inMotion Magazine

November | December 2020 4 MESSAGE FROM THE As I write this, I am reflecting on 2020 and what an unexpected year it has been. Who could have imagined at this time last year, as we were enjoying the holidays with our loved ones and thinking about our hopes and dreams for the year 2020, that we’d be where we are today. In a world turned upside-down, we wanted this issue to have the theme of COMMUNITY because it’s one thing we saw that became invaluable throughout this year. Community. A sense of belonging. People who care about you and want good things for you. A port in the storm. People who are there for you. People who you’re there for. Knowing there’s someone you can rely on. Community isn’t dependent on geography or neighborhood boundaries. Communities bring together people from all around the world in a lot of different ways: in person, by telephone or email, greeting cards, social media, our peer support app, and coming together on the online platforms we’re all using now. We saw so many of you on our Facebook page, our Twitter timeline, and our LinkedIn and Instagram communities supporting one another and reaching out to help when someone asked for it. We saw new connections being made, and old friendships growing stronger. We have our family community, our work community, our worship community, our community of friends and colleagues, and we have our limb loss and limb difference community. We gather in community when we need strength and want to learn and grow and do more of what makes us happy. During 2020 at the Amputee Coalition, we felt that sense of urgency to serve our community in new ways when many in-person communities very suddenly had to be socially distant. We want to meet you where you are. • We pivoted our Advocacy Forum in April to be an online experience, which meant more people were able to attend, learn about the role government plays in the lives of people living with limb loss and limb difference, and reach out to their Members of Congress on the issues that matter. • Our youth camp this summer couldn’t meet in person because of COVID restrictions, and we got to witness the resilience of the kids and counselors in our community as they adapted to the camp experience online. • Our National Conference in August went fully online, and we experienced record‑breaking attendance from people living with limb loss and limb difference! Removing the barriers of travel and hotel costs, we got to introduce so many new people to one other so they could expand their own community. • We created and now host four online support group meetings every Thursday — that’s 16 a month — to fill the hole caused by the cancellation of many in-person support groups across the U.S. Our mission is to reach out to and empower people affected by limb loss to achieve their full potential through education, support and advocacy, and to promote limb loss prevention. As the only national nonprofit serving the limb loss and limb difference community, we are focused on you. We are here for you. We have the resources, information, and programs that can help you live the life you want to live. Nonprofits conduct their biggest fundraising push of the year in November and December. As we talk to our corporate and foundation donors and sponsors, and reach out to our individual donors, we share our successes. We communicate about our programs that serve people living with limb loss and limb difference. This year, I think one of the biggest successes we’ve had is that we were the only national organization that helped people living with limb loss and limb difference build, grow, and strengthen their communities.