Inside Running a Non Profit

Lost and Found

2012-02-07T23:16:00.000-05:00

Well, today got off to a bit of a rocky start. I woke up during the night thinking that I hadn't seen the screws that go into my backdrop's stand. Now, without these screws, the backdrop can't be set up and the backdrop is being debuted this Thursday at our shoe club event. I went back to sleep and woke up in the morning thinking about it. Fast forward almost an hour later and I was still looking for the screws. The stand costs $125, so it is not an easy thing to replace. In between looking, I made myself a cup of tea, trying to ward off the panic that was setting in. (I'm originally British- and the Brits believe in having a cup of tea even if your house is on fire) I called Staples to find out about getting replacement screws- Donna- the manager I always work with was very nice, but they didn't have the stand in stock. She recommended going to Home Depot and getting some screws that could be used temporarily. I stared out into space and felt like a moron. I decided to look on the couch again- the backdrop is rolled up and resting on the back of the couch, and there- underneath one of the pillows, were the screws. Oh, the relief! I don't even know if I had a dream about the screws- I just woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it. I'm glad I did though, because I would have been freaking out if it was Thursday morning and I was running around looking for my screws.

The rest of the day continued rather slowly- things that should not take that long to accomplish took a rather long time. I did a grant for a large foundation which usually makes an annual donation. The grant is very simple, it is for funding for the same program every year. I got hung up on some of the questions and it seemed to take forever to finish. I don't know why it seemed so complicated. The good news is that I finally got it done and submitted.

So what else is going on? Tomorrow, I'm dropping off coloring books/crayons and reading books to Bolyston PD. We did another donation to Leicester PD last week and a Worcester shelter. Leicester PD sent us a really nice thank you letter. I should scan it in and put it on our website.

In other news, another in-kind sponsor is back on board to help promote the Date Auction. So far, we've been lining up the same marketing as we usually do. I need to get back to work on sponsorship outreach and getting gift certificates donated for the couples to use. I've already started working on getting donations for our Anniversary Celebration silent auction. It is never too early to start. It may only be February, but the months fly by.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. There is lots more to write about- now that I'm another year older, I've become so much more enlightened and now have lots of insight to share (not exactly, but it sounds good). I'm off to read, write my list and head to bed. I might have my usual grapefruit- I ate late, so not sure if I'm feeling grapefruit tonight. Until tomorrow friends...

Good Days

2012-01-31T23:42:00.002-05:00

Our Project Smile/Smiling Stiletto back drop is now no longer a dream- I picked it up today at Staples! It looks beautiful- the design is perfect and the print job is perfect. It is so big, it takes two people to set it up- it is 8ft x 8ft., it needs to be that size though so it looks good in photos and people don't have to cram into the picture. We set it up at Staples and I learned how to do it myself. I wanted to sit and just stare at it for ages, which is pretty had to do when you're standing in the middle of the Staples print center in front of a massive 8ft. backdrop. It is amazing to think that it was only a year ago that I took over the shoe club and how perfectly it fits into Project Smile and helps Project Smile grow as well.

Here is a photo from today. I have known Donna (she's in the photo with me), the manager at the Watertown Staples since she helped get my very first PS business cards printed. She is so helpful and pleasant to work with that I go to her when I have important jobs to do instead of my local Staples. She was really happy with the back drop too.

In other good news, I reached out yesterday to one of our Date Auction sponsors and they are back on board to sponsor and they have actually increased their sponsorship to the platinum level! Needless to say, I was extremely happy about that. It is always a pleasure to work with this company and it's awesome that they have increased their sponsorship. This puts me almost half way to our sponsorship goal which is excellent, especially since we have 8 months until the big night. I've been working on applying for our airline ticket donations already too. One of our big media sponsors is back on board for a sponsorship trade for the Date Auction too. Things are moving along well on that front.

Tomorrow, I will be turning 32 and that of course makes me feel a little reflective. It's crazy to think how fast things have moved over the years. All I can say is that I'm in a good place and in the end, that's all that matters. There are always things that could be better, but the brightness in my life is so much stronger than the stressful things. I've grown a lot over the years and Project Smile has grown with me. I've met a lot of people over the years- a lot who were wonderful and helpful and of course, many who were not. The best thing is that the unhelpful people fade away and when I look back, I remember all the good things and great people that I've met and I am so grateful for that. Our time here is so fleeting, the only way to live is to hold onto the good things. So on that note, tomorrow I will celebrate my first day as a 32 year old woman- things keep getting better every year, so I am excited for all the good things that are going to happen.

Now, I'm off to eat some chocolate (an early birthday celebration) and perhaps my grapefruit- I'm not sure if that goes with chocolate. Ah, the hard decisions I have to make! Until next time friends...

Updates

2012-01-27T00:32:00.002-05:00

So what happened today? I had to take some time today to do some of my volunteer work- I work as a court appointed special advocate for a child who is under the care of DCF. I went to visit the child at her daycare center today. I love doing the work- it is interesting and I feel like I can hopefully make a difference in this little girl's life. She lives locally which is good, so I don't have to travel very far. It isn't a ton of time that I have to spend, but it did take time away from getting my own work done today.

Tonight, I spoke to the Franklin Rotary Club to update them on Project Smile. They have been making an annual $250 donation for the past 4 years and I usually visit every year to say thank you and update them on how things are going. I also bring some of our calendars to give away to the members. It is so nice how much the members like our calendar! I really enjoyed speaking to the Club- they are very friendly and I felt like I was pulling off their energy when I spoke. I love speaking about PS and tonight I felt really on my game when I spoke. It is always good to talk about PS, but some times certain speeches go better than others. I was seated next to three local bankers for dinner and they were encouraging me to apply for their bank's charitable foundation grant. It seems like we would be the perfect fit for what they like to fund, so I'm definitely going to apply. It is so important to keep getting out and attending social and networking events, you really never know who you are going to meet. I don't have a marketing team, so I need to make sure that I'm getting out there and reaching people.

Here is a photo from Monday's donation to the Dept. of Children and Families. We donated over 350 stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons for kids entering foster care. We had to do the photo outside because there is nowhere to park legally to unload. I have to park in a bus stop and wait for the ladies to come down and help unload.

Well, there is more to blog about, but I'm getting tired and need to sleep. I won't say that I'm going to bed early because I told myself that last night and didn't go to bed until 2am. My grapefruit is cut and sitting right next to me, so I'm off to enjoy that and write my list for tomorrow- except, I can't remember what actually needs go on the list! Until next time friends... (I promise to be more exciting in my blogging adventures)

Latest and Greatest

2012-01-24T23:44:00.001-05:00

So what's the latest? Nothing! Well, that's not true. Things are moving along steadily- although, the days seem to move very quickly and I don't get everything done- that is hardly anything new. I had quite a few things that I was going to get done tonight, I did a couple, but didn't get to grant writing or doing our newsletter. Grant writing requires a lot of energy and I'm too tired tonight to work on it. I just submitted our website scrolling updates about a half hour ago and I already got an automated email from the web host letting me know that the updates had been done. That was an amazingly fast turn around. They usually do things promptly, but never within a half hour. It is so important to keep websites updated. There really is little worse than looking at sites that have outdated info on it, it looks so unprofessional. There are some other changes that I'd like to do on our site, but I make it a priority to keep the info and photos as fresh as possible.

I had a meeting with Copley Place on Monday for the fashion show fundraiser that we're doing on April 19 with the Smiling Stiletto Shoe Club that I run. The meeting went well- things are looking good for the event. The DJ who did our fall event just signed on to perform at our spring show, so that is one more thing taken care of.

In other news- I narrowed down the image for our Anniversary Celebration to two choices- one is very similar to last year's image (a single birthday teddy bear) and the other one has 4 small bears in a row each holding a white sign that spells out: Happy 9th Anniversary Project Smile. It took me a very long time to select two images- there are about a million Istock images with teddy bears, but very few that fit into our event. I think that I'm going to go with the 4 bears image. The other one is brighter and a great image, but it is too close to last year's look- I need to mix things up and keep it fresh. I'm going to talk with Lisa and see if she can play with the colors a bit more and brighten this image a little. It may sound trivial to spend so much time on an image, but these little details are so important. You have to send the right message with the image and you want something that is going to help get people in the door. I love the new image for the date auction- so glad that is all set. You can go on our events page now and check it out- the details for this year's event are already up, along with the new sponsor packet- www.projectsmile.org/events.htm

Tomorrow, I'm meeting with Nancy at California Closets- they host our Smiling Stiletto ladies night and opportunity drawing to benefit Project Smile. They donated a $2,500 gift certificate last year which was so generous. I'm working on getting more vendors involved for that event so we can bring in even more. It is the month after the fashion show, so we will be riding the good buzz from that event which should help increase attendance at this event even more.

Here is a photo from our donation last week to Boston PD- we donated over 300 stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons. Boston is a very large department, so we now donate to them every other month. Yesterday, I did another donation to the Dept. of Children and Families- I have a photo from that donation that I'll add soon. There are so many other departments that I need to follow up. I wish that I had an intern that could help with that- it really would make a difference.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to eat my grapefruit- I stocked up at Market Basket today. I don't know how much longer the grapefruit season lasts- I feel like it's coming to an end soon and then I'll have to switch to munching on crackers and cheese (just kidding- trying to keep it healthy and avoid late night eating unless it's fruit). Until tomorrow friends...

Events Underway

2012-01-19T00:25:00.000-05:00

Well, I almost didn't blog tonight- I'm actually trying to get to bed early (I fail miserably at those attempts), so I was going to skip blogging. I felt guilty because I haven't blogged this week and I didn't want to disappoint the thousands of people who faithfully read my fascinating posts over their morning coffee (OK, I may not exactly have thousands of readers). I also enjoy blogging- it a nice way to unwind and actually think back on what happened during the day.

I've been doing a lot of work getting things set up for our upcoming big events. I hate working under pressure, so I really make a huge effort to get things done as early as possible. It is much easier to get things done now instead of scrambling when you really need things. Our date auction sponsor pack is done along with the new flier recruiting singles to be auctioned. I submitted the updates to our web host, so the new info should be on our site in a couple of days. I'm also going to get our Anniversary Celebration info all ready to go. It worked out perfectly having the sponsor packet already done because I was at a social event last night in Boston and met a representative from a huge company that would be a perfect fit as a sponsor for our date auction. We chatted at the event and I emailed her the info today. The packet just got finalized yesterday, so I was so happy that I didn't have to rush home and send Lisa an emergency email to get the updates done. I've also reached out to some other vendors who were at last year's event to invite them back. I also started working on getting gift certificates and auction items donated.

Our Step into Spring fashion show at Copley is shaping up to be awesome. Finale just came on board to provide desserts for the guests! Along with the other vendors that already committed, we have a brewery which is close to committing and Michelle, our board member, who launched a cupcake business will be doing her delicious cupcakes again. Copley handles getting all the stores involved and coordinating the models. I wrote the email tonight recruiting models from our Smiling Stiletto shoe club members. It will go out in the morning. I'm really excited for this event.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Boston Police to do another donation of stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons. I scheduled another donation to DCF for Monday. Hopefully, I'll get to do a photo from tomorrow's donation.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to eat my grapefruit and write my list- the only problem is that I'm tired and I can't think of what needs to go on tomorrow's list besides donating to Boston PD and picking up more PS boxes. There is definitely more that needs to be accomplished. Until tomorrow friends...

Thursday's Findings

2012-01-13T00:46:00.001-05:00

So what happened today? Nothing! Well, that's not true. Things are moving along. We had our donation of over 200 stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons to Worcester PD. We've been working with Worcester PD since Project Smile first started.

Bulldog Gin is the official hard liquor sponsor for our upcoming spring fashion show. I also connected with a local brewery which is really interested in being involved with the event too. I've been reaching out to wine companies as well, I don't have any commitments yet for that. I think it would be great to offer guests complimentary cocktail, wine and beer. I also reached out to a dessert company today. Christine is going to help get a chocolate vendor. Popchips are coming to the event as well to give samples of their awesome chips. I really want the event to have a great selection of food/drinks. We had great buzz going from the fall event, so we need to keep kicking it up.

Our backdrop is heading to the printer most likely tomorrow. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to see it. I hope we got the sizing of the logos right- the back drop is 8ft x 8ft and I'm working from an 8.5 x 11 page when I see the proof. It only takes ten days, so we will have it in plenty of time for our Feb. 9 Smiling Stiletto event.

It turns out that the grant I thought was due on January 31 isn't due until April 30, so that gives me plenty of time. I want to get it submitted this month. It isn't very complicated and there is no reason to delay. I wanted to work on it today, but I spent a lot more time reaching out to event vendors that I originally intended. It takes a lot of time to research vendors, contact them, fill out forms, etc.

I chose the new image for our Date Auction event flier/marketing- I spent well over an hour the other night browsing through Istock images. There are thousands of images to choose from, but it was really hard to choose the right image. There is so much that goes into it- the right age of the people in the image, the right look- not too sexy, not too boring, not a dancing image (there were a ton of those), the right background, not too romantic, something that would appeal to men and women- fun, engaging. We usually do an image of a couple, but the one I choose is a small group image with very good looking (but not overly good looking guys/girls). Lisa, our designer, gets the image and formats it into the event flier. It should be on our website next week.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to bed- I haven't gone food shopping, so I don't have any grapefruits! I did have a couple of clementines, but they were kind of dry and not so great. I watched Moneyball tonight with Brad Pitt and loved it. I definitely recommend it. Until next time friends...

Polly Progress

2012-01-10T22:41:00.001-05:00

Well, Polly Progress is off to a good start this year. I've started work on our date auction and our spring fashion show. We already have a special guest for the fashion show which is exciting and we're lining up a liquor sponsor. I'm having a back drop made which will have the PS and Smiling Stiletto logos on them. We will use the back drop at our events throughout the year. Guests get to stop in front of the back drop and have their photo taken- just like a red carpet event! It is a very good marketing tool and it really adds to our events.

I've been working with Staples on the back drop, but was having trouble with getting a proper design for it. The two logos are very different and it can be hard to get them to coexist in a way that looks attractive. Monday night, I had a dream and in the dream, I saw our back-drop. It looked beautiful. I woke up in the morning and knew exactly how it should look. We went through a couple of more proofs and this afternoon, we got the alignment perfect- it looks just like it did in my dream. This isn't the first time that my dreams have brought clarity to an issue. Sometimes, before big events, I'll have a dream about the event and I can see any issues or things that I need to take care of.

I went to a networking event in Attleboro. I haven't been to one of this group's networking nights in a while. It is a group that I've made a lot of great contacts at. I was tired and didn't feel like going out, but I had committed to going, so I pushed myself out the door. I ended up winning the raffle prize which was great and I made some connections and saw people that I hadn't seen in a while. In the end, I was really glad that I went. It is so important to attend the events that you sign up and really commit to networking. You never know when you're going to make the connections that matter.

Tomorrow, I'm doing another donation to Worcester PD. I also need to get our sponsor packet updates over to Lisa so we can get our new date auction and anniversary celebration packets together and start recruiting sponsors. I also have to go through I-Stock and choose our new image for the date auction marketing. I want to get the new image on our site soon. It seems like it should be a quick thing to choose a new image, but it actually takes a while. I have a meeting to attend tomorrow for some volunteer work that I'm doing, so I was planning to get those things done tonight, but now I'm getting tired.

I also have a grant to work on that I haven't even started- it's due by the end of the month. Ah, so many things to work on! On that note, I'm off to eat my grapefruit- I need to go shopping for some more grapefruits. Until tomorrow friends...

Year in Review

2012-01-04T22:21:00.005-05:00

Happy 2012! I know that we are now 4 days into the new year, so I'm pretty late on my annual year in review, but here it goes:

The biggest highlights of 2011 were the Date Auction and our Anniversary Celebration. The Date Auction raised a record amount of money and had fabulous attendance and great feedback- bonus: we got a ton of great photos and even a little video from the event. The Anniversary Celebration was also a success. I worked really hard on both of those events, it is so exhilarating when they turn out well.

Another big highlight was taking over the Shoe Club and rebranding it to Smiling Stiletto and having it help raise funds and awareness for Project Smile. The Fall into Fashion show was a great event- Christine, a shoe club member, did most of the work and everyone loved it. I'm really looking forward to our spring and fall shows this year.

Working with our police and fire departments, along with shelters and DCF is always a highlight. It is the whole point of why Project Smile exists and it always makes me happy when we do our donations. Thanks to the support from the Milford National Bank, we were able to do some special donations of stuffed animals to local nursing homes right before Christmas. That was definitely a highlight for me.

The grants that we received from the TJX Foundation, DCU, Brown Foundation and 200 Foundation were all highlights.

One of my goals at the start of 2011 was to do more networking. In January, I joined the Women's Success Network and the fall, I became their ambassador coordinator. It has been a very positive experience and a great networking opportunity. I particularly like being on the board, it's always a good thing to be more involved.

One of the biggest highlights came just last week with the $10,000 surprise grant! It ended the year on the best possible note and has really made me excited for all the good things to come this year. My last highlight of the year is the people that help us. We wouldn't be here for the generous people that support our work and help us grow.

Of course there were low lights- the year itself started off on a personal low light, but in the end it was another great year, so there's not much point in remembering the low light. There will always be difficult people, rude people and unresponsive/unhelpful people- but those aren't the ones that there is any reason to remember. They fade into the black hole of the forgotten. Instead, when I look back at 2011, I remember all the good things and great people that kept our upswing going and propelled us into a positive start for 2012. Thank you!

On that note, I'm off to eat my grapefruit, write my list for tomorrow and head to bed. Until tomorrow friends...

10,000 Reasons to Smile

2011-12-29T00:38:00.000-05:00

Well folks, I have some amazing news to share- yesterday, we received a $10,000 grant! Even more amazing is the fact that it was an unsolicited grant from the anonymous fund associated with a particular foundation. I've been having a bit of a vacation this week and only doing a little work. I breezed into the post office yesterday, not particularly interested in actually picking up the mail- my primary focus was to return my netflix movie. I opened my mailbox and flipped through the mail as I was walking out. I saw the envelope and could tell it was a check. My first thought was, "wouldn't it be nice if this was a check for $10,000." I didn't really think it was a check for that much- I wasn't waiting for any grants and $10,000 checks don't exactly fall into my lap. I got into my car and opened the envelope- I peered in to see the dollar amount and there it was- $10,000. I squinted to make sure I wasn't imagining it, then I took it out of the envelope to stare at it some more. It took a few minutes to sink in that I was actually getting that large a donation. Within the hour, I deposited it in the bank.

The last time we received a $10,000 grant was in 2005 when we were the recipients of the Mass Bankers Charitable Foundation grant. The Milford National Bank had nominated us for the grant based partly on our donation for the children who were victims of Hurricane Katrina. That grant was revolutionary for us- if I had to pick one moment in our last 8 years that has been the most important, it was that $10,000 donation. At the time, we were barely hanging on financially. That donation put us on the path to a decent financial footing and we grew steadily. I've never received another $10,000 grant until yesterday.

This grant means so much to us. I don't know how the foundation heard about Project Smile or who the anonymous donors were, but if you happen to be reading this blog- thank you. Thank you so much for sharing the dream. I work very hard for every penny that we receive and the fundraising pressure is unrelenting. We don't get huge donations. In order for me to raise $10,000, it's an event that takes 9 months to plan or a bunch of grants that require extensive work. There is so much more that I want Project Smile to accomplish, but the financing is a major constraint.

Even beyond the dollar amount which is fantastic- is the knowledge that someone who I don't know believes in us enough to make that commitment. I usually have to go out and convince other people to donate and support our mission, but here is someone (or a group of people) that is already touched by what we do and I didn't have to say a word. That is such a beautiful thing. And to all the other people that donate and support our work, thank you- because you are all sharing in the dream as well.

I could go on about how delighted I am about this $10,000 donation, but I'm going to go and eat some crackers and cheese. I was going to have a grapefruit, but cheese is calling my name. Until next time friends...

Latest Happenings

2011-12-22T00:25:00.000-05:00

We are rolling along with our special holiday donations of stuffed animals to the residents of nursing homes. I did three donations today to homes in Holliston, Franklin and Blackstone and another one yesterday. I usually speak with the activities director at the nursing homes- they are very happy to have our donations to give to the residents. One of the directors was saying to me how she was scrambling to get gifts together to for the residents to open on Christmas morning.

I walked into one nursing home today and ended up in the main activity room- the activities director was there and she introduced me to the room of residents and told them that they were getting gifts of stuffed animals. The residents that were there were so happy- it was really touching. Some of them called out goodbye to me as I left. I got in my car and started to driving to the next destination and kept thinking about how that is really what the holidays are all about- brightening peoples lives. It doesn't matter how big a gift is, it's the love and thought that's behind it. The stuffed animals are only small items, but when I went into that nursing home and saw how happy the residents were to get these little items, it was such a strong reminder of what really matters- how important it is to let people know that they are cared for. Even though I love the holidays, I get a little bummed at Christmas time because I don't have much money to spend on gifts for my family. I used to spend more and go over my budget, but these last few years I've really cut back and stuck to a budget. It is hard when you look at all the ads for cool items to buy as gifts and you think about what you would like to buy for the people you love, but in the end it's not what it's all about. Times are tight for so many people, so I know I'm not alone in this. Going into the nursing homes these past few days, particularly this one today when I got to interact briefly with the residents was a great reminder that even a small gift matters.

Tomorrow, I need to follow up with some more local nursing homes. I want to get as many donations done as possible before Christmas. I still need to work on my 2012 plans- I haven't done enough on that yet. I also need to order more address labels- I didn't realize that I had run out of our address sheets and had to actually print our return address on an envelope- so unprofessional looking! Anyways, I'm off to eat some more delicious tangerines. I'm usually not a huge tangerine fan, but these ones from Trader Joe's are little orange pieces of heaven! Until tomorrow friends...

Nursing Home Donations

2011-12-19T23:48:00.002-05:00

So what's the latest? Well, we are making some special holiday donations of stuffed animals for the residents of local nursing homes. I wrote to the Milford National Bank last month and asked for their support so that we could relaunch our Operation Elder Care program and make donations for the residents of nursing homes. They made a $500 donation which we just received. This morning, I called a nursing home in Ashland which we had donated to a couple of times when we were doing our elder care program a few years ago. They were very happy to have our donation- I dropped it off this afternoon. Tomorrow, I'm going to make more calls and hopefully we can get a lot more local donations done to the nursing homes before Christmas. It must be so sad to be old and in a nursing home, especially if you don't have family that comes to visit. The goal is for the stuffed animals is to bring cheer to an elder and let them know that people care.

Today, we also received a $500 donation from a Waltham based company. I had met one of their employees at an event and she so kindly offered to help get her company on board to make a donation. She contacted me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to send over an official donation request letter. It is so great when people reach out like that- I hadn't even asked for her help in getting a donation. I wish we had more people like her on board. It makes such a difference.

So what else is going on? Tomorrow, I also need to catch up on emails and work on my plans for 2012. My new year's resolution this year was to do more networking- that worked out really well. I want to take a bit of time and come up with one work related resolution for the coming year.

Well, that's the latest- I'm off to watch some more Jay Leno- his headlines segment is about to come on- it is my favorite part of the show. Then, I'm going to read some more of a book that I'm loving- it's a thriller called The Wreckage. My aunt sent it to my mom, but I absconded with it. Not sure if I feel like a grapefruit- I've already loaded up on cheese/crackers and tangerines tonight! Until tomorrow friends...

