Yep. My thoughts for today. A very interesting day, to say the least!
I just want to say something about volunteers. For non-profit organizations, our volunteers, our advocates, mentors, whatever title they may encompass, are the CORE of our organizations. Without them, even if we had an excessive amount of donations, we could not do the work we do. We could not meet our missions as they have been set forth. Our volunteers in non-profit are AWESOME!!
I want to encourage everyone to take some time to thank those around you (and yourself if you do too) who volunteer of their time and efforts to help make a difference in our world! Volunteering is most usually a selfless act that is worthy of so much praise and recognition.
I am reminded of the story of the poor woman in the Bible. The Pharisee, who preceded her, gave a prayer and offering and made a spectacle of their outstanding gifts and prayed the most ornate and magnanimous prayer. She followed humbly after with only a few coins and a soft spoken token of her thanks. She gave all that she could give. The Pharisee gave to be seen.
I am so thankful that the volunteers who give of their time to our agencies are like the poor woman. I am not saying they are poor, by any means. I am saying they are giving all which they can give. They are giving of themselves. Frankly, if our volunteers give of their time, that is plenty for me. They excel at it and should be recognized for that. If they are able to give monetarily as well, that is also so wonderful. But we should never let it be about money over the volunteerism.
I guess where I am going here, is that we need to recognize our donors AND our volunteers (who are donors as well). They are all donors, but we should very much recognize those who give of their time equal to those who give of their money. It is a hard, hard thing to do if you try to combine them together and compare the gifts. This is why we have times where we recognize our volunteers for that awesome and priceless contribution: volunteering. And, why, when we recognize our monetary donors, we recognize them for those contributions.
Basically...what I am saying is there is one goal in our volunteers and our donors hearts. The mission of our organization. We recognize them for their excellent gifts they selflessly give to us and those who we serve.
Thank you to our volunteers who give all that they can.
Thank you to our donors who give with their hearts what is laid on them to give.
There is no point in trying to compare who is more important between our volunteers and donors. THEY are our lifeblood. THEY are non-profit. THEY are our past, our present, and our futures. We thank them all. We need to thank them everyday. Without them, we are like a Porsche without an engine; nice to look at but going nowhere.
Thank you all for being our engines. We couldn't do it without you.
Personally, for today, I thank everyone in my life who has contributed to allowing me to grow and make a difference in the world around me. I was honored today to find out I was selected for the Springfield Business Journal's 40 Under 40. This is very humbling and brings me tears of gratitude. Without my community, my family, my friends, my teachers, my peers, my history...I would not be able to even consider such an honor. I think that Hillary Clinton put it best in the title of her book (which does not mean that I necessarily agree with the entire book...just commenting on the title right now), "It Takes a Village." I am very thankful for my village. This honor is not about me, but it is a reflection of those around me who have truly made a difference in my life. I know that to be true and thank YOU so much for allowing my reflection of you to be one of this year's 40 Under 40.
Peace
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