>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

A sense of community seems to be lacking in much of the modern world. But thanks to groups like Impact 100, Northeast Oregon may be bucking the trend.

The goodness of neighbors and the importance of investing in the community was much in evidence at the fifth annual meeting of the group. That meeting held in early April helped net more than $19,000 to disburse to area residents with pressing needs. And the needs are out there. Many aren’t well publicized, but with such issues as the rising cost of health care, requests for help are flooding in. The involved citizens in Impact 100 also assisted with urgent needs revolving around dental care, education, groceries, winter clothing, transportation and more.

Impact 100 was started in 2003 when Susie Harris and nine of her friends got together with a simple idea. Each would contribute $100. The pool of money would be used to help those in the community with urgent needs. The power of pooling resources, they figured, would go further to benefit the common good and keep families and individuals from falling through the cracks.

Those involved in Impact 100 — 55 people came together for this year’s meeting — can wear their contributions to the community as their personal badge of courage. More people can and should get involved in this worthwhile organization as it grows each year to gather donations for people in need.