Monday Marvels

2011-12-13T00:07:00.001-05:00

Well, there were no marvels happening today, but I love that title. So what's the latest? Today was a fairly quiet day. I set up another donation to a Boston homeless shelter for Wednesday- we have donated to this family shelter a few times before. I submitted a revision of the web updates that I sent in last week- our web host did most of the updates that I needed, but asked me to clarify some of the other updates that I wanted.

We got a big donation of stuffed animals in today, so I had to spend some time sorting through them. It is amazing how many people have been donating stuffed animals lately- it is a lot more than usual. There have been a lot of nice items donated- two big boxes of books came in lately. Unfortunately, we also get a ton of stuffed animals donated that need to get thrown away. We only can distribute stuffed animals that are either new or like-new condition, but a lot of the time people donate old stuffed animals and/or ones that are dirty, etc. The guidelines are really clearly on our website, so I'm not sure why people donate items that we need to throw away. I think that maybe they get attached to the stuffed animals and don't see them for what they are. It gets a little frustrating because it is time consuming to sort the donations and then to have so many stuffed animals to get rid of is hard- we are limited in the amount of garbage we can put out every week.

I do have sad news to report. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you might remember the story of Maureen, the mom from Medfield who contacted me a couple of years ago about donating stuffed animals. Her daughter had organized a collection of stuffed animals, but sadly died from cystic fibrosis before she could make the donation. Her mom contacted us to complete her daughter's mission. It turns out that all three of Maureen's children suffered from cystic fibrosis and two had passed away. Maureen was one of the kindest women that I had met- to talk with her, you would have no idea she had dealt with the tragedy of losing two of her children. Her oldest son received a lung transplant and seemed to be doing well. He had been sick lately and sadly he died on Thursday. My heart goes out to Maureen and her family- that is a loss of unimaginable magnitude. I can't even begin to imagine. I cried when I heard the news. It seems that lately there has been so much loss happening- I know there always is, but things seem different. It is a reminder to spend time with our loved ones and enjoy the moments that we have- it is all so fleeting.

Well friends, that's all for tonight. I'm off to eat the other half of my grapefruit and watch one of my favorite shows which is waiting for me on the DVR- The Closer. I also need to write my list for tomorrow. I need to work on my 2012 plan and get more calendars sold- those are two of the top items on my list. Until tomorrow friends...

Busy Days and a Baby

2011-12-09T00:01:00.001-05:00

I haven't blogged in a week! So what's new? Well, things are moving along steadily. We did another donation of stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons this week to the Department of Children and Families for kids entering foster care. We got some wonderful donations recently- one big donation particularly from a family in CT that organized a drive for us. They collected a great assortment of items including large packs of crayons which we don't usually get donated and a great assortment of books. All the crayons went to DCF and a large number of their books were included in that donation too.

I was supposed to do another donation to Worcester PD today, but there was some very sad news from Worcester today- a fire fighter was killed in the line of duty. The police Lt. that I work with called me this morning to tell me and to reschedule the donation. I hadn't even heard the news yet. It is so sad when someone loses their life like that. My heart goes out to him and his family.

We were invited to apply for a grant from a Foundation which funds programs in the Metro West area. We don't get invited to apply for grants very often, so that was a welcome change. I completed the initial grant application and submitted it today. I'm not sure when I will hear from them again.

In good news- the couple that got married from our date auction welcomed their first baby- a little boy weighing six pounds was born on Monday! I am so happy for them. It is really wonderful to think that they met at our event 4 years ago and now a little baby has come into the world- it is pretty awesome!

Well, that's it for tonight. I'm getting tired and actually heading to bed early. Until next time friends...

Goodbye November

2011-11-30T23:49:00.001-05:00

It is the last day of November 2011- oh, it went so fast! Well, good news to report- we receive the invitation to the Foundation grant awards dinner along with an email that we will be receiving a $2,000 grant from the Foundation! I was so happy to get the email last night. That was the grant where I missed the deadline. Unfortunately, I can't make the dinner next week because I already committed to participating in another event. This grant matches their support last year. It is so important to have organizations which keep maintaining their support every year. We need a solid foundation of support that we can count on and keep building on.

Yesterday, we donated to the Boston Family Shelter again- we've donated stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons to them before. Donating to the shelters is one of my favorite things- it is so sad to think of the parents and children that are forced to live in shelters. It is virtually impossible to park legally at the shelter- it is on busy Mass Ave and the only parking is permit parking only, I had to park there to unload. I was carrying two boxes down the street and there was a group of people walking the other direction- one of the guys in the group stopped and offered to help carry the boxes. I said I was OK, but he wouldn't let me keep carrying them. He carried them down the street and into the building for me. It was so nice. He left, but I still had more boxes to unload. By the time I got back to my car, he was still on the street walking slowly with his friends. He saw me and helped carry the boxes again- even though it was totally the other direction that he was headed. It is so nice to have strangers help like that. The lady in the shelter offered him a container of orange juice as a thank you. Unfortunately, even though I was parked outside on the street for only ten minutes, but I ended up with a $40 parking ticket. Obviously, I shouldn't have parked in permit zone, but there was literally nowhere else to park, particularly when you're unloading boxes. There were plenty of empty spaces, so it wasn't like I was taking up a spot that a resident was waiting for. I think this was the first ticket that I've received while doing Project Smile work.

Here's a photo from our donation yesterday to the shelter.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. It is only 12:15, but I'm really tired. I went to bed a little earlier last night and it made a difference this morning. Tomorrow, among other things, I need to get to Family Dollar and buy more coloring books. I didn't get to stop there yesterday. Until tomorrow friends...

Latest and Greatest

2011-11-28T22:22:00.001-05:00

Well, I am happy to report that work can be quite delightful with a new computer. Even better, the computer only cost $150. It isn't actually a brand new computer, it is a few years old, but it has a much bigger hard drive and memory, the latest programs and all my info and photos that I need. It is so much faster it is rather amazing. Every day at around 4pm, my computer would start to get really slow- it was rather maddening. Now, I can blast through the day without waiting for the computer to catch up with everything that I'm trying to do.

So what else is going on besides my computer bliss? I was working on contacting more police departments and homeless shelters. I'm heading into Boston tomorrow to do another donation at a family shelter. We've donated there a couple of times before. I'm also dropping off more coloring books/books at Newton Police and dropping off calendars at Weston PD. I need to stop at a Family Dollar and load up on more coloring books. Tomorrow's donations will wipe out our supply of coloring books.

I haven't received an invitation for the foundation awards dinner which is happening soon. The awards dinner is for the Foundation that I interviewed with recently. When you get an invitation, that means you are getting funding. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will arrive this week. I need to work on more grant research this week as well. It was on my list for today, but I didn't get to it.

Well, that's it for tonight. I've had a headache on and off all day and should go to sleep early. It isn't even 11:30 yet. I've been holding off the urge to eat some cheese and crackers, but I think I'm going to have some now. Until tomorrow friends...

Goodbye Desktop

2011-11-22T00:15:00.001-05:00

Well, today was the day that I had to say goodbye to my faithful desktop of the last ten years. I've been using my HP desktop since before I started Project Smile- it's so old it still has a floppy disk drive. It crashed in 2005 and had the blue screen of death, but my computer miracle worker/doctor was able to bring it back for me with nothing lost. I bought a new screen for it about 4 years ago- one of the nice flat screens, but it has its original keyboard and speakers. It has been having issues recently. On Friday night, it booted me off the internet. I switched it off and left it for the weekend, vaguely hoping that somehow when I turned it on this morning, it would be forget its issue. It didn't. I worked from laptop which is networked to the desktop, so it didn't it wasn't a big problem. I called the Dick, the computer doctor and he came out tonight to look at it. He worked on it, but explained that it was best to get a new computer. He's going to get me a Dell tomorrow at a really good rate and transfer all the info over.

I know it's not exactly the most fascinating topic- the end of a computer, but I wanted to write about it because it worked so well over the years and with the exception of the crash 6 years ago, it has always been there when I needed it. So thank you trusty HP laptop from 2001 for ten years of work!

So what else is going on? Well, today was a catch up and organize day. I was cleaning up my office, catching up on emails, paying some bills and organizing things. In good news, I called AmEx to inquire about the status of the dispute from a recent event. One of the guests was disputing a charge. I submitted all the info to AmEx supporting why a refund was not due. I hadn't heard anything recently, so I called. AmEx had closed the case because the card holder retracted his claim for a refund. I don't know why he changed his mind- maybe he understood why he wasn't entitled to a refund. I was confident that we would win, but it is even better that he decided to change his mind.

Well, that's it for tonight. I'm off to eat the other half of my grapefruit. Hopefully, this time tomorrow, I will have been working on my new Dell. Until tomorrow friends...

Wednesday Happenings

2011-11-16T23:54:00.001-05:00

So what's the happening? Not a ton of news to report today. I was making a lot of phone calls, but didn't really get through to many people. I did speak with the Dept. of Children and Families to schedule our next donation. They are moving their Boston office on Thursday, so we're going to wait until they've settled into their next building- we're going to schedule it the week after Thanksgiving. DCF is my favorite donation- they work with so many children, I wish we could do a lot more.

I finally finished our November newsletter. I sent it over to Lisa our designer for her to format it and send it back to our web designer who will send it out for us. We used to be really good and send our newsletter out every month, but over the last year that has slipped. It has been quite a few months since our last newsletter. I don't know why I haven't done them- I think it's because I get wrapped up in other things and it falls down the priority scale and now, because I haven't done them in a while, I've been forgetting about them. I really need to change that. There is always news to report on and the newsletter is an important thing to do. I need to recommit to doing our monthly newsletter. It takes a little time, but it is definitely an important communication tool with our supporters.

Here is a nice photo from our donation last week to a Boston family homeless shelter. I actually got to give a stuffed animal to a little boy who was staying there. I usually never get to interact directly with the children, so that was special. He was so happy to have the stuffed animal.

Well, I'm off to eat my grapefruit, write my list for tomorrow and head to bed. I have been going to bed way too late and that is not a good habit. I'm off to Quincy tomorrow to drop off calendars at the station- the Lt. that I work with there is a big supporter of Project Smile- he helps sell some of the calendars. Quincy PD had been in the calendar since our first one- they have always been a supportive department. Until tomorrow friends...

Latest and Greatest

2011-11-15T00:03:00.001-05:00

So what's new? Today was a bit of a slow day- I'm not sure why, but I felt like I was moving like molasses- it took me a while to get things done. I did get two of our annual donation request letters done which was good. I still have to work on our November newsletter, that definitely needs to get done tomorrow- I have so much good news to put in it!

There is an update from the email that I got last week which was rather annoying- right after I finished blogging about it, I got another email from someone else who was connected to the person who sent the original email. It was even more annoying, I wrote back immediately, but it was unsettling and it was difficult to get to sleep. There was more communication the next day and the upshot is that we are no longer partnering with this person for an event. The thing is that one can only work with people who are straight forward and stand by their word. We had met last winter to discuss this event and agreed to certain terms. Now, the person wanted to change the terms that we had already agreed upon. We had worked together before on an event. Project Smile was supposed to receive $5 from each ticket to the event and we also did a silent auction. When it came time to give us the money, the person told me in the morning that we would be receiving a check for a certain amount (less than $2,000), when I went to meet them that afternoon, they sent me a text as I was walking to them that said that they had expenses to cover and the amount was going to be $500 less than what they told me. I didn't see that text. They met me, didn't mention the text and gave me a folded check- I left and as I was walking back, I looked at my phone and saw the text, then looked at the check. I was rather shocked that $500 managed to disappear in a couple of hours, but at that point there wasn't much that I could do. They also promised me a couple of auction items for the silent auction which they never gave. I had to refund one woman her money later on because I didn't have the gift certificate to give her.

I probably should not have agreed to work with this person again based on that experience. But it did raise some money for Project Smile. We helped with the marketing and other things, the other person did most of the event planning and organizing- and they got most of the ticket money. When we met this year, we agreed to do the same thing as last year- $5 of the ticket to PS and we do a silent auction. They wanted to change the arrangement and not allow us to do a silent auction. Instead, they were going to do their own silent auction to help raise money for their own for profit business. Now, I have never heard of a silent auction that didn't go to a charitable cause. Obviously, that is not what we had originally agreed to. They then said that they usually donate 15% of the silent auction proceeds to the charity. Again, that was not what we had agreed to and I also think it is incredibly misleading for the people who are bidding on the auction items. Most people would assume that either the entire amount or at least most of it would go to charity- not a measly 15%. They also said that usually the charity helps find sponsors for the event- another statement which didn't make sense. We never discussed that and there is no reason why we would help them find sponsors to cover their own costs. We need to find sponsors who directly support Project Smile- that's where our focus always has to be.

I wasn't prepared to agree to these changes in terms and it was decided that the person would give the event a different name and we would not be involved. I did walk away from the money that it would have raised- it wasn't very much, but it isn't always about the money. It is about working with the right people and being involved with events that I want to be associated with. We did the fashion show this fall which raised money for Project Smile, so that more than makes up for what this event could have brought in. I know that I made the right decision.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to eat my grapefruit, read some more and head to bed- and write my list before that. Until tomorrow friends...

Excellent Day!

2011-11-10T23:08:00.001-05:00

We got the grant! A $5,000 grant from the TJX Charitable Foundation! How wonderful those words are! That was the big grant that I've been waiting anxiously on news about. Today was one of those days which I wish happened even more often- it was a perfect combination of program work and fundraising. We made another donation of 11 boxes of stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons to Boston Police. The sergeant at headquarters had the community officers from the different precincts there- I got to meet them and talk about Project Smile. They were very enthusiastic and really appreciative of our program. It had been a little while since we've donated to Boston PD- it can get hard to keep up with donations. We're going to do our next donation in January. It is a large department, so they really need more donations. The Superintendent came over as well to thank us for our work. He told me about how he used to give out stuffed animals to children and what a difference it would make for them. I drove home and I was so happy about our work- some times, I get so wrapped up with the details of running Project Smile- the constant outreach, grant writing, fundraising- it get easy to forget about all the good things that we are able to do.

I came back to work all ready in a good mood and picked up the mail- there was the envelope that I've been nervously waiting for. It felt a little thick, so that was a good sign- I always try to anticipate before I actually open. I didn't want to get too excited, so I prepared for the worst. I opened the envelope and the first thing I saw was the back of a check- oh, that was a good sign! I was already happy, but I still prepared myself for a grant that was less than the $5,000 we had asked for. The letter was the next thing that I saw- it is a rather long letter. I quickly scanned it, searching for the dollar amount and there it was- $5,000! I was so happy, I let out a yell. It is such a relief, particularly because of how grant funding has decreased lately from some of our other supporters. The letter also encouraged us to go ahead and apply again for the same program next year.

Happiness was an under statement- it was a feeling of perfect contentment and such a high. That's the thing with my job- when the highs come, they are so incredibly high, there is almost nothing better in the world. I have to work so hard for everything that we get, so when we get- when we keep making donations, when we have successful events, when we get the big grants- it is the best feeling and it makes you want to keep it going even more.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. It was a great day. Thank you to those who always keep wishing us the best! There is more to write about- there are developments that stemmed from that annoying email yesterday, but that will have to wait for another time. I am off to eat some more delicious bread from Wegman's along with the equally delicious Yancey's horseradish cheddar cheese. Until next time...

Latest and Greatest

2011-11-09T23:52:00.002-05:00

So what's the latest? Well, the grant interview last night went well- at least, I thought it went well. I always feel so enthusiastic and happy when I talk about Project Smile, so I love the opportunity to meet with the Foundation. The interview only last a few minutes which is typical of how it has been for the past few years. I won't know for a few weeks if we get approved. If we get invited to the Foundation's annual awards dinner, then that means that we will be getting support.

I finished the grant which is due on Saturday and I overnight mailed it to the Foundation. The post office is closed on Friday, so I wanted to make sure it arrived in time. This Foundation has supported us for over 4 years, so hopefully they will keep supporting our work. We usually find out about that one within a few weeks too. I still haven't heard from the two other large grants that we applied for in the summer- I tried following up with one foundation, but didn't hear anything. I'm going to email the contact that I have for the other foundation.

Tomorrow, we're making another donation of stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons to Boston Police. I have more police and fire departments that I need to reach out to tomorrow as well. I'm also stopping off in Braintree to return the sports items that didn't sell at our silent auction at Wine Fest. I also need to work on our financial donation requests that we usually submit at this time.

There is an issue that came up with something that we're working on- I received an email today which was rather frustrating. I immediately drafted a response, but I decided to wait a little while before I sent the email. I was annoyed and generally speaking it isn't a good idea to send an email when you're annoyed. I worked on other things and returned to it a little while later. I made a couple of small changes and responded. Even though it was basically the same email that I had drafted immediately, I'm glad that I waited until I felt less annoyed about the situation before I responded. The issue still hasn't been resolved and I'm not sure what's going to happen.

Well, I am off to send a few more emails, then have my grapefruit and head to bed. Until tomorrow friends...

Monday Marvels

2011-11-08T00:16:00.000-05:00

Well, there weren't exactly any marvels happening today, but I liked the name. So what's new? Today, I wrote to a local Foundation to ask for a donation in support of our Operation Elder Care program for the holidays. We started the elder care program 3 years ago with a grant from the same Foundation. We gave gifts of stuffed animals to the residents of local nursing homes. The program worked out great- it was great to give out the stuffed animals to the people in nursing homes- they were really happy to have the gifts. The grant ran out and it wasn't renewed. I haven't applied since then for more funding, I have been focused on our efforts to help children. This Foundation gave us a $500 grant earlier this year in support of our primary efforts. At the time, they said to contact them if we needed support for a particular holiday program. I thought this would be the perfect program for them to support. I really hope they get on board because it would be great to have our elder care program going again.

I need to get going with calendars sales- we still have about half our calendars left to sell. I reached out to one of the police associations that usually make an annual donation and buy some calendars to give out to their officers. I have more associations that I need to get in touch with, as well as other organizations who make annual donations near the end of the year. I still have to finish the grant which is due on Saturday. I realized that Friday is a holiday so the post office is closed- that means I need to have the grant done by Thursday at the latest so I can pop it in the mail. I really should get it done tomorrow- it isn't that complicated at all.

In other good news, we did a silent auction at Wine Fest on Saturday and raised almost $1,000. I couldn't find anyone to help out, so I did the auction by myself- it worked out fine. It is a lot easier to have help with unloading the car and setting up, but I was fine doing it alone. We do a silent auction at their afternoon and evening session. It always takes time for the auction to get going and that gets a little nerve wracking. I was dreading the idea of having to wrap up the items and take them home. We had some of the smaller autographed sports pictures which didn't sell, so those get returned to the dealer. Unfortunately, the glass cracked on one of the Bruins photos so I couldn't auction it off.

Well friends, that's it for tonight, I am off to bed. I was going to eat a grapefruit, but I just finished eating my second ham, feta, spinach and tomato sandwich that I made when I came home- so delicious! It is only 12:15, so it might actually be an early night. My eyes are getting tired, so I don't think I can do any more reading of my new book. I have our grant interview tomorrow night for the grant that I was freaking out about last week. Wish me luck please! Until tomorrow friends...

Grant Mini Drama

2011-11-04T00:22:00.001-04:00

Well, today got off to a rocky start. For the past few years, we have received support from a local Foundation. I realized that I hadn't received a grant application yet this year. They usually either email or mail the application. The grant is usually due at this time of the year. This morning, I emailed two of the contacts from the Foundation that I had. One contact emailed me back immediately with a link to the website, she said that the application had been emailed but it might have gone to my spam folder. I do check my spam file and don't remember seeing it. I went on the site, but the application wasn't there, instead was a sentence thanking everyone who had applied and that interviews were being scheduled. I was so upset thinking that we had missed the deadline. I was annoyed with myself for not thinking of it sooner and following up. I'm usually really good about following up with things, especially with something as important as a grant. I emailed the lady back- she referred me to the committee chairperson, who I immediately emailed to see if we could still apply. She wrote back to me very promptly and said we could definitely still apply and she scheduled our interview for next Tuesday. I was so relieved. The grant usually is approximately $2,000 and it would have been dreadful to have missed the opportunity to even apply. It's not a guarantee that we will get it, but if you don't even apply- that is just ridiculous. I was so stressed this morning, I was ready to cry. I told the lady that I would email the grant to her by lunch time tomorrow- which means I need to get back and work on it. I started working on it this afternoon, but then I had a Smiling Stiletto event tonight and just got back a short time ago. I was going to finish it tonight, but I'm getting tired. The good thing is that the grant application is the same as last year and we're asking for continued funding, so it isn't like I have to write an entirely new grant from scratch. They have a very simple and straight forward grant application too which is good.

Well, I am off to bed, I'm getting too tired to be productive on the grant. I'll get an early start tomorrow and get it done. I also need to get the bid sheets done for our silent auction at Wine Fest on Saturday. We only have 20 items, so that shouldn't take very long. The grant is definitely the priority for tomorrow morning. Until next time friends... here's to successful grant writing!

Welcome November

2011-11-02T00:17:00.001-04:00

It is November already! Things seem to be moving so quickly and I'm not quite catching up. So what's new? Today, we did another donation of stuffed animals, books, coloring books/crayons to Everett PD and we also did our annual donation to Goodwill for their children's holiday party. We have been donating stuffed animals, books, coloring books/crayons and toys for their holiday party for the past few years. I'm really happy to donate there, particularly since we don't have our own Christmas event for children. Tomorrow, I'm doing a donation to a Boston homeless shelter that we have partnered with before.

In other good news, we received a $1,000 grant yesterday. It was kind of funny the way it worked out. The Foundation had changed their application process and launched a new online process in the winter. We applied for the grant in March, but never heard anything back. I had asked for $3,000. The Foundation usually donated $1,000 annually, except for last year when they only donated $500. On Sunday night, I decided to log in to our account and see if there was an update. I thought it was a little odd that I had received any news since March. On the website, it said "Approved". Naturally, I was thrilled to think that we were getting 3k. I emailed the Foundation to inquire about when the check would arrive. The lady emailed me in the morning and informed me that although it said approved on our account, it still needed to be approved by the Foundation (evidently, there is a multi step process) and we had been approved for a 1k grant. The check actually arrived in the mail that day. Now, here is the thing- if I didn't log in and see the approval for 3k, I would have been very happy to receive the 1k- and I still am happy that we did receive the grant, but a big part of me was disappointed because I was thinking that we were going to be receiving more. The 1k grant fits in with what they donated for the past 6 years and I am glad that we got it, especially since is was 8 months of waiting to hear back.

I think I'm fighting off a cold, so I'm trying to get to bed early- I have way too much to do, I can't get sick! I've been doing everything I can to ward it off. I'm going to eat some more grapefruit, then go to sleep. Until tomorrow friends...

Happy Story

2011-10-27T23:30:00.002-04:00

Well, I have a happy story to share tonight. Yesterday, there was a carjacking in Everett- a man took off with a truck which had a sleeping 7 year old girl in the backseat. He dumped the truck a short time later and the girl was unharmed. On the evening news, the reporter said that the little girl left the police station later holding a stuffed animal. We have donated to Everett PD before, so when I heard that, I wondered if it was a stuffed animal from us. I decided to call today to see if they needed more items. I called the Chief's office and as soon as I said that I was from Project Smile, the secretary immediately said they needed more items. She told me the little girl had received our stuffed animal and coloring book/crayons and she was happy to get them. It is always great to hear the stories of when our items are used. We're going to be making another donation to Everett PD next Tuesday. Today was a busy day. I was working on contacting police departments and shelters to schedule more donations. I scheduled another donation to a Boston family homeless shelter for next Wednesday. I'm also dropping off our donation to Goodwill's holiday party next Tuesday as well. I also started working on a grant which is due in early November. Well friends, that's it for tonight. I feel really tired all of a sudden, I think it might actually be an early night- it is only 11:30! Until next time...

