Encouragement

Greetings! So what's the latest and greatest? There was not a whole lot of news today. More phone calls and emails and a ton of faxes. Amy, one of new volunteers, has been working on getting gift certificates donated for our date auction and she called me this afternoon with a load of faxes that needed sent. So hopefully, we will get a good response and start getting some items in. I also dropped off our deposit check at the Sheraton for our Anniversary event- so now it is really official!

So today I met a friend of mine for dinner tonight- Michelle started volunteering with Project Smile about 3 years ago and she did a great job. She still helps out at events and is always so spportive. I don't see her very often (hopefully that will change now!, so we met tonight to catch up. The reason I'm writing about this is because she is always so positive and encouraging and that is the best thing in the world. Positive people give off such an energy and it is so important to have that in your life. My mom has always been incredibly supportive and I owe a lot of Project Smile's success to her.

When I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about what I would tell someone who wanted to start a non profit like I did. Michelle and I had talked about if briefly. I'd simply tell them to go for it- that if it is something you really want to do, you'll find a way to make it work. I'd also give practical advice, like the kind that has helped me. I had no idea when I started Project Smile just how difficult it would be, I never knew the level of stress and anxiety that would be felt, but on the flip side, I had no idea the incredible highs that would come with my work. If someone had told me how great the good days would be, I probably would have laughed in disbelief. If they told me how difficult it would be, I'd probably laugh at that too. So my point is- sometimes not knowing is an absolutely wonderful thing. That said, if someone had given me a crystal ball in June 2004 when my job at Dover/Sherborn had ended and had let me see what the next 4 years would bring- the highlights, low lights and all the stuff in the middle- without a doubt I would have made the same decision. My job is far from perfect, but I absolutely love it.

Anyways, need to go and write my list for tomorrow. I have a lot of auction items to follow up on and the usual fundraising things, contacting more police/fire departments and my two volunteers are coming too. Until next time....