18:22 Jan 05 2012
Times Read: 693
After Hurricane Katrina left our Center a flooded, roofless, moldy mess, the stress left the former director burned out and sadly needing to find time to relax. She resigned and the Board of directors went through a grueling search for a new director. At that time, I was on staff as a Program Coordinator.
I LOVED my job. I worked with the volunteers as we interviewed hurting people to see how we could help...food, clothing, shelter, utilities, prescriptions, transportation, and more. We organized home visits. I was on the front line. I put my name in the hat for Director on the very last day. I wasn't sure I wanted it. After the many interviews, I received the offer and accepted.
These past 5 years have been a whirlwind. We have made so many amazing changes, and have grown up and stepped into the world of Development Planning. We are building relationships with businesses, organizations, and families. We have a new Partnership Plan, a new Student Sponsorship Program, and I have more ideas for how the Center can serve our community.
What keeps blowing my mind is this: We are 100% reliant upon donations.
What blows my mind again is this: The funds keep coming in. It's happening. We're doing it! With God's grace, we even get to EXPAND our services next year by THIRTY-SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! Those are not government dollars...not even one of them. They are dollars that real people pulled from their own pockets, sharing from their own family resources, and handed to us, trusting us enough to apply every cent to those who have so little.
A year-end event we have annually netted us $4,500 last year...a new high! I opened the check from this year and it was $10,500. All for the food bank. We're looking now to see if we can purchase a walk-in refrigerator. You can't even imaging how much this can change our lives. It means FRESH FOOD for the poor and for people with health concerns and special diets!
On Tuesday, the Assistant director and I had a stack of envelopes on our desks that I cannot describe. We double-teamed them...just opening one after another. One was a large envelope with a bunch of smaller envelopes inside from a church which hung our Center on their Christmas Angel Tree. We were squealing...actually squealing and then just quiet as the emotions rose and rose until we were both sniffling and trying to hold it together.
There were lots of $20s and $50s. There were $100s. There was a $4,000. There were two $900s. There was one from a retired man for $1000 along with a form from the company to apply for matching funds from their retirees and employees. Then we opened PayPal.
In there, we found several donations and one great surprise... a thousand dollar donation from a VR Member. I can never, even with my beloved words, convey what generosity means to a small organization like ours...from the humblest gift to the overflowing cup...lives will be changed, spirits will be uplifted, and hearts will be healed because love like this...selflessness like this is powerful. It cannot be given in vain. Its impact on givers and receivers grows exponentially.
In total, we received over $14,000 - the most we have ever received in a single day...more than we made on our fundraising Gala last year! A staggering figure for a small ministry like ours!
One of those received checks was for $200. It was accompanied by a small card that read, "Dear ladies and gentlemen of the _______ Center, This donation is to thank you for helping my husband and I earlier this year when he lost his eyesight and was not able to work.
Since then, God has blessed us in many ways and this is our way of sharing His gifts with others who need help.
Sincerely, _______________"
Now I know that when I post things like this, I will get some comments that talk about me. I want to be clear about this...this is not about me. This is about YOU. You did this...some of you donated here. Some of you donated elsewhere...maybe just clothes or a few dollars. If that organization hasn't explained the impact of that donation to you, hasn't expressed their genuine gratitude, shame on them. Allow me to do it for them.
It matters. You matter. Your prayers matter. Every time you are generous, every time you are selfless, it is the beginning of a story whose ending you may never read, but know this...you make forever differences each and every time.
Genuinely and with the most joyful heart you could ever picture, Thank you! It has been a whirlwind in these years, sometimes scary facing challenges and board meetings, but what an incredible and exhilarating ride! My faith has grown, not only in God...but in people.
COMMENTS
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BLOODLIFE
21:20 Jan 27 2012
A prayer that your message box gets full of hope.