Success!

2011-10-24T23:32:00.000-04:00

Our Project Smile 8th Anniversary Celebration was a success! What a relief! We raised almost $10,000 and had great attendance. I am so glad that is over and went well. I get so anxious about these events, you can't even imagine. Steve Aveson, NECN anchor, gave a very moving speech at the event- it was really touching. Miss Massachusetts did a great job and our host, Dick Ferrucci was wonderful as always. He is fantastic at doing live auctions, it really is something to watch. I wish I had video of it- he really get the crowd going. Steve Aveson and Miss Massachusetts helped with the live auction as well. I'm really so grateful for everyone who attended and everyone who donated and sponsored the event. This event means so much to us, particularly given how our grant funding has decreased this year. I really made sure to take a little time on Friday night to look around and take everything in. I spend most of the night walking around and chatting with people- which I absolutely love to do. While Dick was introducing our speaker, I was looking out at the audience and felt so happy about how far we've come over the years. I know there is a lot more to do, but it feels great to have the time to celebrate all the good things that have happened. We got some great photos from the event which I put on our PS Facebook page today. Here is is a really nice one, courtesy of David Fox.

I still have a few more auction items to get to people. Today, I chucked the stack of donation request letters that I've faxed over the last nine months for the date auction and anniversary celebration. It is always such a huge pile of letters. Now that the events are over, I definitely don't need to hold onto the letters. It is nice to have a break for the next two months from auction item hunting. I don't miss that at all. January will come around very quickly and it will be back to work on both events for next year. Well friends, there is lots more to write about, but I am very tired. I've been trying to clean up my office and was going to go back and do some more organizing, but I'm ready to fall asleep. Until tomorrow friends...

Two Days to the Big Night!

2011-10-20T00:12:00.000-04:00

Well, we are less than 2 days from the big night- our Project Smile 8th Anniversary Celebration. I can't believe it is almost here. Things are looking good for the event, although I am super anxious, but that is hardly new. I was up until 3am last night getting the bid sheets for the silent auction ready. It is a fairly simple task, but it does take quite a bit of time. It is always a trick to pick the right starting bid- you don't want to start too low or too high. Tomorrow, I am picking up our delicious cake at Konditor Meister in Braintree and our sports items. I'm also picking up our programs and new Project Smile sign at Staples in Watertown. I have one more auction item to pick up in Franklin, then we are done. One of the big ticket silent auction items arrived on Monday. I heard back about the other big auction item- it should be arriving shortly. I don't want to keep nagging the donor, so I didn't email today. If it doesn't arrive by late morning tomorrow, I will email- because at least that leaves enough time for it get overnight mailed. There are still a couple of other donors whose items I don't have and it doesn't look like I will be getting them. It is disappointing, but at this point there is nothing that can be done about it. I know that people get busy, but when it is frustrating when people say they are going to donate- repeatedly, then either disappear or make it so difficult to get the item that it becomes impossible. The good news is that we have over 100 silent auction items, so other than waiting for the last big item, we are all set. I confirmed with our guest speaker tonight, confirmed with our balloon company and musicians and spoke with the hotel. I plugged in our credit card machine- it keeps having issues when it gets unplugged for a certain period of time, but it is back on track now. The girls who helped run the door last year are coming back to help and we have two more volunteers helping with the auction payment portion. I still have to write my speech, but I need to relax for a few minutes before I can write. I feel like I still have so much going through my head. I keep feeling like I am forgetting to do something for Friday. I hope we get a good attendance- that by far is the most nerve wracking part. One does all this work- over 9 months of getting sponsors and donations, doing calendar photos, planning the event- it is a ton of time and effort- and it all comes down to nothing if it isn't a success. This event takes on even more pressure with the struggle that we've been having with fundraising. I don't know how else I could get people to attend. I've done everything that I know how to do to try to get people to come. It has worked well in the past, so hopefully we will stay on track. I get so nervous thinking about it.Well, that's it for tonight. I'm off to do the last couple of bid sheets and print out some more displays. Until tomorrow friends...

Home Stretch

2011-10-13T00:47:00.003-04:00

Well, we are on the home stretch for our Project Smile 8th Anniversary Celebration. It is only a little over a week away now. Things are looking good, but still ultra stressful and nerve wracking. I'm waiting on two of our biggest auction items to arrive. They were promised to us a while ago and I've left phone calls and emails but haven't had any response. They are both items that we've had for the past few years, so I'm fairly confident that they will arrive, but it really is stressful. The items raise at least $800 between the two of them and they were heavily promoted as being in this year's auction. I don't want to nag the donors and be annoying, but the event is around the corner and we really need them to arrive. I'm also running around picking up other auction items that people can't mail. It is great to get the items, but it does get time consuming. I'm also following up with other people who have promised items but haven't sent them over yet. Even though we are only a week away, there are still quite a few other items that we're still waiting on. I still haven't heard back from a lot of people who I invited that are in the calendar, so tomorrow I need to get cracking on making phone calls to the people that we invited to make sure they got the invitation and encourage them to attend. It is such a fun event, but I always have to work really hard to get people to show up. Tomorrow, I am going to post the event on Boston.Com and Yelp. I have posted it on the Milford Daily News website, but I'm going to send over a press release to them too. I also need to follow up with other people who I've asked to help get the word out. There is nothing better than word of mouth marketing, it really is the best way to get people to attend events. Tomorrow, I am picking up our calendars! I am so excited to see them, especially with the new printer that we are using. I think they are going to look great. I really love this year's photos. Well, there is more to write about, but I am so tired. I went to see the play Candide at the the Huntington Theatre tonight- it was excellent. My friend Annie won the ticket voucher in the silent auction at our PS Anniversary event last year and she invited me to go with her! Until tomorrow friends...

Reflection

2011-10-06T00:32:00.002-04:00

Steve Jobs died today, it's such a loss of a remarkable innovator who truly changed the world for the better. I was touched by his quote about finding your passion. "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."His words are so meaningful and so true. It is so important not to settle- to keep dreaming and keep working on ways to make things better and stronger. There are always ways to improve and grow. While there are days when I don't have the passion for work and when January comes around, it is hard to get geared up for working on our big events, and there is so much more that I want to do in my life from where I am now, but I do love what I do. Things do get better every year. Even though financially, things are a struggle and we don't always bring in more money every year- as an organization we get stronger ever year and as a business person I learn more and get to improve every year. I can't imagine having a full time job that I hated- I remember having jobs that I disliked intensely, but they were always either summer jobs or part time jobs. I can honestly say that before Project Smile, I never loved any job that I had. With Project Smile, I can't imagine ever loving any other job more. With Project Smile and maybe other endeavors in the future, I want to leave something behind that can make a difference long after my time has ended. I don't mean to sound all melancholy- it is just so sad when the world loses someone whose creative genius and hard work made such an impact on the world. He helped create products that many of us never could have imagined and in doing so, the world was changed. Hearing his quotes about the shortness of life and the importance of not settling until you have found what you love- it makes one stop and reflect.Until tomorrow friends...

Welcome October

2011-10-04T00:14:00.000-04:00

Well, October has arrived! That means it is only 18 days until our 8th Anniversary Celebration! I promise I won't do a countdown every day until the Anniversary event, even if I am doing it every day in head. I still have more auction items to get in-hand, particularly some very big items. I need to keep working on getting people to attend, there are no words that can over estimate how important that is. I went away for a few days to Niagara Falls- I came home last night. I know that doesn't have anything to do with Project Smile, but it is important to take a break and have a complete change of scenery. I don't get to go away very often, so this was quite special. The Falls were absolutely fantastic, I'm so glad that I saw them. I worked really hard before I left so I could be as caught up as possible when I went back to work today. I felt re-energized today, so it definitely made a difference going away. I wish I could do it more often!So what else is happening? The photos and video from the Date Auction are now on our website. I couldn't get them all loaded onto the website, so I choose about 35 pictures to rotate through as a slideshow. All of the photos from the event are on our FB page. We get a certain amount of time included with our website for updates and we have to pay extra for additional time, so I really make a major effort to keep our updates within our allotted time for the month. That means I can't always get everything done that I wish, but all the important things get done promptly and our site looks good. We have a lot of FB fans, so people have definitely already been checking out the event pictures.We also loaded a lot more photos from the fashion show onto our Smiling Stiletto FB page. That was a good fundraiser- I would love to do two shows next year, a spring and fall show. You can check them out here. Well, that's it for tonight. I'm really tired all of a sudden, there is a lot more to write about, but my mind is starting to go blank. Until tomorrow friends.

Latest and Greatest

2011-09-28T23:44:00.000-04:00

So what's new? Today, we did another donation of 300 stuffed animals, coloring books/crayons and reading books to the Dept. of Children and Families for children entering foster care. I love working with DCF, I wish we could do even more. I also dropped off more stuffed animals to the Upton Fire Department. The major focus right now is getting people to attend our Anniversary Celebration. Our email invitation has been sent out, paper invitations mailed, FB invite and LinkedIn invitation all done. I've been asking people to spread the word to their friends and social network to get them to attend. I've worked so hard on getting auction items- we need people there to buy the items. Everyone who comes to the event has a great time- it is a really nice event and we have over 100 auction items, most of them are very affordable. It's an issue of getting the word out and getting people to attend. It gets so stressful. I keep having images of me and 10 guests trying to create bidding wars for 100 items- nightmare situation! I reached out to the balloon company that we always work with to get our balloons ordered for the event. I'll check in with the hotel probably next week to finalize our appetizers. I'm still working on getting in touch with people who have promised auction items but we haven't received them yet. There are about 20 auction items outstanding, actually, I think it is a little more than that. It always takes time to coordinate these last items. Some of the items need to be picked up, others can be mailed or emailed. There are always a few people that promise items but never actually donate them. I've never understood why people do that. If you can't donate, that's fine- just let me know. It gets very frustrating to deal with people who say they will donate- some people say it multiple times over the course of a few months, then disappear when the event gets closer- they don't respond to emails or phone calls. Besides the fact that it is a waste of time sending emails and making follow up calls, it is also annoying because when you organize a fundraiser, you count on the people who commit to helping. When those people don't come through, it leaves you doubly in the hole. The good thing is that the vast majority of people who say they will donate, do in fact, donate. In some cases, it may take a lot of emails/calls from me, but it works out in the end. Well, that's it for tonight. There is more to write about, but my mind is going blank. It's not even midnight yet, but I'm tired. Hopefully, the next time I blog, I can write about all the people that have said they're coming to our Anniversary Celebration- keep your fingers crossed for those emails/phone calls coming in please! Until next time friends...

Fashion Show Success

2011-09-27T00:00:00.002-04:00

Well, two big events down and one more big one to go. The Fall into Fashion Show presented by Smiling Stiletto Shoe Club was held on Thursday at Copley Place. It was a great event! Lisa Donovan from Matty in the Morning hosted the event and did a great job. She actually hosted our 2nd Annual Date Auction a few years ago. She said such nice things about me and Project Smile when she came onstage. I totally wasn't expecting it. The event raised over $1,800 for Project Smile. One of our shoe club members, Christine, did most of the organizing, which was great. It was a relief to have some else handle the details and planning. She did a very good job. I think she would like to be involved again. Copley Place definitely wants to have the event again. We got a lot of great feedback from guests. Copley Place did very nice gift bags for everyone too. We showcased 6 different designers/stores including Karen Millen, Banana Republic, Bebe, Elie Tahari, Shoe Woo and Tumi. I'll post photos on our Smiling Stiletto page when I get them. Here's a photo of me with Lisa in front of our new sign. My friend Elle designed the new Smiling Stiletto logo. I modeled in the fashion show which is always fun!

Most of the paper invitations for our Project Smile 8th Anniversary Celebration have been mailed out. I sent the Facebook invitation to all my contacts tonight and I've posted it for the Meet Up groups that I'm involved with. Our web host was very quick and got our ticket link up on our Events page and took down all the old Date Auction info, so when people visit the Events page, they get to quickly see the Anniversary info instead of having to scroll down past all the photos of our beautiful bachelors/ettes. I get so stressed out about getting people to attend the Anniversary event. It is such a great event, but it is a lot of work to get people to show up. I need to keep reaching out to people who can help get the word out to their friends and connections. Well friends, there is a lot more to write about, but I'm tired and need to get back to sending a few more emails before I head to bed. Until tomorrow...

Success!

2011-09-20T00:54:00.002-04:00

Well friends- it was a huge success! I can't tell you how happy I am and proud. I wish I could go back and relive the night- now that I know that everything went well, just so I could take it all in again. We raised $17,000 and had a phenomenal attendance. All the hours, the stress, the anxiety- it was all worth it. Karson and Kennedy did another fantastic job as hosts. The Patriots Cheerleaders were great. They interacted with guests for a little while, then they were by the stage and letter onstage, helping to keep the crowd going. The people who were being auctioned off did a great job. Everyone looked great, they interacted with guests during the mingling portion- I couldn't have asked for anything more. I really want to thank everyone who participated and helped make it such a great event- our sponsors, volunteers, donors, participants, guests, Gypsy Bar, photographers. There were so many people that were involved and helped make it a great night. People spent a lot more for the dates than they did last year which is a great sign. Our silent auction items did well too for the most part. We had 3 photographers there and a photographer from Stuff magazine- so hopefully we might get some pictures in the magazine. That would be incredible!I made sure to take time on Friday night to enjoy the event- even though there is always anxiety about making sure that everything keeps running smoothly and there are always small issues to solve. I watched people coming up on stage, looked at the audience which was made up of so many happy people. I looked at Karson and Kennedy, at what a great job they were doing. I looked at my volunteers who were working hard. I thought of how far we've come. I've always had big dreams and big goals, but that doesn't always mean they are going to happen. The Date Auction is a dream come true. When you work so hard for something, when you fight for every dollar raised and every donation received- and when it all culminates in that night of success- it is a feeling of pure happiness, pride and inner peace. Well, on that note, I am off to bed. I was back at work on the Anniversary Celebration today and our Fall into Fashion Show event which is this Thursday. The show completely sold out on Friday which is awesome. I'm modeling in the show on Thursday, so I've been trying watch what I eat, but I came home tonight and totally splurged on the apple pie that my mom had made. It was delicious! Until tomorrow...

Tomorrow

2011-09-15T23:24:00.001-04:00

Well, here we are- less than 24 hours until our biggest event of the year, our 5th Annual Project Smile Charity Date Auction! I can't believe it is here. Nine months of work and now we're just hours away. I'm excited and nervous. I keep wracking my brain to make sure there is nothing that I've missed. There is so much emotion wrapped up in it too- I've worked so hard, had to keep pushing through all the difficulties of getting things together and now it is finally come together and it is shaping up to be a great night. Our advanced ticket sales have been awesome. Everything is handed that was needed for the event. Vendors have confirmed for tomorrow. Our stage and rental items arrived at Gypsy Bar today. Our hosts have confirmed. No one has dropped out from participating as of yet. There is a ton of pressure for tomorrow- it has been a tough year for fundraising and the date auction is even more important than usual. I can say for certain that I am proud of what I have done to get this event organized. I don't know what else I could have done to make it better. I hope it is a big success- so much time, effort and energy has gone into it. I really appreciate everyone that has participated- from the people being auctioned off, to our sponsors, hosts, venue, volunteers, donors- so many people have a part in making the date auction come together. I want to make sure tomorrow to take a bit of time to look around and enjoy the event- take it all in. It is easy to get so caught up with the action, to stay on top of any issues that could arise- I don't want to miss out on the fun of watching the night unfold. I followed my usual pre-event routine this week of not eating out at least 2 days before our big events. It may sound silly, but I avoid eating out prior to a big event in case of food poisoning. If I absolutely have to eat out, I am really careful about what I eat in order to avoid getting sick. I know that food poisoning is rare, but these events are so important- I don't have anyone to delegate to if I am sick. Tomorrow night, when I get home and after I run my credit cards and unload the car, I'll probably follow my ritual of going down to my local Burger King, getting a hamburger, soda and fries, coming home and sitting in bed, munching away. It's something that started a few years ago when I was starving after the date auction. I go straight home after the event since I have all the money and credit card machine with me. I decided to go down to Burger King after the event- not that I'm even a fan of Burger King, and since then it just became a tradition. It's my post-event unwind and chance to reflect on the night. Well friends, that's it for tonight. Please wish me lots of luck and success tomorrow night. Until next time.. here's hoping for a great event!

Getting Closer!

2011-09-14T23:52:00.000-04:00

The countdown and butterflies continue- only 2 days to go! The day started off with a bit of a scare with our credit card machine. The CC machine only gets used a few times a year, mostly at our events. I always get it out a couple of days before the event and plug it in and run my own credit card for a tiny amount- just to make sure everything is working. I was planning on doing it later this afternoon, but a girl called me in the morning about the Date Auction and I told her that she could buy her ticket over the phone. She was going to call back later in the day with her credit card info. I decided that I might as well get the machine out now and plug it in. I plugged it in and instead of popping up with it's usual message, it flashed a bunch of numbers that made no sense to me, then performed a 'self-test' and then reverted back to listing the year as 1/1/2000. I didn't know what the heck was going on and I was ready to panic. A working credit card machine is super important for Friday- to put it mildly. I opened my credit card binder and dialed the help number- all the while suppressing the urge to have a meltdown. The customer service rep helped me to reset the date which got the machine working, but it had reverted to the online mode where it only processes cards when it is plugged into a telephone line. I used the machine in the store and forward mode which means that I can take it to events, swipe credit cards and the data is saved until I plug the machine into a phone line and the cards get processed. For some reason, the technical support department at the cc machine company doesn't believe that my machine has the ability to store/forward the data. I called last year about a relatively minor issue and the girl gave me an argument about it- telling me there was no way the machine could do that. I've had the cc machine since 2007 and that has been the only way it is ever used. . Anyways, the customer service rep keeps telling me the same thing- that my machine doesn't have that capability. I explained to him that I've been using it that way for 4 years. Eventually- mostly through my explaining to him how the machine worked, we were able to get to the point where he could help me reset the machine back to the store/forward mode. I processed two credit cards today and everything went fine. My meltdown was averted!I picked up the programs at Staples- they look great. I also picked up 10 red heart balloons for decorations, I've put our Project Smile stickers on them and they look quite cute. I also got small bills to make change at the event and a few trays of finger sandwiches as well. I've been trying to get as many things done ahead of time as possible, so that all I have to do on Friday morning is print out the updated guest list and load up the car. There are a few more things that I have to do tomorrow. Ticket sales are coming along well. The Yelp newsletter came out today with the Date Auction as the featured event. Here is the link:Well friends, that's it for tonight. I have a major headache- not sure why, I rarely get headaches. I'm going to make it an early night and head to bed soon. Until tomorrow...

3 Days!

2011-09-14T00:17:00.000-04:00

Well, the countdown continues- 3 days until the big night! How are things going? I feel like we're in a good place for the Date Auction. Ticket sales are at a good pace. I've been working on getting all the odds and ends together- mostly bid sheets, forms, silent auction promo sheets, entry forms, , extension cords, lamps, nametags- all the little things that need to come with us on Friday. I have my volunteers lined up. I have two people coming with me on Friday to set up which is great. We have 3 staffers coming from the temp agency which helped us last year- they paid for 3 people to work the event. We also have a bunch of other volunteers signed up. Our date auction program is at the printers which is exciting- I always try to get it down well ahead of time, but it always comes down to almost the last minute. I'm waiting for Lisa to send over the next version of our 2012 calendar, it needed a few more small changes, then it should be heading to the printers soon. I spoke to the police officer whose daughters are going to be on the cover- he was so happy! His twin girls have been in the calendar for 6 years now, I'm glad that we could get them on the cover this time. It is a really cute photo of the twins and a little boy holding a stuffed animal. Well, I wish I had exciting news to share. Actually, I'm glad there wasn't a ton of excitement- there was enough drama yesterday to last for a few days. I did actually get commitments from two more Anniversary event sponsors which was good- one is a returning sponsor and the other is a new sponsor. I also followed up on some auction items for the Anniversary Celebration. I've been focusing so much on the date auction recently, I don't want to fall behind on the other big event. I'm off to write my list for tomorrow, try not to eat anymore leftover brownies- I put them in the fridge last night and now they are even more delicious when they are cold! Until tomorrow friends... in the meantime, please keep wishing many more ticket sales for us!

Roller Coaster

2011-09-12T22:35:00.003-04:00

What a roller coaster of a day! I had a lot of anxiety filled dreams around the date auction last night. In one of the dreams, Karson and Kennedy decided they didn't want to use the stage, they were standing on the dance floor, but no one could see them, then they wanted everyone to sit down, but there were no seats, so people were sitting on the floor. I kept wanting the hosts to use the stage. Then, in the next dream, the Patriots cheerleaders were there, but they weren't wearing their uniforms- the were wearing these rather ugly prom style red dresses. I kept looking at them wondering why they weren't in their uniforms and trying to figure out a way that people were going to recognize who they were. They were not in a good mood because they were tired (I think this was in my dream, because last week when the Pats Cheerleader coordinator called, she said they would be coming from another event). I asked them to wave their pom poms, but they didn't want to because they were tired, but finally they took out their pom poms, but they were only the size of their thumbs. I remember looking at the pom poms and wondering what the point was to have something so small to wave. Before all that, I had forgotten to bring the table covers, so none of the tables had any covers on them. There was definitely a lot of anxiety going on in my head overnight. This morning, I logged into my email account to be greeted from an event sponsor backing out of the event- after they had already committed and their logo was on our marketing materials. I was so upset. Their sponsorship represented a good portion of the money raised to cover the cost of the event. I wrote back to them immediately- explaining that they had already committed, their logo has been on the marketing materials, etc. There were some other emails exchanged throughout the afternoon and finally by the end of the day, things were resolved and their sponsorship was back on track. I was actually in tears this morning. It gets so frustrating when you work so hard, you follow up as one is supposed to, things look like they are on track- then to be greeted with news like that, especially when I was already feeling general anxiety since we're only 4 days away from the event- it was too much this morning. The tears didn't last long, I had my cup of tea and kept plugging along with everything else that needed to get done. I'm very glad that I just didn't accept their email and let it go- it is so important to follow up with people and make a major effort to get things worked out- always in a pleasant and professional manner of course. I had a girl drop out of the date auction this morning as well- it's rather funny because she was the last one we added in after another girl dropped out. It worked out fine because Marie was in the final stages of the program, so we could still switch things out rather easily. I plucked someone off the waiting list to fill her spot. This morning, since I felt I was on a roll to nowhere land- it managed to motivate me to make one last phone call to the person who had committed to sponsoring, but hadn't sent in their info for the program. The person answered the phone and by 7pm, I had my very last date auction ad for the program! We also sold a bunch of tickets for the date auction and fashion show, so by the end of the day, I was back on the upside of the roller coaster. Honestly though, it was an exhausting day. It gets very tiring dealing with the ups and downs and the issues that arise and fixing problems that one didn't think was going to be a problem in the first place. I'm glad that things got sorted out. Tomorrow, our program will head to Staples for printing and that will be one more huge thing out of the way. Only 4 days to the big night- I can't believe it! Based on my dream, I took the table covers that I bought for the date auction out of my car. I'm probably not bringing my car on Friday, so there is no reason to keep them in there and possibly forget them. Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm off to proof the program once more, eat some cantaloupe, I already had some brownies that I made tonight (there was a recipe for them in Cooking Light which I just had to try- they were very good), then read for a bit and relax. Until tomorrow friends...

