Thankful for 2020

by Torin Dunnavant

December 8, 2020

Trees’ whole lives are recorded in their rings. Each ring represents a year of growth. Impactful events like fire and drought can be seen in the rings. As 2020 begins to set, we reflect upon the year. As with everyone, this has been a hard year for the Tree Foundation. We have lost staff, momentum, and had a lot of strain and struggle in dealing with the impacts of the pandemic. In addition to COVID, we have been closely listening the social justice movement to understand better how we can do more to advance equity as an organization.

Our scars from 2020 will be visible for many years to come, easily seen in comparison to the rings of other years. Through this year we have grown our resilience, and we are a smarter organization for having lived through it. Much of our resilience comes from you, our supporters. Despite the hardship, we are uplifted by the positivity we’ve received from the community. The outpouring of love for Ray as he retires, the continued effort of community leaders like Angel Ball in Rancho Cordova, our constant champions supporting us in every way at SMUD, and so much more.

We are thankful to our donors for continuing to give, to our volunteers for finding ways to participate, the many that have decided to plant trees this year. We are thankful for having gotten through 2020, and are very, very excited for things to come.