“We have a weight to carry
and a distance we must go.
We have a weight to carry,
a destination we can’t know.
We have a weight to carry
and can put it down nowhere.
We are the weight we carry
from there to here to there.”
Book of Counted Sorrows
As this year bends toward winter, and the light turns thin and gold, I have been thinking about the quiet ways we CARRY one another. Through generosity, we can lift the weight of a day (or a lifetime) from another’s shoulders. In the end, it is this steady exchange of care, this willingness to CARRY and be carried, that keeps the world turning toward hope.
This month, we have chosen six organizations with which we have personal experience, and they depend on this shared strength. *None of these mentions are sponsored, and we are writing this from a place of support and pure admiration for the selfless work these organizations do every day to make the world a better place to live.
When we first met the founders and volunteers of Nā Kama Kai while living on the North Shore of Oʻahu, we were struck by the depth of their approach. They invite young people to meet the ocean as a teacher, guiding them toward respect, balance, and understanding. That day, surrounded by world-class watermen and women who listened as intently as they taught, we witnessed what true stewardship looks like: a seamless exchange between respect, skill, and humility. Nā Kama Kai carries forward the living culture of Hawaiʻi by cultivating courage, generosity, and reciprocity in the next generation.
Our kids spent countless hours at GZ Radio, housed in The Vera Project, an all-ages nonprofit space dedicated to fostering personal and community transformation through collaborative, youth-driven engagement. From conducting interviews to managing sound and lighting for local events, cultural festivals, and field trips, they found meaning and discovered their unique gifts and perspectives. GZ Radio carries a powerful mission: connecting local communities, amplifying youth voices, and inspiring new leaders through career-connected learning programs. Their motto is listen to be heard. You can support this work by donating or engaging with their youth-led initiatives, helping to carry opportunity and empowerment forward.
We have known the founder of Roam the Range since our kids were in elementary school together, and we have watched her align her many talents with her tireless dedication to the equine rescue community. Through both fundraising and the proceeds from her stunning photography and product line, Roam the Range carries a commitment to giving vulnerable animals a second chance, while inspiring others to act with compassion. You can join this mission by shopping the collection or making a donation, which helps both the horses and the heroes who care for them.
Rotary International carries a vision that transforms lives across generations. I first experienced this at sixteen, when the Youth Exchange Program allowed me to live in a foreign country for a year that changed the course of my life. I learned the value of service, community, and diverse cultural perspectives in ways that are an intimate part of why we are a nomadic family now passionate about travel, all of these years later. That same spirit now thrives in clubs around the world, nurturing young people to step into leadership, empathy, and understanding. You can carry this mission forward by donating and helping others discover the courage and possibility that comes when we lift one another.
As a nomadic family, libraries have carried us across continents, anchoring us when everything else was in motion. From Seattle to Slovenia and Dublin’s marble halls to bright community spaces of New Zealand, each library has offered the same quiet promise: you are welcome here. Libraries have been our classroom, our refuge, and our connection to community wherever we’ve landed. Supporting the American Library Association, especially with the recent funding cuts, means carrying that welcome forward to ensure that every person, in every place, has access to knowledge, belonging, and the infinite possibility that begins when you open a book.
The National Park Foundation carries forward a mission that feels especially urgent today: to protect and preserve the parks, trails, and historic sites that define our shared American landscape. From vast wilderness to historic city trails, these spaces invite us to pause, connect, and remember who we are in relation to the world around us. As threats to their protection grow, supporting this Foundation helps ensure that these places of wonder and awe remain open, resilient, and ready to galvanize the generations that follow to organize around their importance.
Why did we feature six organizations?
In Chinese culture, the number six (六, liù) is considered auspicious because it sounds like liú (流), meaning “to flow,” and is associated with things moving smoothly or progressing without obstacles. In the Hebrew and Christian creation story, six marks the day the world was completed before resting on the seventh, the Sabbath. In Indian philosophy, six reflects balance and wholeness. There are six classical schools of Hindu thought (ṣaḍ-darśanas), each offering a path toward understanding the harmony between body, mind, and spirit. In Japanese Buddhist teaching, the six realms of existence (rokudō) remind us of compassion and the interconnectedness of all life. In the natural world, bees build their homes in perfect six-sided symmetry, recognizing the strength in balance. And in mathematics, six is known as a perfect number, since 1 + 2 + 3 = 6, which has fed symbolic interpretations of completeness.
Across these traditions and forms, the number six reminds us that what we CARRY, our kindness, our attention, our willingness to give, creates a rhythm that keeps the world in motion. With every step, we learn that carrying is both a burden and a blessing, and always a way of moving through the world with open arms. What we give becomes part of a greater current, one that lightens the way for others and reminds us that to CARRY one another is the oldest and most enduring form of hope. To CARRY is to lift and to move, to bear and to bring… To bridge this state to a future state. It is the simple act that connects one moment to the next, one life to another. It is everything.