Getting Closer!

2011-09-08T23:44:00.003-04:00

Yes folks, we are still on the date auction countdown. We're on the fashion show countdown too. Since the email blast went out to our Smiling Stiletto members, tickets can have taken off like wildfire for the show which is great. We are exactly two weeks away from the fashion show and almost a week away from the date auction. I get a nervous knot in my stomach just thinking it. I know there really isn't an reason for the anxiety attack- we are in a really good place for the event. I'm still waiting on a couple of ads for the program. One of the sponsors emailed me today that she is no longer handling our region, so she referred me to someone else who I had actually already communicated with before. I emailed the other person, but didn't get a response. I figured she must have been really busy, particularly if she is handling an extra marketing territory. I still haven't heard from the other sponsor that I mentioned last night- I don't know what is going on and I don't know what else I can do. I'm going to send one more email, hopefully that will get a response. I picked up the sports items today from the dealer. They look really good. I'm not much of a hockey fan, but the Bruins pictures are really cool. There is one team shot in particular which is terrific. I dashed up to Boston after picking up the items to pick up one more gift certificate for dinner at No Name restaurant. They have donated to our event for the past few years. Their seafood is delicious. I still have another gift certificate that was promised, but hasn't arrived yet. I sent a follow up email a few weeks ago and another one today. It always happens that people promise donations but don't end up actually submitting them- even with pleasant follow up emails/calls. It is disappointing when that happens and I don't understand it. If people can't help, then it is easier for everyone involved just to say you can't do it. If you say you can help and then disappear when it comes time to actually donate the item or sponsor- then that is a very frustrating experience and a giant waste of time. I submitted my list of bachelors in order with their profiles to our designer who is donating her time. I'm still waiting for hopefully one more fire fighter who will be participating, but even if we don't get any more fire fighters, we are still good. I sent an email to all the bachelors/ettes today with event details for the date auction. It was a rather long email, but I think it is best to be specific- that way everyone knows exactly what they need to do during the event and how everything works. I even added "please read" to the subject line- I really wanted to make sure that everyone reads the email so they know what to expect for the date auction. I've been sending the same email for the past 3 years and I think it is beneficial- because come event night, none of the bachelors/ettes has ever come up to me asking how things worked!Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm off to eat some grapes (I have a super sweet bunch of grapes sitting in the fridge), read for a bit and watch some TV and hopefully get to bed earlier. Until next time friends...

9 Days, Oh My!

2011-09-07T23:20:00.001-04:00

Well friends- the countdown is on! Only 9 days to the Date Auction! Can you imagine? Nine months of work and now we are only nine days away from the big night. It seems a little surreal, even though I've been here four times before. Things are looking good, although I'm still waiting for info from some of the fire fighters and I have one sponsor who has not responded to my emails/phone calls, so I'm not sure what is going on there. Ticket sales are moving along really well which I'm very happy about. Our Stuff magazine ad came out yesterday, it looks good. The big email from Boston Event Guide goes out tomorrow, so that should hopefully push ticket sales even more. The Yelp newsletter which features the date auction goes out next Tuesday. Tomorrow, I have a networking lunch with my DWC Metro West group that I organize, then I'm heading to Braintree to pick up the sports memorabilia for the silent auction at the date auction, then heading to Boston to pick up a gift certificate for the date auction. I also need to send an email with event details and updates to the people being auctioned off. We only have a small silent auction at the date auction, but it is a good one. We have Spirit Airline tickets, Vidal Sassoon salon gift certificate and some other ones for restaurants, chiropractor and other outings. We have 7 autographed pictures- an assortment of Bruins items (which should be really popular), Red Sox and a Celtics Rondo picture. I get so nervous about the events. There is so much time and effort that goes into planning, so it needs to be worthwhile. The date auction has proven that its worthwhile, so that's not up for debate, but I get anxious about being able to repeat the success and keep it growing. There is a lot of pressure on this event and the anniversary celebration, especially since we have received less support this year from grants. So what else is going on besides event work? We're in the proofing stage of our 2012 calendar. The first round of edits is done andnow all the ads have been submitted. Lisa sent me a new proof this afternoon. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I narrowed downt he cover picture to two photos- one of a little boy- and another of twin girls and a little boy. Before I saw the cover mock ups, I was almost convinced that I would go with the baby boy photo- it is absolutely dazzling in color. The cover photo (our calendar prints black/white) l looked good, but it wasn't as powerful as the color version. I think this is the first time that I've found such a difference between the color and black/white versions. I love black/white photos too. I would like to get that photo enlarged and framed- the baby is beautiful and the photo just came out perfectly. There are a couple of other photos from the calendar that I've fallen in love with over the years. Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm going to take a break for a bit- finish reading The Help (loved it), watch TV for a bit and eat some grapes- ah, the excitement! I went to the WSN networking meeting tonight- it was my first time in my new role as ambassador coordinator. It was a good meeting. I'm enjoying my new role, I feel like I need more time to get used to it, but that is natural with anything new. Until tomorrow friends...

Welcome September!

2011-09-02T00:23:00.002-04:00

Well, here we are- the first day of September! Only 2 weeks and one day to our date auction- oh my! We sold more tickets today and our first email blast went out to the PS database. The BEG newsletter went out today and they included our event in the subject line of their email which was excellent. The ads that I have went on the website today- I submitted them this afternoon and our web guy did it immediately, even though I didn't list it as a priority job, that was very nice of him. So, I started work this morning and barely 10 minutes in- I hadn't even exercised yet- my computer loses its internet connection. Now, if you have been following my posts this week, you know that I've been working at McDonald's for the past few days because Comcast was out of commission. The last thing that I wanted this morning was to get booted off the internet. I tried to get on with my laptop, but that wasn't happening either. I had Marissa, the new volunteer coming in an hour and a half. I frantically called the techie genius who has a local business fixing computers, but no one was in yet- they do service calls in the morning and usually come in around lunch time. I had a mini meltdown. The computer in another room could get online, so I could use that one, but that didn't have any of my work documents on it. The good news is that my computer genius, aka Dick, came over by 3pm and got me back up and running. He is so nice- he is so back logged with work and people needing help with their computers, but he made a special effort to get over here immediately. I couldn't thank him enough. Things actually ended up working out well, because while fixing my computer, he found an unrelated issue that if left unfixed, could lead to the whole computer burning out- so it was a blessing in disguise that I got booted off the internet! It really makes such a difference when people really make an effort to be helpful. I feel like I spend so much time chasing after people and trying to get their support for things- it makes such a difference when someone comes through immediately. I really am grateful. Things worked out great with Marissa today. Even though we didn't have the internet, she worked on a bunch of other things related to the date auction. She is going to start coming two days a week starting next Tuesday. It really makes a difference having the help. Thigns were a little discombobulated today, so it wasn't the best day to start working here, but it worked out. Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm getting tired- I feel like it has been an exhausting week. My last calendar photo shoot is Sunday in Weston which I'm excited for. I'm off to write my list, not eat anymore- I already polished off the remainder of the cantaloupe and just had some grapes, cheddar cheese and Pretzel Crisps- so delicious! Until next time friends... Happy Labor Day weekend to all!

Goodbye August

2011-09-01T00:26:00.001-04:00

Well, I am very happy to announce that my temporary office at McDonald's has been disbanded. I am happily back to my normal work situation and nighttime blogging in bed! I do have to say that my local McDonald's was very helpful- they had fast wi-fi, relatively comfy booths and a couple of plugs and was only 2 minutes from home- it was as good a situation as I could have asked for. Their dining room is even open until 1am, so if I was a truly dedicated blogger, I could have whipped my laptop down there at midnight and blogged away last night. Since I couldn't watch television last night, I went on a cleaning spree in my office. It is looking a lot better, but I'm not sure if a random stranger who never saw the 'before' version would agree! Tomorrow, I have a recent college graduate coming to help which I am happy about. She is going to work on a variety of tasks- including the date auction. If things go well, which I'm expecting they will, I will talk to her about coming to work more than one day a week. Things have worked out so well with the recent grads that have been involved with Project Smile- they were the best helpers we ever had. Ticket sales are going strong for the date auction which is good news. Tomorrow, the email invitation to our PS database will go out. We include photos of 21 of our bachelors/ettes in the email invitation. There isn't enough room to put all the photos on the email. It's hard to choose which pictures to include, since we auction about 40 people. I choose 11 girls and 10 guys to feature. I try to show the diversity of the group and I have to use the sharpest pictures as well. Hopefully, the people open the invite, then go on our website to look at more pictures and get their tickets. I emailed the Globe today to inquire about getting more coverage for the event. We are already posted on Boston.Com, but for the last couple of years, the Globe has given coverage to the event which has been awesome. Our big email blast with Boston Event Guide goes out next Thursday and the Yelp newsletter is the following week. I feel like we are in a good place with the event and I'm really happy that I was able to save some significant money for the event and we have a great group of people being auctioned and we have the Patriots Cheerleaders attending and great hosts again AND the Sofft Shoes promo. So it really is shaping up to be a very successful event. Al that said, the anxiety level is tremendous. I get so anxious about having a disaster on my hands. I think that's a good thing to a certain extent because it keeps you on your toes and makes you work really hard to avoid potential problems. Even though this is our 5th event , it doesn't make it any less anxiety ridden. We also have Fall into Fashion Show coming up the following week, 9/22. Next week, I will send out the email to the Smiling Stiletto members and get it posted to my social groups. Tickets are selling steadily for that, especially considering it is 3 weeks away. Well friends, I am off to bed. I was going to go back and do more work, but I already caught up on a few things when I got home and now I'm just going to enjoy watching TV for the first time in 4 days and I think I'll have some cantaloupe too and write my list of course. Until tomorrow... I'm still waiting on some more ads for the date auction program. I've been emailing the people that I need the ads from, so hopefully they

Blogging from McDonald's

2011-08-30T16:07:00.003-04:00

Well, I am blogging from a corner booth in the local McDonald's. We lost internet/cable/phone in the storm on Sunday afternoon and it is still out. Thankfully, we didn't lose power. I am grateful to have power, but it gets rather frustrating not having things working properly. It is great to be able to have somewhere to go and work and we didn't lose power like a lot of other people did, so I need to keep that in perspective. One of the worst things is not being able to blog or catch up on emails late at night!

So what else is happening besides my return to the technological stone age? Things are moving along well on the date auction front. I'm in the process of putting the order together for our date auction bachelors/ettes and editing their profiles for space. I had one girl drop out yesterday, but we filled her spot immediately from the waiting list and I opened up another spot today. I'm still waiting for some of the info from the fire fighters and a couple of ads. Ticket sales are moving along steadily- although, in my perfect world, we would have already sold 300 tickets! We have a Smiling Stiletto Fashion Show the following week and we have been selling tickets for that for the last few weeks. We are almost all set for the gift certificates for the 'couples' to use on their dates.

Even though things are moving along well, I still feel really anxious about the events. I know that I'm doing everything possible to make the events successful, but that really doesn't take away the stress.

Well, I am off to have some tea and keep working. I'm sorry this is such a short post! Until tomorrow friends.. please wish my internet back on!

Major Problem and a Solution

2011-08-23T00:22:00.002-04:00

Well, this morning got off to a seriously rocky start. I started my day with the calendar printer calling my cell phone to let me know that they are closing down on August 31 forever. I have been using this printer since our first calendar in 2004 and they do a wonderful job- so the news was very upsetting. Even more upsetting was that I was now left with finding a good quality printer who can do our job at a reasonable price. The printer did tell me that he would look into finding other printers who can do our calendar. I started researching printers in Massachusetts- there are still some in existence. I particularly wanted a printer who does the work in-house. It is usually cheaper and there is less chance of things getting delayed. I called a couple of printers. One gave me a price which was a little more than I usually pay and another gave a price that is cheaper than what I've been paying. I had a good feeling based on the phone call with the cheaper one- this was before he even came back with his price. I'm going to meet with them this week to show them the calendar so they can see what our finished product looks like (I already gave them all the specs) and to see some samples of their work. If we can get an equally good print job, done in an equally timely fashion and save a few hundred dollars, that would be great. I was so relieved that I found a solution to the problem. Not having a printer, just a few weeks before the calendar is ready to print, is very stressful. It is really sad when small businesses go under. This company had been in business for over 20 years. They used to employee 30 people, then last year it was nine people and this year was only 5 people because business had been slow. They do a great printing job, so it had nothing to do with the quality of their work.

In other news, we got two new bachelorettes signed up for the date auction today- they look like great girls, so I'm happy that they signed up. One of the ladies found out about the event on the BSSC website. It is so important to post the event everywhere, because you never know where people will end up seeing it.

I posted the Date Auction on Boston.Com today. I paid a little more to upgrade the listing so I could add a lot of photos- it really makes a difference. I also spent $30 to upgrade to some extra promotion. You can check out the posting at:

Well, it is almost 1am and I need to write my list and head to bed. Until tomorrow friends...

Progress

2011-08-17T22:03:00.002-04:00

Well, we are to report date auction progress this afternoon! I emailed the sponsor that I've been waiting to hear back on and she wrote back that they are sponsoring at the same level that they did last year. I am very happy about that. We are almost at our sponsorship goal which is great. Since we've been able to cut cost from last year, even if we don't quite get to the sponsorship goal, we are still in a good position. In other good news, I spoke to the sponsor that I've been trying to connect with and everything is still a go with them. We also may have a potential sponsor for a shoe club event which will go towards Project Smile, so that would be really good news too. I decided to see if I could keep the momentum going and made another phone call to the fire department rep who was going to help recruit bachelors for the date auction- I actually got to speak with him and things are looking good to get some more fire fighter bachelors signed up. It feels great when things fall into place like this. I've been getting frustrated recently trying to follow up with people and not getting any response, so when I do get a positive response it makes it all that much better.

Yesterday, I rented our stage, tables and chairs for the event. The price is a little bit higher than last year, but not enough that it is worth it to look elsewhere. We've been using this rental company since we started and it works out well. They deliver and set up the stage and then pick it up on Monday. Tomorrow, I'm doing a walk-thru at Gypsy Bar with the events manager and the rep from Pretzel Crisps who is going to be doing a sampling at the date auction. They want to set up a lounge type area, so we are going to figure out where the best place is for them. I have another appointment after that and then a shoe club party that I'm hosting at McGreevy's in the early evening.

I need to get a photographer who would like to donate his/her time to come and photograph the date auction. One of my friends who usually helps photograph our events isn't able to do it. I usually do photos as well, but it would be good to have someone whose only job is to take pictures. So if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

Calendar photos are wrapping up very soon. I did a lot of photos lately that are so adorable. I've just started the photo selection process, we still have a lot more pictures to go through. I still have some ads that I need to get sorted out- I need some people to send their ads in and there is one sponsor that has been there since the beginning, but I haven't been able to reach him.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm off to read The Help- I just got it out of the library, eat some delicious baklava which is waiting in the kitchen, write my list and then head to bed at a relatively decent hour. I'm blogging super early tonight so I can actually go to bed early- although that never seems to actually happen! Until tomorrow friends..

Manic Monday

2011-08-15T23:37:00.002-04:00

Well, this title is an exaggeration- it wasn't a manic Monday, but I was thinking about that song- "just another manic Monday...". Tomorrow, it will be exactly one month to the date auction. Can you believe it? Nine months of work and now we are only 4 weeks away. It is a little nerve wracking, but I am excited. Our marketing is lined up- a lot of it hasn't started yet, but things are in place for it. The posting went live on the Professionals in the City website today. You can check it out at:

They will have it in their newsletter for the month too. Mix 104.1 is going to radio blasts about it leading up to the event and we are going to do a ticket giveaway to help build buzz. Tomorrow, I will post it on Boston.Com. I'll also post it for my Meet Up groups this week too. I submitted it two websites last week that I would love to have feature it, I haven't heard back yet. The Stuff magazine ad is almost done, I'm just waiting for news from one potential sponsor. We also submitted the listing for the Improper Bostonian last week too.

Tomorrow, I'm going to book our rental items for the date auction (stage, tables, chairs) and follow up with getting other gift certificates for the couples, auction items for both events and more marketing. I followed up today on a couple of Anniversary event sponsors that I hadn't heard back from- I didn't get a response today, but it is important to follow up.

For the last week, my daily list included writing our August newsletter. I didn't get to it during the day today and I was determined that I wasn't going to add it to tomorrow's list, so I spent the last hour working on it and sending it to Lisa. I think it turned out well. I need her help with choosing the right date auction image to use for the newsletter image. I'm quite glad that I don't need to add it to tomorrow's list- sometimes, the desire not to write the same thing on my next list is enough incentive to get things done that day!

Well, that's all for tonight friends- I'm off to read more of the good book that my sister gave me, write my list and then head to bed. Until tomorrow friends...

Latest and Greatest

2011-08-12T00:07:00.001-04:00

Well, the week is winding down, what is the lastest? We did more calendar photos yesterday which went really well. We did photos at Quincy PD and the MTA police academy. I have two more photo shoots scheduled for next week. We still have more to do- I want to get them all done, but I can't wait forever. The deadline is the last week of August for photos. I still need some ads from people who have committed to sponsoring. It is always hard when I have to keep chasing people down to get their info. One would think that I would be used to it since it has been the same for the last seven years, but it still gets frustrating at times.

In good news- we have a new date auction sponsor! I am really excited about that. I met the sponsor at a networking event that I went to on Tuesday night. I wasn't even expecting to meet a potential date auction sponsor at that event. It is the perfect marketing opportunity for this sponsor, so I think it will work out great for everyone. I'm still waiting to hear back from another sponsor who has been involved for the last couple of years, they have expressed interest, so hopefully they will be committing soon and I will have more good news to report!

I lost one fire fighter last night who I was told was going to be in the date auction, but then I got a new one signed up this morning which was good. I picked up a gift certificate for the date auction in Boston tonight and I got a commitment for another one. We're also going to be a getting another salon gift certificate and a chiropractor certificate for the silent auction. I was also following up with donors who have promised items for both events, but we haven't received them yet. It really is rather amazing just how much time I have to spend following up with auction item donors- sometimes, I think about giving up, but then it is that last phone call or email which actually leads to the item being sent. It is so important not to give up.

Well, that's it for tonight. I'm really enjoying the book that my sister gave me and I'm trying to get to bed earlier. I've been getting into this dreadful habit of going to bed even later now and it makes it so hard to get up a decent hour in the morning. I need to change that. Until next time friends...

Calendar Work

2011-08-09T23:16:00.002-04:00

Well, things are moving along well with our 2012 calendar. We have commitments for almost all our ad spots which is a relief. We haven't received payment for all of them yet, but that is OK. There is one spot that I'm waiting to hear back from, but it should be fine. The person who usually sponsors it has been on board since our very first calendar (when it was very hard to get people to participate), so hopefully they will keep supporting us. I did photos with Hopedale PD today- they came out so cute. We had 3 officers participating, two of the officers are twin brothers and they each have daughters who are close in age. It was hard to get a good group photo because the kids were so little, it gets difficult to get them all to look the same direction and sit still at the same time! Tomorrow, I'm at the police academy to do photos. After that we only have about 5 more photo shoots to do, then we can send it all to Lisa to work her design magic and then to the printer. On Friday, I'm going work with my volunteer Leni to choose the photos from the calendar. We've been working together on that task for the last few years. She enjoys doing it and I like having her help with the photo selection. It really does help to get a second opinion.

I went to a really good networking event tonight with a group that I've belonged to for years, the Downtown Women's Club Attleboro Chapter. I run the Metro West chapter of the same DWC group. There was a good turn out. I had met quite a few of the women before, so it was great to catch up with them and I also met some new women who were very friendly. I also met a woman who had been to our Anniversary Celebration two years ago, she bought the Southwest Airline tickets. She said how much she enjoyed the event and wanted to attend this year's event- which was great! I was getting a little tired before I left for the networking and wasn't particularly motivated, but I had signed up to go and it is important to attend events that one signs up for and it is important to go to networking events- so I'm really glad that I gave myself the little extra push to get out the door.

Well, that's it for tonight. I'm off to read for a bit and write my list. I think I'm going raid the fridge for more cherries. I was going to work for a bit more, I just sent some more emails for work, but I think I'm done for the night. Until tomorrow friends..

Event Anxiety

2011-08-08T23:28:00.002-04:00

Well, that time of the year has arrived- event anxiety is here. We are only 5 weeks away from the date auction. It may seem like a lot of time, but it really isn't. I know that I don't need to freak out- things are moving along fine, but I keep getting panicked thoughts of 'what if no one shows up!'. We are doing all of the same event marketing that we have done in the past which is important. Word of mouth marketing is one of the best ways to get people to attend, so I really need the bachelors/ettes that are participating to help spread the word and get their friends to attend. I emailed everyone who signed up today and asked them to start spreading the word. We have almost all the guys signed up that we need to, although I am still waiting on some of them to send in their info. We still have a few more spots open for ladies to participate. This is a reversal of what usually happens. We still need gift certificates for the couples to use on their dates and I'm still looking for more event sponsors. I think I need to expand the number of volunteers that we need, since we are going to have our own food at the event- so that will mean more volunteers to help with that.

There is so much pressure associated with this event, it is hard not to get really anxious about it. The most important thing is that I keep working on all the details that need to be handled, get all the marketing lined up, keep getting the word out there- take all the steps that I can to make it a success and hopefully, the rest will fall into place. We have had 4 years of successful events, so there is no reason to think this one will be any different. In my own perfect world- we would already have 100 tickets sold! I know that isn't reality though, people are generally rather last minute when it comes to buying tickets for events and it is still only early August- mid-September seems very far away to most people (particularly those who don't plan events!).

It feels good to vent about my anxiety. I know I should be calm since things are moving along in the right direction, I need to keep reminding myself of that. Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to read some more of the book that my sister gave me, write my list and then head to bed. I've already done my cherries, watermelon & pineapple cottage cheese and blueberry muffin snacking for tonight! Until tomorrow friends...

Tidying Up

2011-08-05T01:09:00.002-04:00

Well, this is going to be a quick post since it is already after 1am! I don't have anything incredibly exciting to share, but I didn't want to go another night without blogging. Things are moving along on the date auction front, even though I get moments of panic when I think that no one will ever come to the event- it will just be me and 40 bachelor/ettes that I will be forced to bid on! Of course, that won't happen, but there is always the fear of having a disaster on your hands. In order to prevent such a disaster from ever happening, I've been working on lining up the marketing for the event. I'm copying pretty much everything that I did last year for marketing and I'm trying to expand. The good news is that through a sponsorship trade, I got a much better deal on a magazine ad that we are doing (we did the same ad last year). I'm still short of our sponsorship goal, but the good news is that I've been able to make some significant cost savings which helps a lot.

It is rather amazing how the date auction ever comes together. There are so many pieces that have to fit together in order to have a successful event- sponsors, marketing, vendors, hosts, venue, gift certificate donations, auction items, bachelors/ettes, volunteers. Speaking of volunteers, I need to get a volunteer coordinator who can come with me earlier in the day to help set up and then manage the volunteers as they come in. That is such an important job and I need someone to do it because I get bogged down with all the other things that are happening at the event. I do a volunteer responsibilities list that I print out for the volunteers, but I still need a person to make sure everything runs smoothly. There is one person that I have in mind who might be interested. The difficult part is that it is during the work day for most people.

