As I reflect on this year, I can’t help but feel grateful.
For too many, there was hardship. But there were also stunning displays of resilience, flexibility and a determination to make the systems we all rely on better for everyone.
For the Walton Family Foundation, 2021 was a season of renewal in our commitment to creating access to opportunity. Across this vast and varied work, there remains one constant that makes every bit of it possible – you.
Amid a literal and figurative deluge of water and climate crises – you are helping farmers adapt to both drought and flood through sustainable practices; you are supporting the communities most vulnerable to threats to water resources; and you are telling these stories through enterprising, independent journalism. As my friend José Andrés has so eloquently said, “Water is at both the heart of the suffering and the solution.”
Every day, but especially in this season of gratitude, you give us hope. You inspire us to be better. You make the difference.
In Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta, you are imagining a better way to live by designing affordable, diverse neighborhoods that bring people together; you are preparing the next generation to become who they aim to be; and making sure that no matter your background – you have the opportunity to find success.
And as children in K-12 schools across the country continue to ride a wave of academic and emotional upheaval, you are mobilizing community voice and action; inspiring children to learn in imaginative new ways; and redesigning an education future that works for everyone.
Every day, but especially in this season of gratitude, you give us hope. You inspire us to be better. You make the difference. From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of every member of our team at the Walton Family Foundation – thank you.
