I almost hit an animal when I was driving home tonight- it got me thinking about how quickly things can change. There I was, driving along on a windy road home, a little after 11pm- partly thinking happy thoughts and partly worrying about work stuff- when all of a sudden an animal, maybe a raccoon- I don't even know, comes darting out across the street. I slammed on my brakes and luckily didn't hit him. It scared me a little, because it was a reminder of how things can change in an instant. One moment you can be going along thinking about all the little things that seem to matter so much and in a split second, everything can change. I realized that I need to stop worrying about things so much. This morning was somewhat annoying and I was feeling quite stressed. I've been working on obtaining sponsors for the date auction, but seem to be hitting a bit of a roadblock lately. The people I spoke with were generally quite unhelpful and disinterested this morning. I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. Our event is now only 5 months away and we need to get a lot more sponsors on board. It is such an incredible event and a great marketing opportunity for a company that wants to reach a large crowd of young professionals.
There was a bright moment though- Carolee called me with good news. She got a new company on board as a calendar sponsor. Her phone call couldn't have come at a better time because I was sitting at my desk, staring out the window and worrying about obtaining financial donors. Her call made a big difference and got me motivated to get back to making phone calls. I have reached out to quite a few new companies lately for the date auction, I think we will get a positive response from at least a couple of them, but it does take time to get a commitment. That's the thing about this job that can be so frustrating sometimes- you work really hard and don't see any results for a while. That's part of the reason why I enjoy cleaning- because you see instant, tangible results.
Anyways, what else is new? I don't remember. I know that's a stupid answer, but I get tired and forget what happened. My concept of time can be amazingly off sometimes. I was searching for an email this morning that I thought was sent to me last week- it turned out it was sent yesterday. Tomorrow, I'm dropping off stuffed animals with the Boston FF Association. Yesterday, we donated to Orange PD- it is a small town. There are so many other small towns that we haven't reached yet. There is a whole part of the state west of Rt. 91 that we have barely touched. It is a long drive to get to some of those towns, but we need to get out there. I feel like we have neglected a chunk of the state. The furthest west we've donated to is Lenox and Stockbridge which are 2 hours away. I should work on that tomorrow.
My eyes are hurting, I think I need to sleep. I've also been slipping on my list writing. Partly because I think I can keep track of everything that I need to do without writing a list. Technically that is true, but a list is very helpful to keep the brain focused and it also helps get me back on track when things don't go well and I start to feel anxious. So tonight, before I let my sore little eyes go to sleep, I will be sure to write my list. Ah, don't you get tired of hearing me talk about my list writing? It is probably almost as bad as listening to me rave about my grapefruit eating. Anyways, until tomorrow friends..
Take a look behind the scenes of running a nonprofit organization.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Fear and Confidence
I've been thinking recently about fear and confidence. I believe that a large part of confidence comes when you let go of fear. I was particularly thinking about it when I was driving home from tango tonight. It's only the end of my fourth month of tango and although I'm improving, I have a long, long way to go. Part of my trouble is that I get afraid- it's not a conscious decision, but I do know that I worry about keeping up, worry about following and remembering steps. There are moments when I just focus on simply following and I forget everything else- those are the moments when I feel myself moving well, when I feel the confidence start to build because the fear is pushed away.
There are parallels between my experiences with learning tango and with work. I have grown tremendously more confident with Project Smile as the years have progressed- that confidence comes from our success and our success makes me let go of the fear. What am I afraid of? Ultimately, I'm afraid of Project Smile never becoming a national organization, of all the energy, the hard work, the sacrifices that I make and the successes that we've had- for all of that to not add up to my goal. I've always believed that if you work really hard, there is nothing you can't achieve, but deep down, there is a part of me that is afraid that one can work super hard, but still not get where you want to go. Part of the reason that I want Project Smile to become a national charity is perhaps a little selfish- I want to live a life that matters beyond the few short years that we all have on this planet. I want to know that I made things a little better right now and that can continue beyond me. It isn't about people knowing my name after I'm dead- I have no idea who started any of the major non profits in the country- outside of the ones that bear their name- it's about creating an organization whose mission will flourish and will expand beyond anything that I've imagined. Right now, we are far from that place. I know that should I die tomorrow, Project Smile will go with me. It's not that I'm so special that no one else could do my job, it's the simple fact that I have no one to take it over and it would be highly unlikely to find someone to work full time with a salary that is so uncompetitive.