Today, I did calendar photos at Worcester PD and I also made another donation of stuffed animals, coloring books/crayons and reading books. The photos came out well. Then I headed up to Westminster to pick up an auction item donation at Wachusett Brewery and stopped at the Olive Garden in Marlborough to pick up a $50 gift card donation. That was the most they have ever donated, so that was a nice surprise. There is a restaurant that has donated a gift certificate for the past few years for our event- every year the donation gets smaller. It used to be a $75 gift certificate, then it went to a $50 one last year and now it is a $40 one. I don't know if maybe business hasn't been as good for them and that's why they are cutting back. It is a popular place though. Every donation is appreciated, but I naturally wish they could match what they used to do!

Tomorrow, I'm taking a half a vacation day. I have some emails to send in the morning, then I am heading out. I have a fancy event to attend tomorrow night which I am really looking forward to. I spent this evening tidying up- I was cleaning my office, but it still needs more work. I was also tidying up some loose ends that needed to get taken care of- paying bills, organizing some documents, writing thank you letters, updating the new Smiling Stiletto website- that type of thing. There is a lot more that I need to do, but I'm getting tired now and my eyes are starting to hurt.

It is almost 1:30, so I am off to bed. No list writing tonight! Until next time friends..

Persistence

2011-08-02T23:42:00.002-04:00

One of the keys to running a successful business that I think isn't discussed enough is persistence. Yes, you do hear that it is important, but it can't be said enough how crucial it is for success. It is even more important than brains, connections, a good product/service- none of that means much without the persistence and drive to keep going, particularly when things are difficult. I can't tell you how many times I need to follow up with people to get things done on a daily basis. There are frequent times when I think about giving up on a person, but decide to make one more follow up call and that is the one that leads to success. When I get a rejection letter from a grant, my first response (after the first couple of minutes of disappointment during the short drive back from the post office) is to get back on the computer and start searching for the next grant that we can apply for. It is that drive to keep going in the face of rejection that is so important.

I was particularly thinking about how important it is to be persistent today- I was doing a lot of follow up with our calendar, date auction and anniversary event. We have a lot of auction items that have been promised, but now I need to focus on getting them in hand. It can take a lot of phone calls/emails just to get the items that people already promised months ago. There is one auction item that I will be picking up this week which took 4 messages and 3 emails since March in order to get. It isn't a particularly big auction item either. I know that people are busy, but sometimes it does get frustrating the amount of time that I have to spend following up with people.

On that note friends, I am off to bed. It is barely midnite, but I'm rather tired. It was another late night last night- almost 2am- and I was definitely feeling it this morning. I really feel a lot more awake when I get to bed earlier. So I am going to eat a few more cherries, write my list and sleep. Until tomorrow friends...

Good News

2011-08-02T00:34:00.002-04:00

Good news on the grant front friends! On Friday, we received a $3,000 grant from the DCU Foundation! That was a great way to wrap up the month. I was really getting worried with the grants, so it is really good to have some good news. The funny thing is that when I felt the envelope, I was convinced it was too thin to have a check in it. While I was opening it in the post office, I kept psyching myself up that it was OK if it was a rejection- there are lots of other grants to apply for and we're still waiting on news from other grants. I definitely thought it was going to be bad news, especially since they seemed to respond rather quickly to our application. Imagine my happiness when I opened the letter and saw the corner of the check, then read the amount- what a relief! Obviously, this helps financially and it is also encouraging for other grants. Foundations and other organizations are still giving money and we can still get sizable support. I don't mean to sound like I didn't appreciate the $500 grants that we received recently, but the reality is that $500 grants don't go very far. Every donation is important, no matter what size, but we definitely need the bigger amounts to come in steadily. That is the only way we can maintain what we are doing and grow- the real goal is growing, not just maintaining what we have.

Well, there is a lot more to write about but it is already 12:45 and I need to at least seriously attempt to get to my 1am bedtime. I was working on the email blast for our Smiling Stiletto August event and it took longer than expected. I even managed to add the event link to our new website all by myself- I am rather proud of my techie ability! Smiling Stiletto is the new name for the Hello Stiletto Shoe Club which I recently took over. It is a social organization for shoe lovers. We get together regularly for parties and other fun events- some of those events benefit Project Smile! Feel free to check out our new website at www.smilingstiletto.com

I'm off to write my list and dash to bed. Until tomorrow friends..

The Unexpected

2011-07-25T23:26:00.001-04:00

I know this has nothing to do with work, but I wanted to share. I went to Horseneck Beach on Saturday with a girl friend. We were hanging out in the water, very close to shore. I saw a life guard jump down from his post, but I didn't pay much attention. A few minutes later, I noticed a small group of beach goers gathered around a man lying on the sand with life guards kneeling in the sand next to him. They were only about 30 feet away. The life guard started doing CPR on the man, police arrived and more life guards and the crowd grew bigger. After what seemed like a long while, even though it probably wasn't, the ambulance arrived. The man was lifted into the dune buggy, the life guard still doing CPR on him. I had never seen anyone do CPR for real in person. It turns out the man drowned. He was 61 years old, from San Francisco. It said the State Police had to work to identify him, so it sounds like he had been at the beach by himself. It was so incredibly sad and shocking to see the lifeguards working on him and then to find out that he died. I was hoping they were able to bring him back. It is such a reminder about how short life can be. Things can just end in an instant. I'm sure that man had no idea that he was going to die when he went to the beach. It's so easy to get caught up with all the stress of work or personal matters or get bogged down with things that one forgets to enjoy all the little moments and to make the most of each day- because you just never know when it is all over. I don't mean to sound preachy, it was just so shocking to see and I feel so sorry for the poor man who died by himself in such a sad way.

Well, moving on to more cheerful things. Today was not the most productive day. I woke up this morning feeling like I had a stomach bug- so bad that I couldn't even work. I decided to go back to bed, I slept for a while and woke up feeling much better. I was able to get some work done, not nearly as much as I intended, but at least I got some things done. I don't know what caused me to feel so sick, I'm glad it didn't last. We're doing well with recruiting bachelors for the date auction which is great. A friend of mine just recruited 5 more people over the weekend. We're at the half-way point for ladies who have signed up. It usually is the other way around- we always fill the ladies spots before the guys.

There is more to write about, but I'm getting tired. It isn't even midnight yet, but I think I will get an early night. I'm doing photos in Burlington tomorrow and have about a million things to work on as well- including grants. I'm getting far behind on grant work again which isn't good. On that note, I'm off to write my list. Until tomorrow...

Much to Do

2011-07-21T23:19:00.002-04:00

Yes, it is the constant refrain- I have so much to do! I've been working on emails and other things related to Project Smile for the past 3 hours and I'm not sure how much I actually got accomplished- I did get stuff done, but it feels like I should have done a lot more. I wasn't even intending to keep working tonight, but I've been running around a lot lately doing photos and other things, so I need more time sitting at my desk and working. I did a donation of stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons to Sommerville PD today. It has been almost a year since our last donation there. Then later I did calendar photos at Upton PD. It is so funny to see how big the kids are getting who have been in our calendar for a few years now. They have are a very supportive department. Tomorrow, I'm probably doing photos at Worcester PD.

Yesterday, I did photos with a Franklin family- two girls about 10 and 15 years old with their little dog. The photos came out great. The little dog was hilarious. When the mom said certain words to him, the dog would immediately look up, turn his head to the side and his ears would perk up- he looked like he was ready to have an actual conversation. I've been doing a lot of photos with babies lately, so it has been nice these past couple of days to do photos with older kids- they can sit still and smile on command! I need to keep following up to schedule the remaining photo shoots. We still have plenty of time to get the calendar done, but I like to get it finished as early as possible so I can focus on other things.

Well, I'm getting rather tired- I went to bed incredibly late last night. I need to write my list and I think I'm going to have some cheese and crackers. I already had some watermelon. For a while, I was trying not to eat anything that wasn't fruit late at night- but I'm craving goat cheese and Pretzel Crisps. I need to get to bed at a decent hour so I can be super productive tomorrow. Until next time friends..

400th Blog Posting!

2011-07-19T23:35:00.002-04:00

Well, this is a milestone- my 400th blog posting! I wish I had something epic to share to mark the moment- perhaps a million dollar donation? We did receive a $500 from a local bank today. We had asked for $3,000. This is the first time I approached this bank, so I'm glad that they donated something- every donation helps. It was disappointing that they weren't able to do a larger donation, but at least they were able to contribute. This seems to be a bit of a pattern- ask for $3,000 and receive $500. Perhaps I should ask for $10,000 so we can get $2,500. I haven't done any grant writing this week, so I need to get working on that tomorrow.

What else is going on? I was at the police academy recruiting bachelors for our date auction- always a tough job, but someone has to do it! Just kidding of course, it is a great time to go up there and recruit. I signed up four bachelors which was good. Tomorrow, I need to follow up with more of the people that have signed up, but still haven't sent in their info yet for the program and our website. I also need to work on getting more gift certificates donated for the couples to use on their date.

Calendar photos are coming out great. It is always fun doing the photos. We are at about the half way point right now. We have some new families in it as well which is really good. I still have some more calendar ads to take care of- that is going on tomorrow's list too.

Well, I think that's it for tonight. I know this was not exactly the most exciting blog post, especially not for a 400th blog post! I'm off to eat some cherries and maybe watermelon too. Summer fruit is the best. Until tomorrow friends...

Wednesday Happenings

2011-07-13T22:54:00.002-04:00

So what's been happening in the week since I blogged? Well, I got a cold last week and didn't feel very good- so a lot of work was not accomplished on Thursday and Friday. Things are back on track this week. I did another calendar photo shoot today with the family that volunteered at our Anniversary Celebration last year. They are back to help out again as well- they staffed the registration table and did a phenomenal job. I got such good feedback on their help from people who attended. There are two girls and two boys in the family- they all were in the pictures. The photos came out very cute. Tomorrow morning, I have another photo shoot scheduled with a little boy who was in the calendar last year. I've been working on lining up some more photos. Tomorrow, I need to follow up with some other departments.

I met with the event planning company again on Tuesday to discuss the special race that we want to do next year. The event is a lot more expensive than any of other events that I've done before, but it is an event that requires professional help and there are expenses that can not be avoided. It has a lot of potential for exposure and fundraising, although for the first year I'm not planning on it raising a ton of money. It is a unique event and it is one that if we don't do it, someone else will be doing it pretty soon in Boston. I want it to happen, the issue is finding the right sponsor to get on board and support the event. There is a company that would be a perfect fit and has already expressed interest, but I need to get all the details together before I can present them with our proposal. It is a lot to work on, but I know it will be worth it.

Tomorrow, I need to follow up with people who have promised gift certificates but haven't sent them in yet, particularly for the date auction. I also need to work on getting more auction items for our anniversary event. I need to follow up with some of the people who have signed up for our date auction, but haven't submitted their info yet. I've noticed this more last year than in the past- people will send me an email saying they want to participate in the auction, I email them back promptly with the details and info that I need from them for the program and marketing, then I never hear from them. I've sent follow up emails and still no reply. I'm not sure why someone would volunteer to sign up, then never respond. It's rather annoying because it wastes my time.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm off to eat some more delicious cherries, read for a bit and write my list. I should go and clean my office as well, but I'm rather tired. Until tomorrow...

Slow Start

2011-07-06T23:13:00.002-04:00

Well, July is off to a bit of a slow start. We were rejected by one of the Foundation's that I recently applied for. They invited us to apply again in the future, so I think it is a funding issue for them. It is disappointing though. I need grant support and right now it isn't coming through. I was searching for new grants this afternoon and found two more that we are good fits for. Hopefully, we will have good news from some of the other grants that we recently applied for. I'm concerned that I haven't heard any news from the Foundation grant that we applied for in March. I applied online and they don't have a way to follow up. I got an email when I applied to say that they received it, but I haven't heard anything since. The constant pursuit of funding gets exhausting sometimes and is really stressful. To top it all off today, I had a sore throat and wasn't feeling so good- so that just made bad news hit harder.

The meeting that was scheduled for today with the Boston event planners was rescheduled. One of the ladies was out sick and they also needed more time to get some of the budget details together for me. I was relieved that they rescheduled it since I wasn't feeling so good.

Tomorrow, I need to get back to work on auction items and gift certificates for the date auction couples. I also need to follow up with getting more calendar photo shoots scheduled. There are a lot of other things to work on too, but I can't remember them right now- I need to write my list.

Well, I'm off to bed. Hopefully a good nights sleep will help me feel better tomorrow and lead to some good things happening. Until tomorrow friends..

Wednesday Happenings

2011-06-29T23:26:00.002-04:00

Today was a little bit of everything- I worked on a grant (I'm about halfway done), reached out to calendar participants, followed up with potential event sponsors and worked on auction items. I also sorted my desk- somewhat. There is still a lot more to do. In good news- there was a guy who was the winning bidder on a autographed sports picture at the Wine Fest silent auction last month. I had left him two messages but never heard back. The paperwork was still on my desk so I decided to give it one last shot. He answered the phone, was very happy to hear from me, (he said he didn't get the messages), gave me his credit card info over the phone and is going to pick up the picture next Tuesday. I was so happy that I followed up with him again. It inspired me to follow up with other potential date auction sponsors. You never know when that last phone call or email can be the one that gets through to the person and gets a good result. I didn't get through to any sponsors, but I'm glad that I reached out to people.

There is so much work that needs to get done- I know I go through this every year, but it doesn't make it feel any better. I have another meeting next week with the event planning company about the large fundraiser that I want to do next year in Boston. They submitted their proposal, but there are significant changes that need to be made. Hopefully, we can work it all out- it all will come down to making the numbers work. I am excited for the event- it will be fabulous!

I was going to go back to work, particularly on emails that need to be sent, but I'm getting tired. I'm going to have some crackers/cheese and then head to bed. I already had my watermelon and blueberries tonight. I love good food! I also want to read, but my eyes are hurting, so that probably won't be happening. Until tomorrow friends...

Mixed Day

2011-06-27T23:41:00.002-04:00

Well, today was a mixed day. We received a $500 grant from a local Foundation- we had applied for a $3,000 grant. I don't mean to sound ungrateful because I appreciate every donation that we receive. It's just that it is disappointing that they were only able to fund 20% of what we need. They did say that we could apply again at holiday time for a specific program which I will definitely do. I was really hoping that they would fund the entire grant. I definitely wasn't taking it for granted, but I was optimistic. The support our calendar every year and they awarded us grants before and it had been 3 years since we had last applied for a grant. Anyways, the good news is that they did make a donation, I can apply again at the end of the year and we have other grants that we're waiting on. I have another grant that I need to work on this week. On Friday, I mailed the other grant that I was working on.

So what else happened? Well, I did photos with babies from a moms group in the Attleboro area. They were such cute little kids- 5 little ones all under ten months old! The photos came out very cute. It was challenging to get them to look at the camera- babies don't exactly take direction!

In other news- we have a few more people signed up for the date auction. One girl who had been recommended to me decided that she didn't want to participate, but then another girl who had actually been auctioned off a couple of years ago asked to participate, so that worked out well. Things are moving along well with that. Tomorrow, I need to follow up with more date auction sponsors. I can't believe we are already 2 1/2 months until the event!

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm going to read for a bit. I started A Thousand Splendid Suns last night- very good so far, quite sad though. I already had a slice of lemon meringue pie- I'm holding off the urge to have some watermelon now- it is so delicious! Until tomorrow friends...

Productivity

2011-06-24T00:11:00.002-04:00

Well, things were moving along today. Remember last night I was writing about the good idea that I had for a potential calendar sponsor? I'm happy to announce that I spoke with the company today and they thought it was a good idea too! They committed to sponsoring a month in the calendar- they are a Cambridge ambulance company. We are going to do photos with some of their paramedics with their children for the calendar too. I'm glad that they are involved and we are one step closer to getting all our ads sold!

In other fabulous news- we got our first firefighters signed up for the date auction! I am so happy about that. I reached out to a fire fighter who had participated in a recent charity date auction and he agreed to do participate in ours and he recruited 3 other fire fighters to participate too! The fire fighters are a huge part of our event so it is great to get some commitments now. We signed up another girl today too. Things are moving along well. No more news about date auction sponsors, but I'm still working on it.

Both of my calendar photo shoots were rescheduled today because of rain- that was a little frustrating, but there is nothing we can do about it. One was moved to next Thursday and the other will be in July.

Well, those were the two big highlights for today that I wanted to share. I can't remember what else happened today- I'm getting tired. I want to be super productive tomorrow, so I'm going to bed early- well, it's already 12:25, if I can get to bed by 12:45 that will be an early night for me. I'm also trying to load photos onto FB from our Smiling Stiletto Shoe Club party tonight, but FB is loading pictures super slowly, so I might have to give up on that until tomorrow. Until next time friends...

Updates

2011-06-22T23:36:00.002-04:00

So what's new? Well, one grant was mailed today. I finally stopped checking it. I'm almost done with the next one. It is a fairly simple grant. We haven't applied for support yet from this business. I'm a little stuck with one of the answers- it isn't even a complicated question, but I need to get the wording right. I think we fit in perfectly with their funding. The goal is to get the grant ready to be mailed tomorrow. There is another grant that I need to start working on immediately after that.

We got another sponsor back on board for our Anniversary sponsorship. We are doing pretty well with sponsorship for that. I wish things were moving at the same pace for the date auction. We got more commitments for gift certificates for the couples to use today. Tomorrow, I need to follow up with people who signed up for the date auction, but haven't submitted their info yet. I reached out to a potential sponsor again today. I had contacted them last month and was told to send the info to a person. I emailed her, but never heard back. I called today and was told to speak to someone else. I emailed her and left a message. Our event would be a perfect marketing opportunity for them. I will follow up with her next week if I don't hear back.

Tomorrow, I have 2 calendar photo shoots scheduled, both local. Hopefully, it won't rain- this summer has been a little dicey so far with the weather. I also need to work on calendar sponsors- I have some good ideas for people to contact about sponsoring. I hope they think it was a good idea too! I scheduled one more photo shoot today and spoke with another police department to reach out to officers who would like to participate. I have quite a few other departments that I have to follow up with again.

I worked on getting auction items for our Anniversary Celebration last night and today- it felt like it had been a little while since I had been contacting auction donors. It hasn't actually been a while- sometimes, my perception of time is so off. Yesterday, I went looking for an email which I could have sworn was sent to me early last week- it turned out it was sent on Monday! I did get some commitments for items which was good. I picked up a restaurant gift certificate on my way home tonight.

Well friends, there is a lot more to write about, but I am very tired. I went to bed super late again for the last two nights. I don't know why it is such a struggle to go to bed at a decent hour. Last night, I was feeling very motivated and did a good amount of work, but I feel so tired in the morning- it isn't good. It is almost midnight, so I need to stop and get ready for bed. I already had my watermelon, so there will be no more late snacking (and I had cheese and crackers and olives right before that too!). Until tomorrow...

I spent quite a

Monday Marvels

2011-06-20T23:44:00.002-04:00

Well, there really wasn't anything to marvel about today, but I liked the title! Today was a pretty good day though. I submitted a Foundation grant- which is always a great feeling of accomplishment. I did my usual sitting and staring at it for an excessive period of time until I finally clicked the submit button. They won't make a decision until September, but that is OK. We received funding from them 4 years ago and we applied for the same program. They ask you to apply for the same program if you already had past funding for it. Our program has expanded greatly since the originally funded it, so hopefully that will help us. Tomorrow, I have two more grants that I want to finish. One is due this week and the other needs to be submitted as soon as possible.

I did another donation of over 250 stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons to the Department of Children and Families today for children entering foster care. It is one of my favorite donations to do. The woman who I work with there is so nice and she is so happy to have our donations. I didn't get around to calling any other police/fire departments today to make follow up donations- I have to work on that tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I also need to work on setting up more calendar photo shoots. It always takes a long time to get the photos scheduled. I'm trying to get more police/fire departments involved, but I haven't heard back from a lot of people yet. I also need to keep working on getting auction items donated for our Anniversary event. The Wayside Inn gift certificate for dinner for two arrived today which was good. They have donated for the past couple of years. We also received a ticket donation for a Stadium theatre production. They are a beautiful theater in Woonsocket. They have donated for the past couple of years as well. Those are both good auction items. In other good news, TV Diner is donating a really cool certificate for the auction- it is different from what they have donated in the past. More details coming soon on that one.

I need to work on the date auction too, particularly recruiting fire fighters and other bachelors. We still need more ladies to sign up too. I also need to keep working on getting financial sponsors- we are still short on our sponsor goal.

There is so much to work on! I don't want to get overwhelmed, so I need to stop thinking about everything that needs to get done and focus on the most important things right now. My priority for tomorrow is grant writing, calendar work, contacting police/fire departments and doing some work on auction items. I just wrote my list!

Well, that's it for tonight. I was just watching Jay Leno- he had a lady who just turned 100 as a guest. She is very active and has all her faculties- quite inspiring! On that note, I'm off to check out the new books that I got at my Meet Up book swap tonight, then write my list (or copy from above), until tomorrow friends...

Moving Along

2011-06-15T23:21:00.002-04:00

So what's the latest and greatest? Well, today I had a meeting with a large event planning company in regards to an event that we want to do next summer in Boston. It was a very productive meeting. They are really excited about the event and they're going to get back to me with an official proposal. I would love to work with them, it will come down to cost. It needs to be something that we can afford to undertake. I wish I could go into more details about the event we want to do, it will be really awesome, but I want to wait until things actually get rolling.

What else is going on? I scheduled another donation of stuffed animals and other items to the Department of Children and Families for next Monday. I've been reaching out to other police/fire departments to make follow up donations. Yesterday, I did another calendar photo shoot. This one was with a group of twins- they were very cute. The pictures came out really well. I was pretty impressed with one of the little girls- she climbed the chain link fence surrounding the playground and dropped down onto the ground very nimbly. The fence wasn't very high, but it was still very cool to watch her scale the fence! I have some more photo shoots scheduled, but we still have a lot more to do. I also have more calendar ads that need to be taken care of. Calendar ads and scheduling photo shoots are a priority for tomorrow.

I've been working on grants as well. One more is almost done, but there are still a lot to work on. There is a Foundation grant that we applied for in March and we haven't heard anything back yet. They don't publish online when they make their grant decisions, hopefully we will get some good news soon. Two grants that I'm working on are due before the end of June.

Well, there is a lot more to update on, but I'm getting tired now. I did really well last night- I went to bed earlier and definitely had more energy this morning. I need to keep that going! I'm going to read for a bit, write my extensive list, eat some more blueberries and head to bed. Wish me luck for a very productive day tomorrow- there is so much that needs to be worked on. Until tomorrow friends..

Good News

2011-06-09T00:30:00.003-04:00

Well- we have good date auction news: the New England Patriots cheerleaders will be making a special appearance from 7-9pm during the event! I'm really excited about it. They did a fabulous job when they attended in our very first date auction. I also think it will help draw even more people to the event.

In other good news, one of the guys who signed up for the date auction recruited 5 single ladies to participate too. That means we are now more than half way towards our bachelorette goal. We still need a lot more men, but it always takes longer to get the guys to sign up.

In not so good news, we got rejected from the large grant that I applied for a couple of months ago. That was the complicated grant that I spent a lot of time on. Someone had recommended that I apply for it, I actually didn't want to apply and now I wish that I didn't spend the time on it. We fit into their funding guidelines, but it wasn't a particularly strong fit. I can take some of what I wrote and use it in other grants, but it is still disappointing. I didn't get to any grant writing today- I have to do it tomorrow, it is so important. I was going to work on it tonight, but I was too tired.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I am off to read for a bit and then actually go to bed at a decent hour. Last night was another late one- I need to get out of this habit. I just started a good book called Violets of March- I sat outside tonight in a rocking chair on the porch and read, rather like a grandma! It was so relaxing. Until tomorrow friends..

