"Once a group of people were traveling in a boat.

One passenger took out a drill and began drilling a hole under his seat.

The other passengers, quite understandably,

complained  that this action might cause the boat sink.

'Why should this bother you?' this man responded,

 'I am only drilling under my own seat.'

The others retorted, 'But the water will rise up and flood the ship for all of us!'"

                               Vayikra Rabbah 4:6

   The moral of this story is clear: one person's destructive action may literally drown 

   the entire community. But we might add that the inverse is true: a single positive

   change may transform an entire community. Thus, the alleviation of poverty, even

   in the smallest detail, may help the community as a whole to flourish.

   Did you know that ...

   Children in ethnic minority groups are at much greater risk of living in poverty

   than White children. Between 2009 and 2011, about one in three Native

   American (39%), Black (38%), and Hispanic (37%) children in Rhode Island

   lived in poverty, compared to 24% of Asian children and 13% of White children.

                           Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition ... Fighting Poverty with Faith