As we look forward to giving thanks this week, albeit in altered venues with fewer people around our tables, we think about those in our land of plenty who are homeless, hungry, jobless, and without adequate health care. Administrators of nonprofit agencies advise that the best donations are financial rather than of goods, so that they may be used where most needed…

With less than a week until Election Day, our message this week is simple. Be a pest. Remind everyone you know to vote for candidates who support positions they believe in. For us, this means voting for local, state, and national candidates who are committed to access for all to quality education, health care, food, and housing; to sensible gun control laws and humane immigration laws; to reproductive rights for women; and to protecting and restoring the environment…

Two years ago, a group of students from RAW Art Works , a wonderful program for underserved youth in Lynn, created an installation entitled “Seat at the Table.” It honored Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the US Congress and the first Black major-party candidate to run for President of the United States. Chisholm famously said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."

There are fewer than 60 days until the November 3 presidential election. We who reside in Massachusetts don’t live in a battleground state but we can still support the work of getting out the vote, particularly in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.