More Hours Needed

2011-06-08T00:04:00.002-04:00

Could we please add an extra hour into the day? This hour should ideally be between 12-1pm, because that is when I feel most productive. If it isn't possible to add an extra hour, then how about sending me over a personal assistant who will work full time and without a salary. Why do I feel like that isn't going to happen either?

So what's the latest? I have about a million things to work on and I feel very far behind. There are two new grants that I've started work on today. They are relatively simple, but still time consuming. I started work on them, but then I needed to take some time following up with auction item donors for the anniversary celebration and working on the date auction. I then went back to work on reaching out to people to be featured in our 2012 calendar. It takes a while to hear back from people which can get a little frustrating- in my perfect world, people would respond immediately! I've reached out to some new mother's groups in order to get more children featured. It is important that we keep broadening the calendar and getting new people involved. I didn't get back to the grant writing after I stopped to work on other things. I was going to work on it tonight, but I'm tired. It is hard some times when there is so much to get done.

Anyways, enough griping. I've also been going to bed way too late these last couple of nights. There is no legitimate reason for it- I'm not doing anything particularly productive during those late hours and I wake up feeling tired. Right now, it is 12:30 and my goal is to have the lights out in the next 20 minutes. I also need to write my list- it is going to be a lengthy one. Until tomorrow friends...

Welcome June

2011-06-02T23:56:00.002-04:00

How did it become June already? I know that is a stupid question, but things are moving so quickly and I have so much to do! Our first calendar photos in Douglas came out great. I've been reaching out to schedule more photos, I have one scheduled so far. It takes time to hear back from people and then set dates for photos. I need to send invoices to the calendar sponsors who have committed to returning. I also need to work on getting a couple of new sponsors and getting in touch with other past sponsors.

I always feel like I'm behind on things- even though things are moving at the same time frame as last year. I get anxious because I still have so much to do for the date auction and I worry that I'm running out of time- I know we aren't really, but I still get anxious. We need to sign up more guys/ladies to be auctioned, need more sponsors, more gift certificates donated for the couples to use, more gift bag donations, event volunteers. I also need to figure out what to do about food for the event. We can now bring in outside food to Gypsy Bar. Cabot Cheese and Pretzel Crisps are already on board for the event. I would like to do more food, but I need to keep the budget tight. I'm going to reach out to some caterers and see if they would like to donate food. We don't need a lot, but it would be great to have more food. We used to have pizza at the date auction, it wasn't a huge quantity- we definitely could do with more.

We did a follow up donation of stuffed animals, coloring books/crayons and reading books to Sudbury Police department today. The officers were talking about how valuable it is to give out the stuffed animals to children- what a difference it makes for the children. It is great to hear from the officers about the times when they give out our items.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I am tired. I had been doing well with getting to bed earlier, but I slipped back to old habits the last couple of nights and I feel it in the morning. I meant to go to bed early last night, but I got engrossed in reading a supplement in Boston Magazine about all the fun events going on in the city this summer- so many things that I want to check out. Until next time...

Nothing to Something

2011-05-31T23:26:00.002-04:00

It is easy to forget that Project Smile was once nothing. Seven years ago next month I started working on it full time. I opened our bank account with a $50 personal check that summer and never looked back. I get so caught up with the future and working towards our goal that I forget where we came from. My thoughts usually focus on what we're not doing, what needs to get done, how to do things better, etc. I do enjoy our accomplishments and the work makes me happy, but it is only rare times when I think about how far things have come. The truth is that it doesn't really matter how far you've come. What matters is where you are in this moment and where you are going. However, there are things that happen that do make you think about how far we've come.

I was at an event tonight in Boston talking to some friends. One person was trying to get a friend of mine to sign up for our date auction. A girl came over to talk to the person who was trying to get my friend signed up. The guy who was trying to sign up my friend turned to the girl who had just come over and told her how he was trying to get my friend signed up for the charity date auction. Immediately, the girl said, "oh, the one at Gypsy Bar?" She had been to the event a couple of times and enjoyed it. It is so awesome to see that type of recognition for our event. He said date auction and she immediately knew what it was- perfect! I walked back to my car quite happy and thinking about how far we've come. It was only 4 years ago that we started our first date auction and every year it keeps getting better.

So what else is happening? I've reached out to a very large event planning company to help work on a road race that we want to do next year- it is a road race with a unique spin. I think it will be a terrific event for us. I've been wanting to do it for a couple of years now. I would love to work with this company, but it depends on their fees. I spoke with one of the planners today and we are going to speak again next week. I will keep you posted.

I spent a lot of today working on a grant. I'm actually sending it to the woman who used to help review my grants. I haven't sent anything for her to review for a couple of years, but I just want to get her feedback on it. We received a $5,000 grant from this foundation a couple of years ago. We need to get the funding again, so I want this to be perfect. They ask you to apply for the same program that they originally funded which is good. Some foundations don't like to do funding for the same program.

Well, I think that's it for tonight. I went to bed a lot earlier last night and it helped me this morning. I want to eat, but I'm trying to not eat late at night unless it is fruit. I don't think we have any fruit in the kitchen except for bananas and unripe peaches- I might have a banana- even though there is also delicious cheese sitting in the fridge too just waiting to be enjoyed!! Until next tomorrow friends...

Chugging Along

2011-05-25T23:41:00.003-04:00

So what's the latest? Well, the grant was mailed yesterday! It was funny- I didn't expect to make any changes on it, but yesterday morning, I looked at it again and made some small changes. It is always such a happy feeling to march that yellow envelope to the post office and send it off. Hopefully, we will get some good news in a few months. I don't know when they look at grants next. Tomorrow, I need to get cracking on the next load of grants- there are quite a few that I have to work on.

In other news- the Sofft Shoes promo is on our website- check it out at www.projectsmile.org/events.htm. The shoe company set over an image that was banner shaped. Our web guy put it on our site, but it wasn't looking quite right. He suggested some changes and now it looks great. We started adding some photos of the bachelors/ettes that we are auctioning off too. The photos look great. We have another good looking group again! I asked our web guy to extend the purple background to the photo section and it really makes them pop. I love getting the photos on our site and the Sofft promo- it really makes me feel like things are coming together.

I was reaching out to new Anniversary event sponsors yesterday and also got another sponsor back who sponsored last year. I didn't get any commitments yet, but it takes time to hear back when you reach out to new sponsors. I did get commitments for two more silent auction items which is good.

Tomorrow, I have so much to do. I need to get back to work on calendar sponsors, reach out to schedule photo shoots, grant work, contact police/fire departments, date sponsors- I just read a news article about a new company that would be a perfect fit for our event, I'm going to email them tomorrow. I also need to work on gift certificates for the date couples and anniversary auction items. I'm in the early stages of working on a unique race event and there is a company that I'm going to get in touch with who can plan the event. This is a rather ambitious list for tomorrow, I don't know how much I will actually get to, but there is a ton to get done.

On that note, I'm off to eat a banana (I don't have too many fruit options in the house), write my list and then head to sleep. Until tomorrow...

More Grant Work

2011-05-23T23:20:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it has been a week since I blogged! My last blog was about blogging and guess what I spent the majority of today doing- working on the same grant! My goal was to get it done and mailed last week, obviously that didn't happen. I didn't intend to spend most of the day doing this grant, but it took so much time. It isn't even that complicated. We're basically applying for the same program that they funded in 2006. I don't know if my grant skills are just a little rusty and that is why everything was moving slowly. Grants do take time though, even the simple ones. The good news is that the grant is finished. I printed the cover letter, but I haven't printed the grant out yet. I'm still in the staring at it mode. I stare at the grant for much longer than is probably needed- rereading it, making sure that I've answered the questions in the best way possible- keeping things succinct but still giving all the details needed, including the statistics, etc. I know I could print the grant out tonight, I have looked at it enough. But I think I will wait until morning and give it one last look. Then off to the mail! We will then have 3 grant applications which we will be waiting to hear from. There are two other grants that I need to start work on immediately too.

So what else is happening? I've been reaching out to new sponsors for the Anniversary Celebration. Last year, I didn't contact a lot of new sponsors, I basically worked from the same list as the year before. This year, I'm changing that and reaching out a lot of new local companies. The date auction sponsorship hunt is still in full force. I have been contacting a lot of new companies who I think would be a perfect fit. I don't have any new sponsors on board yet, but it does take time. Hopefully, I will have some more good news soon.

I need to get back to work on calendar sponsors. The good news is that one of the sponsors that I wasn't sure about- I wasn't thinking they would be back- are back on board! We also have a new sponsor which will take the place of one of the ones that definitely isn't coming back (they never paid us for last year's ad). Calendar photos start on Friday with our first pictures at Douglas Fire Dept. They are usually one of the first departments that we do. I need to start making calls tomorrow to set up photo shoots. I want to reach out to the local MOMS clubs too- it worked well last year having the kids from those groups featured.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I did want to add that my heart goes out to the people in Missouri who were victims of the horrible tornadoes yesterday. I can't even imagine what that must be like. Hopefully, once things have calmed down, we can help in a small way and send some stuffed animals for the children there. It is so sad.
Until tomorrow....

Grant Work

2011-05-16T23:37:00.002-04:00

Well today was a grant day. I spent most of the day working on a grant for a bank's charitable foundation. I didn't intend to spend most of the day working on it, but once I got started, I didn't want to stop. It was slow going though. It's not even that complicated a grant, but I haven't been doing that much grant writing lately and it always takes time to get back in the swing of things. We received a $2,500 grant from this foundation 5 years ago, so hopefully they will support us again. They don't list specific dates that they review grants, but I want to get it submitted this week.

Did I mention last week that we sent a box of stuffed animals, markers and games to Alabama for the children who lost their homes in those horrific tornadoes a few weeks ago? Our board member, Michelle, reached out to her Lia Sophia connections and through them, got in touch with a Church in Alabama that is organizing donations to local children who lost their homes. One of the people told Michelle that children were digging through the rubble searching for their possessions and toys. That is so sad. Michelle sent one box and we're planning on sending more. I was really glad that she was able to take the lead on that.

In other good news- we got two more bachelors signed up for the date auction. They are both members of the Coast Guard, stationed in Boston. We have another Coast Guard officer signed up already too, they will do a great job. No more news on the date auction sponsorship front, but I spoke with a company on Friday that I had met last week at the Stylefixx ladies shopping event. They would be a perfect fit for our date auction. I spoke with the regional director on the phone and emailed him the sponsor info. I haven't heard back yet, but hopefully I will soon. We're doing pretty well with gift certificate donations for the date auction couples and the silent auction.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Oxford Police department for a donation. I thought about mailing them, but I wanted to do a photograph and it is pretty costly to mail the boxes. I did mail three boxes on Friday to the Salem Police department though. It cost $27. It is cheaper to drive, but it also takes up a good portion of the day if it is a department that is further away.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I want to finish reading Little Bee, write my list, then head to bed. I'm craving lemon meringue pie, but my brother finished off the last piece- I had my fork already in my hand and was walking over to the fridge, when I spotted the empty pie container on the counter- such disappointment! I went to sleep super late last night- I need to get that under control. It isn't even midnight yet, so I'm off to a good start. Until tomorrow friends...

Tuesday's Happenings

2011-05-10T23:44:00.004-04:00

Well, I wish I had some fascinating news to share- I don't. The odd thing was that I felt off my game when making phone calls. I was following up with donors for silent auction items for both our events and reaching out to new donors and potential sponsors. I wasn't doing anything particularly wrong when I was talking, but I noticed that I was stumbling a little when I spoke and just wasn't as sharp. Usually, I feel like I do well on the phone, I genuinely enjoy talking on the phone. I decided to take a break from phone calls until I could get back in the rhythm. Phone calls are so important, I can't afford not be on my A game. I came back to phone calls a couple of hours later and things were back to normal. Sometimes it really helps to take a break and not force an issue. I got commitments from Truro vineyards who are going to donate a tour/tasting again for the Anniversary Celebration and I also got a tour/tasting gift certificate from the Blue Hills Brewery for the silent auction at our Date Auction. I found them at the Wine Fest which we did a silent auction at recently. They make a fabulous watermelon beer which I sampled. I reached out to some new potential date auction sponsors too. I'm so glad that I met with that marketing panel a couple of months ago. I love the improvements that we made to our event sponsorship package based on their suggestions.

Tomorrow, I need to submit some photos of our bachelors/ettes for the date auction website. It is really early, but we only get an hour of web update time per month included in our fee, so I try to get things done gradually so we can make the best use of our time. Sofft sent over a new shoe image to use, so we can get that on our website and event flier too. I am so happy that they are on board for the event- they are such a huge part of its success.

Well, I think that's all I have for tonight. I know this was hardly the most fascinating blog post ever. I don't have interesting things to write about, but my mind seems to be going blank. I have to be up early tomorrow- I have a dentist appointment, then I'm doing a donation to the Fall River police department. It has been a while since we donated to that department. I loaded up my car tonight with stuffed animals. I still have to finish loading up the box of coloring books/crayons and reading books that we're donating too. I've been putting photos from our recent donations on our Project Smile Facebook page- so be sure to check them out! I already had my yogurt and pineapple- while watching one of my favorite shows, the Good Wife, so I'm going to write my list, read book and then go to bed at a decent hour- I did OK with that last night. Until tomorrow friends..

Shoe Story

2011-05-09T23:43:00.002-04:00

Here is a cool story that happened tonight. I went to an event with a new social group called Dine Out Boston- they get together monthly at Boston restaurants for drinks/dinner. I read about it in an Urban Daddy email. I went with a couple of friends and decided to wear my favorite purple peep toe high heels that were given to me from Sofft Shoes for last year's Date Auction. I was in the bar area, chatting with people and I said hello to a young woman. She looked at my shoes and pointed out that she was wearing the exact same pair of shoes. She started to tell me where she got them when she stopped and looked at me, "I got them at your event", she said. She had bid on a date with one of our bachelors and won the shoes. It was so awesome to meet her at the event. It really is cool to be out in public and start chatting with someone and find out that they have been to your events. That feeling of excitement at the news never gets old. This was the first time I had seen someone wearing their shoes out in public. What a coincidence that I wore my shoes too! It was a little chilly earlier and I had originally dressed in black pants, but at the last minute, decided that I wanted to dress up a bit more and broke out the purple shoes and dress.

So what else is happening? Well, today I was mostly focused on getting calendar sponsors. I had started doing that last week, but this was the most time I had spent on it. I hadn't originally intended to spend so much time. But I got a call this morning from a past calendar sponsor that I had reached out to. Unfortunately, they are not able to sponsor this year. The market they work in has been slow lately and they can't afford the donation. They are a great company and they are very nice people, I definitely understand their decision. It was disappointing news to start of the morning, so by 10:15am, I was already feeling stressed. I decided that if I didn't immediately start working on getting other sponsors lined up for the calendar, I would just feel more stressed. I started making calls, sending emails, etc. I know that we definitely have two months which will be completely available, most likely three. This means that I need to get three new sponsors on board. I've been contacting the police and fire associations from the local departments that we donate to, particularly ones that haven't made donations to us in the past. This would be the perfect thing for them to sponsor. I don't have any positive news on that front yet, but I just started. I did get commitments from 2 returning sponsors today. We already have a couple of months taken care of which is good.

What else is happening? There is so much to write about, but I'm awfully tired. I went to bed obscenely late last night (isn't that a wonderful phrase!) and really should go straight to bed. I already turned off my work computer. I'm in the gray zone right now where part of me is really tired and the other part of me is starting to get a second wind. But it is 12:10 and I want to be a dedicated worker and go to bed early so I can feel inspired tomorrow morning and not curse myself for going to bed at 2:30 the night before. It wasn't like I was spending my time doing anything incredible last night- although I did find a rather cool event in Newport this August which I'm roping some friends into attending with me. Anyways friends, I'm off to write my list and head to bed, I might read for a few minutes since I'm starting to feel more awake. Until tomorrow...

Small Pieces

2011-05-05T00:48:00.003-04:00

Greetings. So what's new? Well, first of all- thank you to Chris for her encouraging comment on my blog from Monday. I was having a tough day and it was a help to read her nice words. Things are getting back- I don't have any fantastic news to report, but I'm back to working on the small pieces that lead to getting bigger things done. I have a larger goal with all my tasks, but if I focus on the big picture then it gets overwhelming very quickly. So I go back to what I have always done- break things into small pieces and take it one day at a time. Gradually, all the little pieces come together and progress gets made. It is a work life of baby steps, but that's how things get done. It also requires a lot of patience. I was thinking about things when I was driving to my monthly women's networking event tonight. Sometimes, dealing with work issues is like dealing with difficult personal issues. You can't focus on the big picture, you take things one day at a time- sometimes, just hour by hour. Even though I had my list this morning, I was starting to get overwhelmed (I think I need to write smaller lists), I looked at the clock on my computer and thought that I didn't need to worry about how much I got done by the end of the day, lets just focus on being productive for the next half hour. For the next couple of hours, I kept reminding myself that I just needed to think about being productive for the next half hour- I gradually fell into a good rhythm and got a lot done. I worked on a lot of tasks- following up with police departments, reaching out to new potential date auction sponsors, following up with people who signed up for the date auction, working on getting auction items, etc. I didn't get to grant writing which was on my list, but that is OK. I also have some emails that I need to respond to (what a surprise!). It really worked well for me today to not even think about the entire day- focusing instead on the smaller blocks of time and being productive for that specific time. I think I'm going to keep using this time management system. I have a red timer that I was supposed to use as part of the pomodoro time management system- you set the timer for half an hour, work very hard for the half hour, give yourself a less than 5 minute break, then back to work for the next half hour- it is actually close to what I was doing today.

I know this may sound a little trivial, but time management is such an important part of running a business. It is an important part of every job, but it becomes even more evident when you work by yourself and are completely responsible for every task that needs to be done. I've always been self motivated, but I can definitely get overwhelmed with enormity of what needs to be done and wreaks havoc with my getting through my to-do list. I'm happy with the system that I started today- I think it will be a big help in keeping me focused and not getting overwhelmed.

Well, that's it for tonight. I was on an office cleaning spree earlier and it is already after 1am. I'm going eat some yogurt and strawberries, then off to bed. Until next time friends...

Welcome May

2011-05-02T23:29:00.002-04:00

Well, the first work day in May got off to a rocky start. I had a list of 14 items to work on, I got to less than half. There were a lot of frustrating things happening- I was working on date auction sponsors, but didn't get through to anyone. I spoke on the phone with a media company in Boston. I've tried to get them on board with the date auction for the past 3 years, they have donated a gift card each year, but never got more involved. This event is a perfect fit with them for a number of reasons. They declined it again this time and haven't even committed to donating a gift card. It is hard sometimes dealing with the rejection- in order to get the sponsors and donors that we do get for our events, I have to contact a ton of companies. Most companies do not donate. Obviously, I know that not every business can donate to every charity that asks, but that doesn't make it any easier when dealing with rejection. Even though it isn't personal when companies don't donate, it feels personal to me. When you start a business and you're so closely invested, every aspect of running that business is deeply personal.

By the time late afternoon rolled around, I was feeling rather frustrated. I wasn't even getting through to the people that I needed to speak with at the police departments that I followed up with. In good news though, Henrietta's Table in Cambridge is donating a gift certificate for a date auction couple to have dinner. I have heard so many good things about that restaurant. The Boston Atheneum also donated an annual membership for our silent auction.

It is so important to develop outside interests from work. I have a great social life and I already have a lot of other interests, but tonight I went for my first fencing class. I bought an introductory 4 lesson certificate on Living Social in January. I wanted to wait until the warmer weather came before I started. I was driving into the Sommerville tonight and felt so tired and rather stressed about work things. It was my very first time fencing and I loved it. I came home feeling happy and a lot more energetic. My brain even felt expanded. When you step outside of your normal activities and interests, it really does open up the brain- which in turns makes one a better worker. I was able to put my day into perspective. I love the challenge of fencing and I think it is something that I could be well suited to.

Well, that's it for tonight. It isn't even midnight and I'm ready to read for a bit and then head to bed. Part of my problem today was that I was tired too. I went to sleep crazy late last night because I couldn't stop watching the coverage of Bin Laden's death. When you're tired, it is a lot easier to become stressed about things. I'm also off to eat some more Easter jellybeans while I write my list. Until tomorrow friends...

Volunteering

2011-04-29T00:26:00.002-04:00

This is going to be a short blog, I just got home a few minutes ago and was going to head bed, but I wanted to write about volunteering. I volunteered at a charity fundraiser tonight at the House of Blues to benefit the homeless in Boston. This was the 3rd year that I volunteered at this event, it is an awesome event. The reason that I'm writing about is that they treat the volunteers so well- they are a role model of how to engage volunteers who are helping at events. I hope that people who volunteers at Project Smile feel the same way after they help at our events. I arrived at the event and was at first a little unsure about what to do, I found the woman who was coordinating everything and even though she was running around with a million things to do- she was so pleasant, had such a positive attitude and really seemed to care about the people who were volunteering. She mentioned the different volunteering tasks, I immediately wanted to help sell raffle tickets- I like meeting people and chatting, so I thought that would be a job that I would be good at. She was very clear with her instructions and also made sure to tell us a few times to make sure that we enjoyed the event as well, eat some food, etc. I worked with a girl who had actually volunteered at our date auction last year! It went really well, we sold a ton of raffle tickets and we got to enjoy the event as well. I was so appreciative of how nice the woman was who was coordinating everything. I know how hard it is to run events, how everyone comes at you with every possible question/need and you have to keep it all calm and collected. It felt great to feel welcomed as a helper. I try to do the same with my Project Smile volunteers, I always thank them for coming and let them know how much I appreciate them. I want them to feel as included as possible. I also believe in letting people choose their volunteer tasks. People have certain skills and I believe in letting people do what they are good at. Of course, once certain tasks are filled, not everyone gets to choose what they want to do, but I try to give people choice as much as possible. The only thing is that not all of my volunteers at the date auction get to enjoy the event, particularly the ones that are working up front.

I have volunteered at other charity events where they don't make the volunteers feel particularly welcome and it hasn't been an enjoyable experience at all. It is hard when you're planning big events and I know that sometimes volunteer handling can slip, but it really makes such a difference when you engage volunteers and make them feel appreciated. I had a wonderful time tonight, I felt that I did a task that suited my skills, we sold a lot of raffle tickets and I got to enjoy a terrific event that hopefully raised a lot of money for an important cause.

I had my networking lunch today for the DWC Metro West chapter that I run, that went well, except I was 20 minutes late. I left my cell phone behind and had to go back to pick it up. I went to Braintree after to pick up all our auction items for the silent auction at Wine Fest on Saturday. We have some awesome items. Tomorrow, I need to do the bid sheets. I got to Boston early and spent some time in a coffee shop in Cambridge, catching up on emails and following up with people that I met last night at the networking event.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm going eat my grapefruit- I was quite happy that I found one last grapefruit in the fridge! Until next time...

