Shelter Island Reporter Editorial: Making a difference

“Act as if what you do makes a difference — it does.”

So wrote American philosopher and author William James, and on Shelter Island we are constantly reminded of that truth by our neighbors.

This week in the Reporter we have stories about a benefit golf tournament raising funds to help pay bills for a seriously injured Islander, and the retirement of a volunteer who created and managed a program helping children find and nurture the creativity within themselves.

Paralyzed from the shoulders down after falling off the roof of a house he was power washing last November, Alex Cannon has endured, as Mary Fran Gleason reported, multiple surgeries, on and off infections, bed sores and has difficulty breathing without a ventilator. After spending the first months after the accident at Stony Brook Hospital, he’s been lying prone in a hospital bed ever since. Without health insurance, his medical bills are in the millions of dollars.

A GofundMe page has helped ease some of the burden, and the Shelter Island Country Club’s (SICC) board and members decided to pitch in and do more. Last Saturday’s benefit tournament for Alex raised more than $15,300 to help pay for the medical equipment and services he’ll need when he’s able to return home to the Island.

This is the definition of a good neighbor, and we salute the SICC for stepping up.

Another neighbor with a commitment to her community is Mary Dwyer, a retired teacher who, 12 years ago, decided to motivate and inspire youngsters who love to read and want to write, but need guides to help them reveal their creativity. From the start, the Shelter Island Educational Fund has donated funds to keep the “2Rs4Fun” program alive.

The idea is to assign adult mentors to the children, to encourage and help channel the process of turning ideas into sentences and paragraphs, bringing stories to life through prose and poetry.

Since 2008, 2Rs4Fun has taken dozens of third and fourth grade students and adult mentors on these excursions of learning and camaraderie. Each year, Ms. Dwyer produced a handsome book of all the students’ work, a permanent record of achievement.

Ms. Dwyer has announced her retirement from leading the program and left it in the hands of Frank Emmett, the former elementary schoolteacher and veteran of the program, who is a perfect choice to continue this commitment to the Island’s youth.

We know Ms. Dwyer will still be a large part of 2Rs4Fun as it continues as one of the finest educational programs we have.

Ms. Dwyer, and the SICC members, have acted, and have made a difference.