However, there is an upside to fear- it keeps you on your toes and makes you highly competitive and alert. I do get afraid of losing Project Smile- of the donations drying up and the business that I've been working on since I was 23 years old, disappearing before my eyes. It is a somewhat irrational fear, but it drives me everyday to work my hardest and it pushes me through when things are tough. Every time I speak in public I get extremely nervous, my stomach gets in knots, my eyesight gets a little blurry, my heart races- but it is for the best, because it keeps me focused.
Why is confidence so important? Besides all of the obvious reasons, it is important because it opens your mind to bigger and bigger possibilities. A year ago, I was initially prepared to partner with another organization for the date auction because I didn't trust my instinct that we could have a huge success on our own. Thankfully, I listened to myself and we had an awesome event. Now, with the confidence that has built from our success, I am thinking of things that I hadn't even considered- gift bags, bigger sponsorship support, higher ticket price, outfits for the bachelorettes and other things. When I ask for donations, I ask for more than I ever would have asked for before. It's not that I never thought we deserved bigger support before- I always believe we deserve every donation we ask for, it's that our success has given me the confidence to think bigger and to ask bigger.
Confidence also keeps you hungry for more- it keeps pushing the bar on how one defines success. 4 years ago, our first Halloween event raised $500 for us- I was happy. Today, that would be a disaster. In 2005, our first grant of $1,000 from the Wal Mart Foundation sent me through the roof- today, it takes a grant of $5000 to get that same feeling. In a couple of years, it will probably take $10k to feel the same way. This has nothing to do with being arrogant or taking things for granted- I am very grateful and happy for every dollar we receive and I never take a single donation for granted. It is about that personal drive that keeps you hungry, keeps you wanting more and working to get it.
Anyways, that's it for tonight. Perhaps I was a bit on the rambling side, but it is all things that have been on my mind. It is coming up on 1am and I should be going. Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Orange to do a PD donation. I love the name of that town- however, I keep wishing that it had a sister town of Peach. How cool would that be? Until tomorrow friends..
There are parallels between my experiences with learning tango and with work. I have grown tremendously more confident with Project Smile as the years have progressed- that confidence comes from our success and our success makes me let go of the fear. What am I afraid of? Ultimately, I'm afraid of Project Smile never becoming a national organization, of all the energy, the hard work, the sacrifices that I make and the successes that we've had- for all of that to not add up to my goal. I've always believed that if you work really hard, there is nothing you can't achieve, but deep down, there is a part of me that is afraid that one can work super hard, but still not get where you want to go. Part of the reason that I want Project Smile to become a national charity is perhaps a little selfish- I want to live a life that matters beyond the few short years that we all have on this planet. I want to know that I made things a little better right now and that can continue beyond me. It isn't about people knowing my name after I'm dead- I have no idea who started any of the major non profits in the country- outside of the ones that bear their name- it's about creating an organization whose mission will flourish and will expand beyond anything that I've imagined. Right now, we are far from that place. I know that should I die tomorrow, Project Smile will go with me. It's not that I'm so special that no one else could do my job, it's the simple fact that I have no one to take it over and it would be highly unlikely to find someone to work full time with a salary that is so uncompetitive.
However, there is an upside to fear- it keeps you on your toes and makes you highly competitive and alert. I do get afraid of losing Project Smile- of the donations drying up and the business that I've been working on since I was 23 years old, disappearing before my eyes. It is a somewhat irrational fear, but it drives me everyday to work my hardest and it pushes me through when things are tough. Every time I speak in public I get extremely nervous, my stomach gets in knots, my eyesight gets a little blurry, my heart races- but it is for the best, because it keeps me focused.
Why is confidence so important? Besides all of the obvious reasons, it is important because it opens your mind to bigger and bigger possibilities. A year ago, I was initially prepared to partner with another organization for the date auction because I didn't trust my instinct that we could have a huge success on our own. Thankfully, I listened to myself and we had an awesome event. Now, with the confidence that has built from our success, I am thinking of things that I hadn't even considered- gift bags, bigger sponsorship support, higher ticket price, outfits for the bachelorettes and other things. When I ask for donations, I ask for more than I ever would have asked for before. It's not that I never thought we deserved bigger support before- I always believe we deserve every donation we ask for, it's that our success has given me the confidence to think bigger and to ask bigger.
