It was the most perfect late June day—cloudless blue sky, no humidity, ideal temperature—as we made our way to Cape Cod for our 2016 Peale Family Reunion.
This annual reunion is something we anticipate with great excitement. For 20 years, our family has gathered together in various parts of our country. We explore, catch up and have fun.
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We also conduct our Peale Foundation Annual Meeting. The mission of the Foundation is as follows:
The philosophy of the Peale Foundation derives from its founder, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, whose life and ministry outline its goals.
In his lifetime, Norman Vincent Peale and his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale, founded, promoted, and supported organizations that emphasized the development of a positive attitude towards all aspects of life, and a spiritual faith that fosters change and growth.
It is the purpose of the Peale Foundation to continue to support the causes and organizations that emphasize and carry forward the message of Norman Vincent Peale, and to support causes and organizations that express, promote, and are consistent with the values, beliefs and ideals of Norman Vincent Peale.
Our family is humbled and honored to fulfill this mission through our Peale Foundation work. We are also deeply appreciative of the time we have together as a family at each reunion. Grandma and Grandpa were big proponents of memory-making as a family, and I can assure you we are carrying on that legacy with gusto!
This year’s reunion started off with a service project. As many members of our family as possible (ranging in age from 7 to 82) gathered at The Family Pantry of Cape Cod in Harwich, Massachusetts.
We sorted through bags upon bags of generously donated clothes, discerning which ones were up to standard to be made available to families in need and which ones were best suited for recycling venues.
We were expertly guided by those who serve and volunteer for The Family Pantry. They were kind and thoughtful, as well as patient with our family’s humor and personalities!
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They told us that this big project of clothing-sorting had been on their to-do list for a long time as they never quite had the number of people gathered to accomplish it. They expressed their gratitude that we’d reached out to them offering to help with anything they might need.
What was very clear to our family as we sorted, and as we later reflected upon the experience, was how grateful we were for the opportunity to help through this hands-on work, with a sharp focus on the mission of the Peale Foundation—“to support causes and organizations that express, promote and are consistent with the values, beliefs and ideals of Norman Vincent Peale.”
The Family Pantry of Cape Cod surely fits this purpose beautifully. It was a win/win for all.