Wednesday Happenings

2011-04-27T23:39:00.002-04:00

I can't believe April is coming to an end, it seems like just yesterday I was writing about the beginning of April. I have to start working on getting sponsors lined up for our 2012 calendar. I also need to pick up the pace on getting sponsors for the date auction. I was at a networking event tonight in Boston to work on finding sponsors. I met some people who expressed interest about being involved. I have to follow up with them in the morning. The hard part is that a lot of times people will say that they want to be involved, then you send the info and try to follow up and never hear anything- that part is rather frustrating. I think our event is an awesome fit for everyone that I've approached, I just need them to feel the same way too! At tonight's event, someone mentioned that old phrase: "if you do what you love, you never work a day in your life." I've never believed that. I love what I do, but I work very hard to get results. I think that most people who love what they do still have to work hard at it. Being successful doesn't come easy. It is the result of a lot of patience, hard work and determination. It is important to love what you do, but that doesn't mean it won't be hard work.

In other news: I mailed the grant that I was working on the other day. It always is such a good feeling when I march that yellow envelope into the post office and send it away- a feeling of satisfaction and happy anticipation of the good news that may come. I haven't started work on the other grants yet. I was also working on following up with a lot of police departments that I hadn't followed up with in a while. I didn't get through to anyone today, it seems a lot of people are away on vacation this week.

Well friends, I think that's it for tonight. I was going to work on emails, but I'm really tired and going to sleep. I still haven't solved my email issue, but I did get to sleep earlier last night and felt better this morning. I'm heading to bed earlier tonight too. I have a networking lunch tomorrow, then I have to head over to Braintree to pick up auction items for the silent auction that we're doing at WineFest on Saturday. I think I'll have some yogurt and strawberries before I go to sleep. Until tomorrow friends...

Mellow Monday

2011-04-26T00:13:00.002-04:00

Was this really a mellow Monday? I'm not sure about that one. I wrote my list last night, but this morning I was not feeling particularly inspired to follow my list. One of the items was work on getting date auction sponsors. I started to research more potential sponsors, but after a relatively brief time, I stopped. I wasn't in the mood to work on getting sponsors. Now, if I waited until I was in the mood before I started anything, I don't think I would get very far beyond drinking tea and checking my email in the morning on most days! But some times, I think that if you're really not into a certain task and it isn't urgent that it gets worked on right at that moment, it is totally OK to stop working on that and do something else. So, I put the sponsor hunt aside and switched to grant writing. I immediately started to feel better after I changed tasks- I relaxed and focused on the grant. This is a very straight forward grant and I got a lot done. It is technically finished, but I'm at my "sitting with it" phase- I stare at the grant for an inordinate amount of time, making sure everything is all set. There is another grant that I want to work on as soon as this one is sent in. Actually, there are a lot of grants that I need to work on, I need to really devote more time to that.

I also worked on contacting police departments to make follow up donations. I didn't contact anymore new departments today since there are a lot of departments that I haven't checked-in with for a while. I also left a message with DCF to schedule another drop off with them. I didn't get through to actually speak to anyone today. I'm going to keep making more calls tomorrow.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to bed. I'm already well past my bedtime, it is 1:15am. I really need to work on getting to bed early, along with responding to certain emails in a more timely manner- two things that I don't seem to be improving on. I'll never be a morning person, but I need to tame the night owl! I'm also off to eat some more Easter candy- ah, jellybeans! Until tomorrow friends...

Progress

2011-04-21T23:44:00.002-04:00

Good news today- the Boston Firefighters Association is back on board to help us recruit single fire fighters for the date auction. The Association is a huge help in getting fire fighters involved, so it means a lot to have their support again. We are one step closer to pulling our event together and I'm relieved. The fire fighters always do really well at the date auction, so it is important that we have a good turnout of single fire fighters participating.

I went to a networking event in Boston last night and met two women that worked for a local travel media company. They were really excited about the date auction, I emailed the info to them this morning and they are going to work on getting their company involved by sending a group of volunteers and recruiting some of the employees to be auctioned off.

I hosted a Shoe Club event tonight in Boston and met a woman who works for a company that I had been trying for a couple of years to get involved with the date auction as a sponsor. I was telling her about the event and she said she would help get the info to the right person. It would be a great fit for this company, so I hope it works out this time. We still have a ways to go with event sponsorship- that is one of my major goals.

Yesterday, we did another donation to Brockton Police of coloring books/crayons and reading books. The Captain that I met was telling me about the grants that Brockton received to help follow up with children who have been involved in abuse situations, witnessed crime or victims of other crimes. The police visit the family along with a social worker or sometimes a clergy person and meet with the child and parents to see how the child is doing and find ways to help. It sounds like such a great program and can help make a difference. It's a shame that every large department isn't able to have this same program.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to eat clementines, write my list and read- I just started a wonderful book that my sister recommended, Little Bee. I had to put Cold Mountain back on the shelf after this book came in at the library. I've only read about 35 pages, but I'm definitely recommending it to others! Until next time friends...

Latest and Greatest

2011-04-19T23:55:00.002-04:00

So what's happening? Well, I received a nice surprise on Friday. I had contact a large local auto dealership, Imperial Auto, about sponsoring our Anniversary Celebration. They had donated in the past and last year, they supported at the $250 level. I went to the post office on Friday and there was an envelope from Imperial- it looked like it contained a check. As I opened, I kept hoping that they decided to increase their sponsorship this year. Now keep in mind, our highest sponsorship level for this event is $550. I opened the envelope and there was a check for $1,000! How often does it happen that you ask for a certain amount and receive almost double? Practically never. I was so happy. One of our sponsors can only do half what they contributed last year, so this more than makes up for the difference. It is great when you get good news that you don't expect. Today, I received another unexpected $200 donation from an organization as well. The revenue has been slow lately, so it is good that we are getting some more donations in recently.

Today, I donated to the Ware Police and Fire departments. We had donated to the fire department a couple of years ago, but the donation to the Ware Police department was our first. That donation marked our 163rd department that we have donated items to. I needed to buy some more coloring books and it worked out well because there was a Family Dollar right in Ware. I cleaned out their supply of 2 for $1 coloring books. The cashiers always ask what the coloring books are for- it is a little unusual to see one woman buying 50 coloring books at a time!

Well, this is going to be a short blog- I'm really tired and I'm going to write my list and go to sleep. I wanted to read for a bit, I was going to start reading Cold Mountain, but my eyes are hurting. There is so much that I want to work on tomorrow, I need to be energetic. I keep trying to go to bed earlier, but so far, it isn't working very well. Until tomorrow friends...

Wednesday Happenings

2011-04-13T23:49:00.002-04:00

So what's new? Well, I don't have anything earth shattering exciting to report. The last two days have been pretty quiet and steady. I submitted the web updates for our anniversary event section, including a list of some of the new auction items that we have. I want to change the anniversary event section and make it more visually appealing. There are other changes that I would like to do to our site, but I need to time things. We get an hour of update time included with our website cost per monthly, it does get costly when you have start making significant changes. I don't have a page on there about our homeless shelter donations and would like to have that.

I made a lot of calls to central MA police/fire departments about donations. On Tuesday, we're donating again to the Ware police and fire departments. I'm going to call more departments in that area again so that we can do some more donations while we are in the area.

I also did our April newsletter today. Our web host has it now, so it will probably go out tomorrow. I haven't done a newsletter since January which isn't good at all. My goal is to do a newsletter every month, which is what I used to do- I don't know why I've slipped over the last year and only send them out periodically.

Well, I think that's it for tonight. I know this wasn't the most fascinating of posts, but I'm getting tired. I'm off to write my list, possibly eat a grapefruit, then bed. Until tomorrow friends..

Happy Anniversary!

2011-04-11T23:18:00.003-04:00

Friday, April 8, was the 7th anniversary of Project Smile's official incorporation as a non profit organization. The day also happens to be my brother's birthday. I started Project Smile in October of the year before- which is why we are celebrating our 8th Anniversary this fall and why our special event is in October. But it was on my brother's birthday that we came official.

I have good news to report- we have a guest speaker for our 8th Anniversary Celebration! It will be Steve Aveson, the new morning news anchor for NECN. Yes- we are still on the news anchor/reporter theme for guest speakers. They do a really good job, are reliable and I think they are some one that our guests enjoy listening to. I'm happy that he is on board and we are now all set with that. I'm going to submit our website updates tomorrow so we can get that on our site.

I did a follow up donation of stuffed animals, coloring books/crayons and reading books the the South Middlesex Opportunity Council in Framingham- they provide services for the family homeless shelters throughout the Metro West area and they and other services for families in need. Can you imagine that there are 3,000 children living in shelters in our state? That is such a shocking number. There are 1,000 families living in motels while waiting to be placed in shelters. We are going to be doing donations to SMOC every few months so we can keep expanding our efforts to help kids living in shelters. When I did our donation today, I was talking with Susan- my contact person at SMOC- about the number of families in shelters and we were also talking about the poverty that exists in the towns that used to have strong manufacturing base. Tomorrow, I want to contact some of the smaller towns out in the western part of the state so we can donate to their police/fire departments and shelters. It has been a while since we've donated to any of the towns west of Worcester.

So that's the latest friends- well, there is more to report, but I'm trying to get to bed early so I can have a good start tomorrow morning. Along with contacting those police/fire departments, I want to follow up with some of the other departments that we are already working with and I also need to work on some grants tomorrow and getting more sponsors for the date auction and anniversary event. So, I'm off to write my list, not eat anymore because I already enjoyed crackers, cheese and grapes while watching Bethenny Ever After- and head to bed. Until tomorrow friends..

Busy Day

2011-04-07T00:24:00.002-04:00

Before I get started, can I just say- silent auctions are so much fun! The Women's Success Network- the group that I joined in January, had their annual silent auction & fashion show fundraiser tonight and the auction was terrific. Obviously, I've been to other auctions before, but those ones usually have higher price items that I can't even afford to start bidding on. This auction was great because they had a wide range of items, many of which were affordable. I got outbid on every item, but that was fine- at least I felt like I participated and it was fun. I started the bidding on a lot of items because I now how stressful it is when you run an auction and you wait for people to start bidding- I knew I was going to get out bid, but I wanted to get it going. They had great items. It is a really fun social activity too because you get to talk to people about the items- it really encourages participation. Now, I love my own auction of course because I work so hard to get all the items and because the event is so big for us, but I never get to enjoy the auction as a spectator- it is such a different feeling. This event made me even more excited for our own Anniversary Celebration in October and even more motivated to get auction items and reach out to new donors. Of course, we need to get a good crowd there to bid!

I was modeling CAbi clothes in the fashion show which was a lot of fun. I love participating in events, I feel like I'm getting to know some of the women in the networking group better after being a part of the show. It is always fun to strut down a catwalk in cute clothes too!

It was a busy day- I had our networking lunch at Bertucci's in Framingham earlier. I've been trying to mix up the lunch locations so we can keep things interesting and fresh. The lunch went well, we had some new members attend which is always good. After the lunch, I jetted over to Boston and donated stuffed animals, books, coloring books/crayons and toys to two homeless shelters. We donated to both shelters last year as well. Then I stopped at Family Dollar in Planville on my way to the WSN event and raided their supply of coloring books. I need them for our shelter donation in Framingham on Monday. I was happy because I felt like I was very efficient this afternoon. I was also really happy today because I was feeling a lot better- the headaches and general tired feeling was gone.

There is more to write about, but I'm getting tired and it is getting late. I'm already past my newly installed bedtime of 12:30. I need to call my computer whiz because my laptop- which is networked to my desktop has suddenly stopped picking up the connection. I have no idea how to fix that, so I need Dick's help.

Well friends, I am off to bed- have to write my list first, I have a ton of things to work on. Until tomorrow friends..

Welcome April

2011-04-05T23:26:00.002-04:00

Well, here we are- the start of a new month and I am in spring cleaning mode- literally. My office has been looking like a major bomb went off in it, so today I spent a good portion of the day cleaning and organizing. I did have a lot of other things to do today, but the mess was getting distracting. There were a lot of little things that needed to be taken care of and they were piling up around me- thank you letters to write, data that needed entered, some bills to pay, documents that needed filed, etc. I haven't finished cleaning, but it looks a million times better. I need to take some time tomorrow and write down my goals for the month. I have goals for the year, but I don't write down goals for the month. There is a lot that I want to accomplish this month and I'm feeling rather overwhelmed, so this will be a good start. I had planned to respond to quite a few emails today, but I got so bogged down with cleaning, I didn't get to very many of them.

I did schedule a donation to an organization in Framingham which runs a number of metro west area homeless shelters. We are going to be dropping off stuffed animals, books, coloring books/crayons there on Monday. I need to buy some more coloring books before Monday, our supply is running low.

Tomorrow, I have my DWC Metro West networking lunch. I really enjoy the networking lunches, the only thing I don't like is that it takes up a big chunk of the afternoon and that takes away from getting things done. In the evening, the Women's Success Network is having their dinner and special fashion show which is going to be hosted by Kennedy. Guess who is modeling clothes in the show! Yes- for a non-model, I do get to strut on stage quite a few times! I'm looking forward to it.

Well, that's the latest. I'm off to eat grapefruit, watch Jay Leno and then go to bed early. Yesterday, I wasn't feeling well at all- I didn't get a lot of work done. I've been going to bed early, I've been super tired and couldn't keep my eyes open. I am feeling better tonight, but I am planning on going to bed early again.

Before I forget- in other good news, it looks like we may have a guest speaker for our Anniversary event. I don't want to jinx it, because it isn't confirmed, but keep your fingers crossed for us please. Hopefully, tomorrow I will have a confirmation. Until tomorrow friends...

Tuesday's Tales

2011-03-30T00:02:00.002-04:00

I was almost not going to blog tonight, I have a headache and I'm really tired. I rarely ever get headaches, but this one has been going on and off since mid afternoon. I was going to go straight to bed, but it didn't feel right not to blog. I don't even having anything special to say though! One of the best things that happened today was that I reconnected with a lady who was a manager at a Boston jewelry store. I had met her through a Shoe Club event and then she became involved in Project Smile and was so helpful. The store closed a couple of years ago and I lost touch with her. A few days ago, I was wearing a necklace that my sister bought me from the store and I was thinking about what a nice store that was and wondering what happened to the people that worked there. This afternoon, I was working on auction items. I was going through Boston Magazine, looking at the companies that advertised- I do that to get ideas for places to contact for donations. I saw an ad for a jewelry store near Boston and decided to call them. It turned out the manager was the same lady who managed the Boston jewelery store. She came on the phone and I was so happy to talk to her. We're going to meet on Monday to talk about working together on an event. It was so great to reconnect with her.

I did some more research for new auction item donors and found some really good potential donors that I reached out to. I got commitments from two businesses for auction items. One of them is a well known Boston dance studio and the other is a vineyard. I was mostly focused on the date auction today. I was also reaching out to date auction sponsors. I contacted some new companies that would be a good fit for our event. I don't have any news yet obviously, but hopefully will have some soon- especially with our revamped date auction sponsor packet! Tomorrow, I want to get back to working on the anniversary event sponsors and I need to get a speaker for the event. I need to focus on that more so we can get that out of the way.

Well, that's it for tonight. My headache is actually getting a little better, so I'm definitely glad that I blogged. I am off to write my list and go to sleep- no more eating tonight. I already snacked on left overs, cheese and a bit of chocolate! Until tomorrow friends..

Monday Muddles

2011-03-28T23:21:00.002-04:00

Well, I titled this blog Monday Muddles, I think I just made up the word Muddles- I took it from muddling. I had one of those days where I was super tired and not exactly sure what happened. Last week was mostly lost in terms of productivity. I had the flu and did practically nothing until Friday. I have a really hard time working when I'm sick. I really admire people that have chronic illness/pain and work through it. When I get sick, I am a lost cause in terms of productivity. All I want to do is curl up in bed, sleep and watch tv- and eat when I can. I haven't had the flu since I was 18, so my luck was bound to run out eventually.

Anyways, I'm back to work mode and trying to catch up on everything that I didn't get done last week. I finished a $3,000 grant application and submitted it online, so that was an accomplishment. This is a local foundation grant from a huge company. They have supported us for the past 6 years, but they changed their grant application process recently- the good thing is that it opened the door for us to ask for more money, but the bad thing is that the application process is brand new and I have no idea how the review process works. It was a simple grant application, so that was a good thing. We probably won't know for a few months, so keep your fingers crossed for us please! I feel that I did a good job with my application and answered the questions well.

I also reached out to some of our anniversary celebration sponsors from last year to invite them to participate again. I had our designer do a brand new anniversary celebration sponsor packet- it looks fantastic. I didn't have an official one before for this event, but I felt inspired based on the new date auction sponsor packet which looks absolutely awesome.

I need to speak with the woman that I met who helps non profits grow. I really liked her and I think we could work well together. She sent over a proposal of ways we could work together, but the cost is too high for us now. We have communicated since then and are trying to work out something that is more affordable for us. I want to talk to her tomorrow on the phone instead of emailing back and forth, some times it is just easier to pick up the phone and talk.

Tomorrow, I need to work on date auction sponsors, reaching out to the fire department to help recruit bachelors, submitting some more updates for our website and organizing my office. I don't like to spend time during the day to clean my office, but it is looking like a bomb hit it and it is getting rather distracting. I have a lot of little things that I need to take care of- those are piling up around my desk and the whole place is looking a little out of control. So tomorrow morning, I am going to commit to spending my first 45 minutes organizing and finishing up the little things so I can get them out of the way. I also have phone calls to return and emails to send. I need to go over to Bellingham to drop off stuffed animals and books too. I was supposed to go there last week, but was sick.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I almost didn't blog tonight because I was so tired, but I haven't blogged for a while and it is a really nice way to unwind at night. I like taking some time and thinking and writing about my day, even when I can't remember what I actually did! I'm off to watch Jay Leno's headlines, eat some more yogurt and orange juice (great combo), write my list and go to sleep- before my self imposed bed time of 12:15 (I need to get to sleep early tonight). Until tomorrow...

Busy Days

2011-03-15T23:35:00.002-04:00

Greetings! So what is the latest? Well, these have been busy days. Today, I met with a group called Marketers Make a Difference- it is a panel of marketing professionals who meet monthly with a non profit organization and help them with a marketing challenge. I met with them to talk about finding sponsors for the date auction. They looked at our sponsorship package and gave some good feedback. They suggested changes that I had never thought of. They also made other recommendations for reaching out to new supporters. I'm really glad that I met with them. I started working on some changes when I got back and left a message with Lisa, our designer who put together our original packet. I need her help to make the changes and also need her suggestions on incorporating some of the panel's ideas. I don't have a marketing background, so it is always helpful to hear from people who have experience in particular areas.

Good news- Jet Blue donated 2 round trip ticket vouchers for our date auction's silent auction. I'm really happy about that. The airline tickets are always a really popular auction item. We are also getting in other auction items for our anniversary celebration. White water rafting trip, bus tour, US flag from the Capitol, restaurant gift certificates, Imax tickets and the WEEI Producer for a Day certificate have all arrived. I've been spending a lot of time on our auction item hunt. I do need to reach out to new companies as well.

Tomorrow, we're donating stuffed animals, books, coloring books/crayons to Boston Police and a homeless shelter in Boston. In the afternoon, I have a meeting with a woman that I met last week at a networking event. She has a company which helps non profits develop their board of directors. I'm looking forward to meeting with her and seeing if we can work together. I was supposed to meet with her today, but had to reschedule.

I still haven't started work on one of our new grants. I'm not sure if I will have time to work on it tomorrow. Ah, there is so much to be done!! I am off to clean up my disaster zone of an office, send a few more emails, write my list, then head to bed at a relatively decent hour- and of course eat my grapefruit! Until tomorrow friends..

Latest and Greatest

2011-03-09T23:32:00.002-05:00

What a busy week it has been so far and it is only Wednesday. I was searching for an email that I needed to respond to (one of many), I could have sworn that it was sent to me last week and I kept looking for it- only to realize that it was sent on Monday afternoon. It doesn't seem right that we are already past the first full week of March- I feel so behind on all the things I should be working on. I was going to come home tonight after networking and get back to work, but instead I came home, ate leftover pasts and vegged out in front of my TV. I enjoy going to networking events and I've been going to a lot more of them lately, the downside is that they are rather tiring. When I come home, I'm usually too tired to start working again. Tomorrow, I need to follow up with connections and also get back to quite a few other people. I'm still not improving with my email system. There are a lot of emails that I need to catch up on. I need to find an email system that works for me.

Today, I was primarily focused on getting auction items donated for both our events. I have a long list to work through and I need to start making more progress. I also need to find new donors so that we don't always have the same items at our events. It is important to check with the business to make sure that the contact person is still there before I email/fax a donation request over. It is amazing how many people are no longer in the same job. I hate it when I have a really good contact and then that person leaves- helpful people need to stay in their same job forever!

I scheduled two more police department donations for next week- Boston and Quincy. I also sent an email to the DCF coordinator to see if they needed more crayon donations for the Easter baskets that they do for children. We donated 200 packets of crayons last year to DCF. I also need to follow up with some area homeless shelters to schedule donations. There is also a grant that I need to start working on- we are really well suited for this grant. It doesn't seem like a particularly complicated grant either which is good.

There is so much to do, I wish I had an assistant. That is a bit of a pipe dream though since I can't afford to hire anyone. I wish I could find someone who wouldn't mind working for free, at least part time, but it is hard to find reliable, committed people who would like to help.

Anyways, enough on that topic. I'm going to write my list and head to bed. I went to bed a little earlier last night and I felt more energetic this morning, so I'm going to try that again. I have so many things that I need to do tomorrow, especially since I didn't finish up anything tonight. Until tomorrow friends..

Progress

2011-03-04T00:01:00.002-05:00

Good news to report- we have a new financial sponsor for the date auction. It is a returning sponsor from last year. I'm very happy to have them back on board again. It is a really good company and it has been great to work with them. This puts us 25% of the way towards our fundraising goal for event sponsorship. I've been reaching out to some more local companies, so hopefully we will have some more good news soon. It is a great sponsorship opportunity for a company that wants to reach hundreds of young professionals. I'm meeting with an organization called Marketers Making a Difference in a couple of weeks. They get together monthly and help a charity with marketing advice, free of charge. I'm going to meet with them to talk about date auction marketing and get their opinion.

I've decided to go with blue tote bags this year. It is an electric blue shade and looks really good. Actually, it looks really good online, I haven't seen the actual bag. I'm going to call tomorrow and see if they can send me a sample. The runner up is red, but I would prefer to go with the blue bag. They have royal blue as well, but that looks too dark. I wish they did a hot pink bag- that would be awesome- or at least, I think it would be awesome.

There is a lot going on, but I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. I should just stop and go to bed. I know that is rather lame since I haven't written very much, but I can't seem to remember much of anything. I am going to sleep- I'm sorry for the short blog, just too tired to keep going. Until tomorrow friends..

Welcome March

2011-03-02T00:03:00.002-05:00

Well, here we are- enjoying the first day of March 2011. I am ready for spring to be here, but things are moving so quickly and I feel totally behind on everything. That's hardly anything new though. The day got away from me today and I didn't get half the things accomplished that I wanted to. I went to a networking lunch for the Metro West women's networking group that I organize. It was a good lunch and it was a very nice group, but it took up such a big chunk of the afternoon. I shouldn't complain though because the lunches are only a couple of times a month and it is good networking for Project Smile. I just feel frustrated when there is so much that I want to accomplish and I can't get it all done. I don't always work as efficiently as I should, I need to find a better time management system. I get caught up with working on one task and I'll work on it for much longer than I intended to and I don't get other things accomplished.

Anyways, enough griping. Good news, I mailed the massive grant via overnight mail yesterday. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It was a very complicated grant. I did the best job that I could, I definitely feel that we are aligned with what they fund, but I have no idea what they will think. I'm glad it is over, now I need to turn my attention to other grants, thankfully these ones are a little less complicated.