Confidence also keeps you hungry for more- it keeps pushing the bar on how one defines success. 4 years ago, our first Halloween event raised $500 for us- I was happy. Today, that would be a disaster. In 2005, our first grant of $1,000 from the Wal Mart Foundation sent me through the roof- today, it takes a grant of $5000 to get that same feeling. In a couple of years, it will probably take $10k to feel the same way. This has nothing to do with being arrogant or taking things for granted- I am very grateful and happy for every dollar we receive and I never take a single donation for granted. It is about that personal drive that keeps you hungry, keeps you wanting more and working to get it.
Anyways, that's it for tonight. Perhaps I was a bit on the rambling side, but it is all things that have been on my mind. It is coming up on 1am and I should be going. Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Orange to do a PD donation. I love the name of that town- however, I keep wishing that it had a sister town of Peach. How cool would that be? Until tomorrow friends..
Friday, April 24, 2009
Updates
Well, I've been slipping somewhat on my blogging, so I wanted to make sure to blog tonight. It is a quiet night tonight- I'm watching my Yankees play the Red Sox for the first time this season. So what's new? Things are going well with the date auction- with the exception of finding financial sponsors, things are moving slowly on that front, but we have some cool items being donated for the gift bags and auction. We have enough gift certificates for 14 couples so far- it's still far from the 40 we need to get to, but considering it is still April, we are doing OK. I recruited a new bachelorette for the date auction as well. A few months ago, the Improper Bostonian featured a singles issue where they highlighted some of Boston's most eligible. I held onto the magazine because I thought it would be fun to contact some of them and see if they would like to participate. I called this lady because I read in her profile that she was a member of the Hello Stiletto Shoe Club- an awesome organization that I'm a member of too and they help sponsor our Date Auction. She owns a retail store in Back Bay and sounded like a cool person, so I called her, emailed her the info and she agreed to participate. She is also donating a discount card for her store for the gift bags.
In other good news- a women's clothing store is on board to outfit all the bachelorettes with dresses for the date auction! How fun is that? They are also donating for our silent auction and coupons for our gift bags. Last year, I read an article about another date auction in Boston and I kept the article because I wanted to contact the businesses to see if they would be interested in supporting our event this year- that is how I found that company. I've also contacted a salon which is interested in getting involved in our event. It is shaping up to be such a super awesome event- I know that isn't exactly a professional description for a fundraiser- but it is going to be terrific.
I've been working on getting sponsors for our Anniversary Celebration. I don't have any good news yet, but it does take time to get responses. I didn't get as much work done this week on calendar sponsors as I should have, so that is priority one for next week. Actually, priority one is contacting more departments- the goal was to work with 150 departments by the beginning of May, by Tuesday we will be at 146. It's hard to make priorities sometimes because right now everything is equally important- police/fire outreach, calendar sponsors, date auction sponsors/auction items and anniversary event sponsors/auction items. They all need inter-related and they all need attention.
What else is going on? I can't remember now- it was a busy week, but it is kind of a blur. It's funny- sometimes I think of things that happen- phone calls I've made, emails, etc and I think that they happened ages ago, but I'll check my spreadsheets and it will turn out that it was only 2 or 3 days ago.
Anyways, I think that's it for tonight. The Yankees game is now in extra innings- there is such inspiration to find in sports games, particularly the idea of never giving up. Nothing is ever over until it is truly over- and one keeps fighting, keeps working, keeps believing until you turn things your way and then you keep on fighting, working and believing. It's a good motto to live by.
Well, I am off to read for a bit, I was going to catch up on some work, but it is Friday night and even though I am home- I don't particularly have the urge to work. I am feeling the urge for a warm French roll with port salut cheese- both of which are in the fridge. And the game continues... let's go Yankees!! Until next time friends..
In other good news- a women's clothing store is on board to outfit all the bachelorettes with dresses for the date auction! How fun is that? They are also donating for our silent auction and coupons for our gift bags. Last year, I read an article about another date auction in Boston and I kept the article because I wanted to contact the businesses to see if they would be interested in supporting our event this year- that is how I found that company. I've also contacted a salon which is interested in getting involved in our event. It is shaping up to be such a super awesome event- I know that isn't exactly a professional description for a fundraiser- but it is going to be terrific.
