and is currently the chapter vice president, organized the chapter banquet in 2025 and coached for the conduct of chapter meetings. Along with serving as the president of the Driftwood Feeders 4-H Club, he assists with setup, tear down and fundraising for the dog show and helps fellow members train their dogs. Grady steps in to help and lead at local events, including Prairie Plains CASA’s Kick in’ It Up for CASA and the Cajun Broil; the Edward Jones Alzheimer’s Walk; operating sound boards for various groups; and Feed the Farmer. And he has served as a youth leader at McCook Christian Church for elementary youth since approximately 2018 as well as stepping up to ensure the ag program ran smoothly during a teacher’s maternity leave Upon request from his mother about some of Grady’s activities, Sharleen noted that he is the “Chief Household Operations Officer: first responder for Mom’s to-do list, go-to chauffeur and caretaker for his favorite sidekick (a.k.a. his nephew), and the family’s unofficial event planner who somehow keeps everyone together without a clipboard.” The McCook Philanthropy Council recognizes a volunteer every month who is doing good work in McCook and Red Willow County. If there is a volunteer in the community who should be recognized, please contact the McCook Chamber of Commerce at 308-345-3200 or visit McCook Volunteers on the McCook Community Foundation Fund’s website, mccookfoundation.org to complete a nomination form. The only requirement is that the nominee must be a resident of McCook or Red Willow County but please have information about the nominee along with where and how they volunteer in the community. The volunteer honoree is selected monthly by the McCook Philanthropy Council.
With the holiday's nearing, MCFF member and Mayor Linda Taylor reflects on the many things to be thankful in McCook.
The names of those people who have made a generational impact on McCook and Southwest Nebraska is a long list. Many of them are working day-in, day-out right now to make their mark on the community. And then there are those people who no longer call McCook home but still make an impact long after they are gone. Allen Strunk is one of those people. Allen passed away on Nov. 1 at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada but he never lost the love of his hometown. Born and raised in McCook, Allen was a member of an already well-known family, Harry and Arlene Strunk. The Strunks started and published the McCook Daily Gazette, with the motto, “Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy in this world.” A saying that was so important that Harry had it etched at the top of his downtown newspaper office on Norris Avenue. That sense of service was passed along to Allen, who continued to serve his community as he took over leadership of the Gazette. I didn’t know Allen personally until he came back for visits years later. Even though my first job upon arriving in McCook was at the McCook Daily Gazette and Allen had turned over the publishing reins to Gene Morris many years prior, the Strunk legacy loomed large. He was instrumental in the building of the then-new YMCA, moving the facility from downtown to its current location next to the McCook High School. He was a key player in the new hospital, again moving from one location to a new expanded space. And McCook Community College benefitted his involvement in an expansion. Those projects continue to impact McCook today. And the support didn’t stop just because Allen retired from the Gazette and left McCook. There are programs the Strunks are involved in that benefit McCook and Southwest Nebraska. The Strunks continue to support Santa Claus Lane, which is overseen by the McCook Chamber of Commerce. And which after a few years of decline is seeing a resurgence of enthusiasm and nostalgia for the decorative holiday pieces lining Norris Avenue. Allen funds the annual McCook Area Outstanding Teacher award, which provides a financial prize to several teachers every year. And Allen recognized the work of the McCook Community Foundation Fund, providing a donation several years ago so that he could see its impact while he was still alive. This has led MCFF to consider how they will recognize and remember Allen for years to come. Because of his belief in service to his community, this could mean more recognition for the countless volunteers who keep our community thriving. It could be a day of community service, to see how many people can come together to make something happen. It could be a celebration for all the great things happening in our community. During Allen’s memorial service this past week in McCook, his step-daughter-in-law read the poem, “The Dash" by Linda Ellis, who published it in 1996. It reflects on the meaning of the dash between the birth and death dates on a tombstone. The dash is a reminder of everything that happens between the moment a person is born and the moment a person dies. The dash emphasizes the importance of how one lives their life during that time. The dash prompts a person to think about living, rather than worrying about dying. Ultimately, the dash is where all the good - and the bad - happens. And Allen Strunk made the most of his “dash,” both in his community and within his family. We can’t all run a newspaper. We likely aren’t going to etch our favorite saying into a building. But we all need to consider how we are paying the “rent for the space we occupy in this world.” And we can all make a difference in our hometowns, whether we currently live in them or even if we haven’t stepped foot on the main street in years.
Everyone feels a need to be needed and it is shown through the Big Give and Meal Kit Giveaways
SWNE Big Give reaches new heights thanks to enthusiasm of organizations, individuals and businesses
Food pantries are seeing an increased need, which means the community must step up with donations of food and time to help those who struggle to put food on the table.