Auction items are starting to come in- we have our first donations for both events. It always feels good when we start getting items in. The first item we received a flag from Congressman Neal which flew over the US Capitol for our anniversary event, that's always a popular item. We have a long way to go to get to our 100 auction items.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm so tired. I need to write my list and head to bed. I have a dentist appointment in the morning, so unfortunately that will be more time out of the office tomorrow- can't avoid that though- need to look after the chompers! Until tomorrow friends...

Latest and Greatest

2011-02-25T00:04:00.003-05:00

Well, I had great plans for what I was going to accomplish when I got home tonight. This sentence is about all I have done. I went to my DWC Metro West networking group tonight- this was my first evening networking/speaker series as the chapter organizer. Jacki Rose did an awesome job with her public speaking skills presentation. I learned some ways that I can improve when I talk about Project Smile. I also need to work on speaking at other organizations. I haven't done much speaking about Project Smile lately. It is great when I can speak to groups about PS. I used to do quite a bit more of it.

I came home late and had dinner and that was about it. I was planning on getting back on the computer and responding to a lot of emails. I also was going to finish the big grant which is due early next week. I am almost done with it. It still needs some proofreading and tweaking and I have to write the cover letter and prepare the attachments that go with it. I'm not sure how I feel about this grant- they ask a lot of extensive questions and some of them don't necessarily apply to what we do. I need to get this grant wrapped up and start working on the three others that need attention.

I also started working on getting sponsors for our Anniversary Celebration. Another example of how I have an internal timing to repeat the same tasks at almost the same time- last night I thought how I needed to email a local company who usually sponsors our Anniversary event. This afternoon, I searched my emails to find the event sponsorship request email that I sent them last year- I had applied for a donation on February 24 of last year. I updated all our info and emailed the local company. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, we will have good news to report.

I also lined up two donations for next week to DCF and the Newton Police. I also left messages with some of the area homeless shelters to make follow up donations. The shelter that used to be in Milford closed late last year. I'm going to work on more follow up donations tomorrow after I get our grant done.

Well friends, that's the latest for tonight. I was falling asleep earlier but didn't want to go to bed without blogging. I'm really making an effort to get back to blogging regularly. I'm still going to bed earlier tonight. Last night, I ended up going to sleep late again and I could really feel it this morning. No grapefruit eating tonight- I ate 4 cookies instead (but they were small!). Until next time friends..

List Power

2011-02-22T23:33:00.002-05:00

Lists are wonderful! Over the last few months, I slipped with my list writing- I was keeping my mental lists, but not always writing them down. Yesterday, I recommitted to writing a daily list. So last night, before I fell asleep, I wrote my list for today. One of the funny thing is that even though my new list book is lined, the lines are pale yellow and even though I'm wearing my glasses I can't see them the lines very well, so my list is always crooked and not very neat. I woke up this morning and was not feeling particularly motivated, even though I went to bed rather early. I didn't exercise (big mistake!) and couldn't get myself going. I looked at my list and it inspired me- I started with one thing just so I could check it off, then moved on so I could check another thing off. Pretty soon, I was well on my way and getting results. If I didn't write my list, I would have struggled even longer this morning to get focused. I didn't get to everything on my list and I didn't get to work on that big grant, but that is OK, it was still a good day. I got some new sponsors on board to attend the date auction and give out samples and gift bag items. I also got some participants on board for the ladies night that we are working on with California Closets and Hello Stiletto Shoe Club in May.

So here is my business recommendation- write a daily list. When you have a million things to do, it really helps to write them down. When you run your own business, writing a list keeps you motivated and focused.

I went to a good networking event tonight with the United Regional Chamber's Young Professional group. I had heard about the group months ago from a couple of people, but this was the first event that I attended. I'm really happy with the new networking that I've been doing.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm off to eat grapefruit, write my list and go to bed early. It does make a difference going to bed earlier. Until tomorrow...

Timing

2011-02-17T23:32:00.002-05:00

I think I wrote about this before, but my sense of timing is rather funny- I'm like a homing pigeon. When I'm working on my annual things, I will end up doing the same things almost exactly a year later without even thinking about it. In fact, each time I get a little panicky- thinking that I am delayed and behind on things. This week, I was worried that I hadn't even started to apply for ticket donations for our events from various airlines. I opened up a file from last year and I did my application for two airlines- I applied for both donations almost exactly one year ago- only 2 days difference. I also started contacting other auction donors and when I looked at the date that I approached them last year, it was only 4 days difference. I guess I am definitely a creature of habit!

Good news, Yelp is back as an event sponsor for the date auction and we have our first bachelor signed up to be auctioned off. We also have a non alcoholic beverage company who is going to donate coupons for the date auction gift bags and give away bottles at the event, along with other promo items. We also got a commitment today from a food company who is going to donate samples for the gift bags and hopefully also do a tasting at the event. I need to order our new gift bags for the date auction. They will be the same tote bag as last year, but I want to do a new color. So far, we have had bright green and purple. I would like to do yellow this year or maybe blue. I would love to do a hot pink, but that might be too juvenile and not have mass appeal.

I have to finish that big grant I was working on. It is due March 1. I was struggling with it yesterday. I don't know why it is such a challenge- it is complicated, but it is doable. I would like to get it mostly finished tomorrow. I have another grant that I need to work on which is a lot simpler. There are also a few others that I need to start working on within the next month.

I am so glad that I blogged tonight. I wasn't going to blog because I was feeling so tired. I was watching TV and falling asleep, but I didn't want to skip blogging for another night, so I pushed myself to get my laptop and actually turn it on. It feels good to write and now I don't feel so tired. However, I will go to bed early- I have a lot of work that I want to get through tomorrow and I know it does help when I go to bed a little earlier (on those rare nights!). So until next time friends...

Rejuvenation

2011-02-15T23:05:00.002-05:00

Yes, it is almost 2 weeks since my last blog posting, but I was away! Not for the entire 2 weeks, but I went away to San Diego for 5 days. This was my first time on the west coast and it was wonderful. My sister was there for work, but we did have time to do fun stuff together and I went sightseeing on my own too. I took about a million photographs, added to my magnet collection and had a great time. So why am I writing about this in my work blog? Because I came back feeling rejuvenated. The only problem was that my rejuvenation was put on hold temporarily because I got a cold as soon as I returned home and was not very productive for quite a few days. I was back at full work mode today and feeling a lot better. I don't go away very often and this was my furthest trip, so I never really appreciated the benefits of getting away and having a complete change of scenery. While I was away, taking in all the new sights and sounds, I thought about the changes that I want to make with work, the things that need my attention and plans for the rest of the year. I walked along a cliff path in La Jolla (one of the most beautiful places I've seen) and sat on a bench and stared at the expansive Pacific Ocean and all the beautiful natural landscape around me. I thought about how much beauty there is in the world and how glad I was to be able to be sitting right there at that moment, taking it all in. I felt inspired to go home, back to the beauty in my own world and get back to work. When you see how lovely the world is, it inspires you to create the very best for yourself.

Well friends, that's my latest for tonight. There is lots of other things to write about, but I'm getting tired and I want to go eat my grapefruit, watch Jay Leno, then go to bed rather early. I am trying to make my bedtime 1/2 hour earlier- wish me luck! Until tomorrow friends..

Growing

2011-02-02T22:07:00.004-05:00

Well friends, this is my first blog posting as a 31 year old! I feel like I should suddenly become suddenly enlightened and write some fascinating post based on my maturing age- that will not be happening! I don't feel any different. I have been thinking about growing older. I was so young when I started Project Smile- only 23 when I first got the idea and started doing it, 24 when I started doing it full time 8 months later. I have learned so much in the last 8 years and really grown as a person. I have learned a lot both personally and professionally and I feel like I'm in a really good place. It will be ten years this spring that I graduated from college. If someone had told me then where I would be ten years later, I never would have imagined it, but that is OK. The most unimaginable things can be the most wonderful. My life is not perfect (is anyone's?), at the beginning of this month, I had to deal with some shocking news, but regardless of the many stresses that I have to deal with, things are quite wonderful. I'm an awfully happy 31 year old- happy that I have my family, my good friends, a job that I love which gives me so many opportunities to grow as a person, I'm also grateful for all the fun things that I get to do in life.

Over the last couple of years, I have been making an effort to seek out newness- try new things, go to new places- experience things. So of my experiences are limited because of financial constraints, but I still have made things happen. It is wonderful to try new things and be constantly growing- it is the same for Project Smile. We have to constantly grow- expand our program, expand our network of support and expand our fundraising. You can't allow yourself to become stagnate- either personally or with a business. Growth can be slow, but it is important to keep moving forward- keep learning how to do things better and improving.

Well friends, that's all I have for tonight. I think this might actually be a rather early night. Until next time..

Grant Writing

2011-01-27T23:05:00.002-05:00

Ah, grant writing. It is so easy to fall out of the swing of writing grants. I haven't worked on any difficult grants in a little while. The ones that I did in the fall were rather straight forward and simple, so they weren't a ton of work. I did a few brief grant applications already this year, but now I'm working on "the big one". These ones come along on a fairly regular basis, so I should know how to handle it, but I felt so out of it today. This grant asks a lot of detailed questions and will require quite a lot of time. The good thing is that it isn't due until early March. I did quite a lot of it today, but there is still a lot left. I'm also not exactly sure how much I like what I wrote. It might need to be revised. I'm going to keep working on it tomorrow. Since I hadn't worked on these types of grants in a while, it felt like I was working at a much slower pace.

So what else is going on besides my grant doldrums? Quite a bit, except that I am tired and can't remember anything. We got another 16 inches of snow overnight and I ended up spending over an hour shoveling- it was very heavy snow too. By the time I came back in, I was tired and a little sore and it took me a rather long time to get back in the work mode!

Well friends, I am off to eat grapefruit, keep reading my book that I determined to finish before my birthday (next Tuesday) and go to sleep. Until next time..

Phone Call

2011-01-26T23:51:00.003-05:00

I wanted to share a story- yesterday afternoon, I received a phone call from a man inquiring about donating stuffed animals. We don't get many phone calls from men regarding stuffed animal donations- the vast majority are from moms donating their children's stuffed animals or helping organize collections. When I picked up the phone, I was totally unprepared for what I would hear. The man explained that he had a collection of Vermont teddy bears that belonged to his wife. She died and he wanted the stuffed animals to go to a good cause. He had researched online and found Project Smile and wanted to send them to us. The pain in his voice was unmistakable, he even started to cry as he talked. His wife had died shortly before Thanksgiving- barely two months ago. She had been diagnosed 3 years ago with advanced breast cancer and it spread to her bones. She was so sick that she ended up in a nursing home at the end of her life. He told me about how someone had nicknamed her a bear and she started collecting teddy bears because of it. It was so heart wrenching to listen to him talk. They had only been married for 6 years- it was his second marriage, her first and he said that he was so lucky to have found her. He told me how he was donated her clothes to an organization helping people in Haiti and he wanted the teddy bears to go to good use. I had tears in my eyes as I listened to him talk- his grief was so raw. We ended up on the phone for a half hour as he talked about her, about the bankruptcy that he is being forced to file because of all the outstanding medical bills and the pain of losing his wife.

It was such a sad phone call, but it was also inspiring in a way- it is a reminder to appreciate the ones that are in our life because it is so easy to lose them. It is also such a sign of support for Project Smile- how people can still be generous even when experiencing such pain and loss. It reminded me of Maureen, the mother who lost her two children to cystic fibrosis. Her daughter had been collecting stuffed animals for Project Smile before she died. After she died, her mom donated the stuffed animals and organized a larger collection for us- such an amazing display of kindness.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. It has been a relatively quiet week so far, but there is always stuff going on- I'm just getting tired and want to read my book some more. I can't renew it anymore at the library and it is now overdue, but I really want to finish it. It is just hard to find the time to read some times. Until tomorrow friends...

Events Scheduled

2011-01-20T23:08:00.002-05:00

We are getting things lined up for our two big events. Our 5th Annual Charity Date Auction is booked for Friday, September 16 at Gypsy Bar, Boston (same location as usual). Karson and Kennedy are going to be hosting again. I'm so happy about that- they did a phenomenal job last year. I picked a new image from I Stock for our flier and marketing materials. Lisa is updating the flier, once I get that, I can have the new image on our website. I think it is important to use a new graphic for the event every year- it keeps things fresh. I've been reaching out to people who were involved last year. The staffing agency has already committed to sending three staffers to work at our event. The women who came to help last year were great. I've also updated our sponsor package, I'm going to start sending that our shortly. The hunt will start soon for auction items and gift certificates for the date auction couples. It is a little too soon to start recruiting bachelors/ettes to participate.

Our other big event, our Project Smile 8th Anniversary Celebration is booked for Friday, October 21 at the Doubletree Hotel, Milford. That is a few weeks later than we usually do, but there are two holidays that fall on a Friday and the hotel was booked for the Friday before the 21st. I've already started working on getting a speaker. It was funny- yesterday, I went to send a letter to a Boston news anchor that we tried to get last year. I opened last year's letter on the computer and looked at the date- it was exactly one year ago that I mailed the letter last year! I have done that quite a few times with letters that I send every year to various organizations- it will be one year to the day that I send it again and it isn't even something that I think about.

Well, that's the latest tonight. I'm off to eat a grapefruit, then read for a bit- I still haven't finished my novel and I can't renew it again at the library. Until next time..

Moving Along

2011-01-18T23:37:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm not getting any better with blogging on an almost daily basis- one of my new year's resolutions was to blog more. I used to blog a lot more, then slipped. This year started with some very upsetting personal news and that affected my desire to blog. I was distracted and tired. I can't change the news that I heard and it was a shock, but I am working through it and feeling a lot better. I am ready to get back to my new year's resolution and return to blogging: the way I used to do it!

One of my other new year's resolutions was to network more. At first I wasn't sure how to do that. Obviously, it includes going to more events, but there are so many to choose from it can be hard to decide. This month, I joined the Womens Success Network which meets monthly in Franklin, I think that is going to be a great group. I went to their first dinner and it was a really positive experience. I'm looking forward to making a lot of good connections. I also just took over as director of the Downtown Women's Club Metrowest chapter. It is a womens networking group with different chapters all over the country. I've been attending the Attleboro chapter for years and met a lot of very supportive people. Today, I scheduled my first event- a networking and presentation skills workshop on February 24 with Jacki Rose. I met her a couple of years ago at the Attleboro chapter where she did a great presentation. I want to build this group up and expand the membership and have lots of interesting events. It is wonderful to be in a position where you can help other people build their connections. Naturally, my hope is to also build my connections too and meet people who would like to support Project Smile. I still am doing the usual networking that I've been doing before and I'm also going to be attending other events as well. I'm really excited about the new outreach that I'm doing. For a long time, I've been saying to myself that I need to do more in terms of network and I did do more- but now I'm really taking big steps to making that happen.

I think that is also a sign of how I've grown personally as I've grown Project Smile. When I first started doing this full time- 7 years ago this June, I didn't know a lot about running a business or networking, but as time as gone on and I have grown Project Smile, I have learned so much and I've become a lot better at what I do. There is still so much more to learn, but I really feel that I'm on the right track to have great years of growth for Project Smile coming up. Of course, one of the most important parts of being able to grow PS is to reach out to people and gain new supporters.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I was intending to read my novel that I've been reading for almost two months- I have wanted to read more- there are so many good books out there, but I can't seem to find the time or when I do have the time, I'm too tired. I'm going to make it a goal this year to change that. Until tomorrow friends....

Year in Review

2011-01-09T20:05:00.002-05:00

well, I know that we are already a week into the new year and everyone else is well past their 'year in review' reports, but I did want to write about the highlights of 2010. So here we go!

Highlights:
The Project Smile Date Auction and our Anniversary Celebration- they both raised record amounts of money and generated lots of positive feedback. I'm already working on this year's events and it is great to have that energy to build on.

Expanding our calendar to include other children besides police/fire fighters with their kids. We still kept the same format, but it was nice to freshen the calendar up with the addition of children who are not related to police/fire fighters. It also helps broaden the marketing of the calendar.

Expanding to work with homeless shelters- this is something that I want to expand even more this year.

Growing PS to reach more police/fire departments and continuing to replenish the supplies of departments we already work with.

The Santa and Stilettos Shoe Ball- this was a smaller scale fundraiser and required less effort on our part, there is also a lot of growth opportunity. I'm looking forward to being involved this year and hopefully working with Reggie B on other events too.

The couple from Louisiana that sent us the $10 donation after reading about the woman with her credit card fraud- what a kind and generous gesture.

The grants we received this year- including the Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation, 200 Foundation and the Brown Foundation

The wonderful volunteers and other people that I've met this year who support our work.

Lowlights:

The woman who lost the airline tickets and pretended that she never received them. I'm still waiting to hear back from our cc processing company about the status of the arbitration.

Losing the support of the CT company that bought our Project Smile boxes for us- although on the upside, our new boxes arrived a couple of days ago and they look phenomenal.

Dealing with people who promise sponsorship/auction items/time and when it comes time to deliver on their promises, they seem to have disappeared from the planet.

Chasing down people to collect on sponsorship money owed and/or people who bid on silent auction items and never pay for them (thankfully we still have the items).

The stress that comes with having so many things to work and trying to divide my time among all the tasks- the Project Smile program, grant writing, event planning, networking, etc. It does get overwhelming at times

Well, those are some of the highlights and lowlights of 2010. It was a great year for Project Smile. I'm excited for what 2011 is going to bring. I'm a little behind on things already this month, I still haven't finished my plan for the year, so I'm going to be working on that tomorrow. Now, I'm off to read- my library book is due in 2 days and I still have another 200 pages to read and I don't think I can renew it again! Until next time friends..

Generous People

2010-12-20T23:23:00.002-05:00

Well, it is Christmas week and I wanted to share a holiday story about the kindness of people. I received a holiday card on Friday from a couple from Houmha, Louisiana- enclosed was a check for $10 and a note on the card that wished us a happy holidays and "no more of that lady's "I didn't receive it" foolishness, which could have cost you $500." I was so touched by the card that it brought tears to my eyes. Things had been a little frustrating lately- between dealing with the woman and her credit card fraud which she is trying to get away with and trying to collect on money owed to us and dealing with some other unhelpful people- it had been a little trying. When I received her card, it was a reminder of all the good, kind people that there are in the world and how I've been lucky enough to be helped by a lot of supportive people. It was also a reminder that people do actually read my blog! Today, I mailed them a thank you card and a Project Smile calendar.

Brief update with the credit card issue- I mailed the letter, signed pre-arbitration form and another copy of the post office signed receipt to the cc company. Our board attorney reviewed the letter and made some edits to it before I sent it.

In other updates- the Santa and Stiletto event raised a total of $1,650 for Project Smile. I'm happy with that. Events like that are great because they raise money without us having to expend a lot of time and effort. It also kept Project Smile's name out there which is always good.

I'm trying to wrap up all the loose ends for this year and work on planning things in 2011. Tomorrow, I have to submit more December updates for our website and I want to send a holiday greeting email to our PS supporters- I might hold off on that until next week and do a happy new year email instead and include another calendar promotion. I also should do a December newsletter- I'm way behind on that- a very common problem this year. I also need to catch up on my emails- yet again. Those are two of the business things that I want to improve on next year- getting my newsletter out every month and promptly responding to emails. There are other things that I want to improve for next year. I want to take some time and focus nothing but planning for next year and working on ways to improve.

Well, that is the latest for tonight. I am going to watch Jay Leno's headlines, then read- I am really enjoying the mystery I've been reading- although it isn't necessarily the best bedtime reading! Until tomorrow friends...

Credit Card Issue Returns

2010-12-15T23:27:00.002-05:00

So much to write about! So, remember the issue about the girl who bought the airline tickets at our silent auction, lost them and then told her credit card company that she never received them- our credit card company took our $550 back, we sent a letter with a copy of the receipt from the post office showing she signed for the tickets and we got our money back. Well, her credit card company is still appealing and now it is headed to arbitration. The bad news is that if I continue to fight for our money and lose, we will be hit with a $500 charge in addition to losing our money. Obviously, we are in the right and we can prove it, but it is a little scary to have the idea of being hit with that big a charge if we didn't win. I am moving forward with the arbitration process.

Her credit card company wrote that our signature proof wasn't sufficient because it was dated before she said she called us to say she never received the tickets. Now, she never called to say she didn't get the tickets- she called to say that she did have them but lost them and was there anything I could do- there wasn't because the air line specifically wrote on the tickets that they weren't responsible for lost/stolen tickets. However, her cc company's reason doesn't make sense because even if they believed that she called me on 9/30 to say they didn't arrive (which she didn't), and my signature proof is dated 9/22- then that is what is supposed to happen. You can't call to say you didn't get something until after it should have been mailed. I don't understand where their logic is coming from. It also amazes me how she would just call up and pretend like she never received them- it really is a rotten thing to do. Hopefully, things will work out in our favor- since we did nothing wrong.

So what else is happening? Well, our 2nd Annual Santa and Stilettos was Saturday night. Reggie B Productions and the Hello Stiletto Shoe Club put the event together. It was a lot of fun and had a great turnout. Unfortunately, Kennedy was sick, so we had Miss Manchester NH step in and host the event- she did a great job, especially at the last minute. The fashion show was great- I even modeled in it! We raised $550 at the silent auction. We are getting a portion of the ticket proceeds, but I'm not sure what the final numbers are yet, so I will keep you posted. Santa Claus- one of the fire fighters that I know- did it again this year. He attended our holiday event last year. He does a great job mingling with everyone and posing for photos.

In other good news- we received the grant that I was getting a little worried about! It was for $3,000- the same amount as last year. I was quite relieved and happy when I opened the envelope. There probably wasn't any reason to be worried about getting it, but I never take anything for granted.

Well friends, I am off to bed. Actually, I am off to eat pizelles- the most delicious Italian cookies ever! I am slightly (very) addicted to them! Until tomorrow...

Wednesday Wonders

2010-12-08T16:44:00.002-05:00

Well, there aren't any wonders happening today, but I thought it was a good title for the blog! So what's new? Our boxes are officially ordered and should be arriving by the end of this month- which is a lot sooner than I had expected. I'm not sure yet where they are going to be stored, but I'm going to be working on that tomorrow. I'm just relieved that we are going to be having our own boxes again. According to the box company, our logo will be even more prominent on these boxes which is good. Of course, it is disappointing that we now have to pay for them, but there is nothing I can do about that right now. I'm just happy that we have the money to pay for them and we're not going back to the old unprofessional look. The cost was reasonable- it is higher the first time because they have to design the template, but once it is in place, we won't have that charge again.

It is disappointing that we lost the sponsor, especially the way it happened. I always try to look back and see what I could have done differently, but in this situation, there wasn't much that I could have reasonably done. I'm going to work on finding a new box sponsor that can help pay for the next load of boxes.

I'm a little worried about one grant that we applied for. We have received this grant for the past couple of years, I was invited to apply last month- which we did, but haven't heard anything yet. The grant usually arrives by now. I was pretty confident that we would be included, but now I'm getting concerned. They might just be delayed. Please keep your fingers crossed for us.

Today, I did another donation of stuffed animals, books and some really nice toys to the Department of Children and Families. I always like donating there. It makes me happy to know that we can have some impact on children who are in foster care. That must be such a terribly traumatic experience for a child to go through- it is good to know that we can help in some way to make it a little easier.

Well friends, that's it for today. I'm going back to catching up on emails. Until next time...