I've been working on getting sponsors for our Anniversary Celebration. I don't have any good news yet, but it does take time to get responses. I didn't get as much work done this week on calendar sponsors as I should have, so that is priority one for next week. Actually, priority one is contacting more departments- the goal was to work with 150 departments by the beginning of May, by Tuesday we will be at 146. It's hard to make priorities sometimes because right now everything is equally important- police/fire outreach, calendar sponsors, date auction sponsors/auction items and anniversary event sponsors/auction items. They all need inter-related and they all need attention.
What else is going on? I can't remember now- it was a busy week, but it is kind of a blur. It's funny- sometimes I think of things that happen- phone calls I've made, emails, etc and I think that they happened ages ago, but I'll check my spreadsheets and it will turn out that it was only 2 or 3 days ago.
Anyways, I think that's it for tonight. The Yankees game is now in extra innings- there is such inspiration to find in sports games, particularly the idea of never giving up. Nothing is ever over until it is truly over- and one keeps fighting, keeps working, keeps believing until you turn things your way and then you keep on fighting, working and believing. It's a good motto to live by.
Well, I am off to read for a bit, I was going to catch up on some work, but it is Friday night and even though I am home- I don't particularly have the urge to work. I am feeling the urge for a warm French roll with port salut cheese- both of which are in the fridge. And the game continues... let's go Yankees!! Until next time friends..
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Good News
Greetings! So what's new? Well, let's start with good news. Southwest Airlines is donating two round trip airline tickets to anywhere in the USA for our Anniversary Celebration. They donated last year, so this is great news. That is a big ticket auction item. So far, we are doing really well with auction items- we still have a long way to go, but I am relieved. The Improper Bostonian also committed to donating a gift bag for the date auction as well and we received harbor cruise passes for two couples yesterday. Tomorrow, I need to review all the items we have- I obviously have a list of everyone that donated, but some businesses have donated enough for two couples, so I need to compile a separate list. I believe that we have enough certificates for 10 couples, we need to get to 40, so we still have a long way to go, but it is a good start.
What else is happening? I did our donation to Saugus Police today, so now we are working with 145 departments. I need to get back to contacting more departments. I didn't get to it today and yesterday was a tough day to reach people- a lot of people were out because of the holiday and those that were working didn't seem to be in the best mood.
I was thinking about the date auction when I was driving to Saugus today- I was running through the event in my head and thinking about ways to improve it. I've had some good suggestions from a few people that I was thinking about implementing. The event is already awesome, but there are always ways to improve. The most important thing right now is financial sponsorship. We haven't reached our goal yet and there are a lot more businesses that need to be contacted.
I feel like I'm behind on things- police/fire outreach, calendar sponsors, date auction and anniversary event sponsors, grants- pretty much everything. It's funny, because even when things are going well, I feel like I'm behind. There are always some many things that need done and I never get to all of it- which is a constant source of frustration.
Anyways friends, tiredness is setting in- it is 12:28 and I need to sleep. My eyes are hurting. It has been some late nights recently and I've been feeling it during the day, so tonight I'm trying to go to bed earlier. Until tomorrow..
What else is happening? I did our donation to Saugus Police today, so now we are working with 145 departments. I need to get back to contacting more departments. I didn't get to it today and yesterday was a tough day to reach people- a lot of people were out because of the holiday and those that were working didn't seem to be in the best mood.
I was thinking about the date auction when I was driving to Saugus today- I was running through the event in my head and thinking about ways to improve it. I've had some good suggestions from a few people that I was thinking about implementing. The event is already awesome, but there are always ways to improve. The most important thing right now is financial sponsorship. We haven't reached our goal yet and there are a lot more businesses that need to be contacted.
I feel like I'm behind on things- police/fire outreach, calendar sponsors, date auction and anniversary event sponsors, grants- pretty much everything. It's funny, because even when things are going well, I feel like I'm behind. There are always some many things that need done and I never get to all of it- which is a constant source of frustration.
Anyways friends, tiredness is setting in- it is 12:28 and I need to sleep. My eyes are hurting. It has been some late nights recently and I've been feeling it during the day, so tonight I'm trying to go to bed earlier. Until tomorrow..
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thursday News
So what's new? I attended a charity fundraiser tonight in Boston- I was actually volunteering at the event, but they already had a lot of volunteers and didn't need more help, so I spent most of my time wandering around and enjoying the event. I love going to charity events- not only to support great causes, but is great to see how other organizations do their events. One can learn a lot just by observing events. I don't get to many charity events usually because I can't afford the ticket price. This event was held in a beautiful venue in Boston that had incredible views of the city. It was a really nice event with lots of different restaurants and shops participating and offering food samples for the guests. I had thought of doing an event like that already, so it was great to see a similar one. It must take a lot of work to coordinate, so I wouldn't want to undertake such an event without some really strong partnerships already in place. Seeing this event also made me feel really proud of our own events, particularly since I've done all our big events by myself. There were a couple of things that I think we actually do better at our events. I was also really relieved by the gift bags. I've been worried about how many items we are going to get for our bags, so I was happy when I saw that their bags were pretty small. They had a magazine, box of soap, Valvoline coupon and chapstick. Considering this event had a $100 ticket and our event will be a $15-16 dollar ticket, I think we are doing really well for our items. It was great to see how many people attended- it looked like well over 250.
What else is new? I picked up a $100 gift certificate to Masa for the date auction tonight. They are such a nice restaurant- so supportive of our work and helpful- and they have really good food. I'm going to write a review on Yelp and mention how supportive they are of local charity events. I was really disappointed yesterday in a phone call that I received from a Boston based restaurant that donated a gift card last year for the date auction. The lady called me back and said that they only donate to the same charity every two years. Now, I can totally understand if we were talking about a sizeable amount of money, but a $50 gift card? Seriously? This is a chain restaurant that also sells its food in grocery stores, it is very successful. So the idea that they are so limited that they can only donate a gift card every two years doesn't make much sense. Can you imagine if every business had that attitude? Every charity would suffer. The part that really got to me was when she said, "I have to work within a budget you know." Of course I know about budgets- when you start a business with a $50 personal check and build it to where it is today, you do know a thing or two about working within a budget. Anyways, I will not be dining at that restaurant again. Whenever possible, I will not spend my money (or organize group dinners) at establishments that don't support us. I really value the people and businesses that make donations to us, so I would much rather give them my business and bring friends there too.
Anyways, it is 1am and I'd better go to bed. I'm starting to feel a burst of energy coming on, but that is not good since I don't want to end up going to bed at 3am which will happen if I go back to work now. I did start working on contacting sponsors for our Anniversary event. I was looking at my sponsor list from last year and I didn't start until early May last year, so I'm actually ahead of schedule! We did get one more calendar month sold which was good news and I also found out that our grant application we submitted last November to a local bank's charitable foundation was evidently lost- this is actually good news because I hadn't heard anything and was concerned that the Foundation might have stopped reviewing applications. So I decided to inquire about it when I asked about the calendar sponsorship. I'm glad I asked since now I can update the grant and resubmit.
OK- need to stop now. I wish I'd already switched off the office computer so I didn't feel the temptation to sit down and start writing more letters. My eyes are starting to hurt, so I do need to sleep. Until next time friends..
What else is new? I picked up a $100 gift certificate to Masa for the date auction tonight. They are such a nice restaurant- so supportive of our work and helpful- and they have really good food. I'm going to write a review on Yelp and mention how supportive they are of local charity events. I was really disappointed yesterday in a phone call that I received from a Boston based restaurant that donated a gift card last year for the date auction. The lady called me back and said that they only donate to the same charity every two years. Now, I can totally understand if we were talking about a sizeable amount of money, but a $50 gift card? Seriously? This is a chain restaurant that also sells its food in grocery stores, it is very successful. So the idea that they are so limited that they can only donate a gift card every two years doesn't make much sense. Can you imagine if every business had that attitude? Every charity would suffer. The part that really got to me was when she said, "I have to work within a budget you know." Of course I know about budgets- when you start a business with a $50 personal check and build it to where it is today, you do know a thing or two about working within a budget. Anyways, I will not be dining at that restaurant again. Whenever possible, I will not spend my money (or organize group dinners) at establishments that don't support us. I really value the people and businesses that make donations to us, so I would much rather give them my business and bring friends there too.
Anyways, it is 1am and I'd better go to bed. I'm starting to feel a burst of energy coming on, but that is not good since I don't want to end up going to bed at 3am which will happen if I go back to work now. I did start working on contacting sponsors for our Anniversary event. I was looking at my sponsor list from last year and I didn't start until early May last year, so I'm actually ahead of schedule! We did get one more calendar month sold which was good news and I also found out that our grant application we submitted last November to a local bank's charitable foundation was evidently lost- this is actually good news because I hadn't heard anything and was concerned that the Foundation might have stopped reviewing applications. So I decided to inquire about it when I asked about the calendar sponsorship. I'm glad I asked since now I can update the grant and resubmit.
OK- need to stop now. I wish I'd already switched off the office computer so I didn't feel the temptation to sit down and start writing more letters. My eyes are starting to hurt, so I do need to sleep. Until next time friends..
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Back to Progress
Things were a lot better today. The day started out well with a phone call from Spirit Airlines- we are receiving a donation of 2 round trip tickets as a silent auction item during our date auction. This is our first big ticket auction item for the date auction. Then, in other good news, my friend Michelle called me this morning and said she would donate two pairs of Celtics tickets- one pair for a couple at our date auction and another pair for our Anniversary Celebration. That is really good news too. We have special gift certificates for the bachelor/ettes that go for the highest amounts, so that will definitely be one of the special items. We still have a long way to go for items but we are moving forward and that was good news today. We also got a committment for another restaurant gift certificate- it was a restaurant that donated last time. I need to get back to focusing on finding financial sponsors for the event and also working on donors for the gift bags. I don't know how far I want to go with items for the gift bags- it is an extensive amount of time to spend hunting for donors, but since we are going to have PS tote bags debuted at the event, we do need some cool stuff to put inside the bags. I already have a few companies on board to donate bag items, but I definitely still need more items. However, priority one is finding financial sponsors.
I was making a lot of outreach phone calls to police/fire departments today and scheduled two donations- one to Saugus Police next week and Orange Police the following week. I also have a lot of follow up calls that need made tomorrow.
What else is new? I was working on more auction items for the Anniversary Celebration- I picked up one item today and got a commitment for 2 other items. I got a very nice email back from a guy who owns a local store- it turns out he is also a volunteer FF and was very happy to donate a gift certificate for our event.
I attended the monthly DWC networking event tonight. It was a really good event- as always. Diane, who founded the organization, attended and I got to meet her for the first time. We are already FB friends, so it was kind of funny to actually meet someone who I already felt familiar with- even if it was entirely online. She was very friendly and engaging. I always admire people who start their own businesses and I particularly admire people who present themselves with grace and elegance and make everything seem so effortless. Everything takes effort, but when you can make things look calm, seamless and beautiful- that is the mark of true success. I don't know if I make things look effortless- I think I speak about PS effortlessly because it is so true to my heart and I think that our events are very well organized, but there are certain things that could be more polished. I think that the ability to make things look easy comes with experience and with confidence.
Anyways, I am tired and need to sleep- I just had a little bit of cheddar cheese and I'm fighting off the urge to have some more- this time with crackers. It is 1am and I really don't need food. I'm visiting that nursing home in Ashland tomorrow and working on all the other things that need attention. Until tomorrow..
I was making a lot of outreach phone calls to police/fire departments today and scheduled two donations- one to Saugus Police next week and Orange Police the following week. I also have a lot of follow up calls that need made tomorrow.
What else is new? I was working on more auction items for the Anniversary Celebration- I picked up one item today and got a commitment for 2 other items. I got a very nice email back from a guy who owns a local store- it turns out he is also a volunteer FF and was very happy to donate a gift certificate for our event.
I attended the monthly DWC networking event tonight. It was a really good event- as always. Diane, who founded the organization, attended and I got to meet her for the first time. We are already FB friends, so it was kind of funny to actually meet someone who I already felt familiar with- even if it was entirely online. She was very friendly and engaging. I always admire people who start their own businesses and I particularly admire people who present themselves with grace and elegance and make everything seem so effortless. Everything takes effort, but when you can make things look calm, seamless and beautiful- that is the mark of true success. I don't know if I make things look effortless- I think I speak about PS effortlessly because it is so true to my heart and I think that our events are very well organized, but there are certain things that could be more polished. I think that the ability to make things look easy comes with experience and with confidence.
Anyways, I am tired and need to sleep- I just had a little bit of cheddar cheese and I'm fighting off the urge to have some more- this time with crackers. It is 1am and I really don't need food. I'm visiting that nursing home in Ashland tomorrow and working on all the other things that need attention. Until tomorrow..
Monday, April 13, 2009
No Progress
Well, it wasn't a very good day. I was struggling something awful this morning and even once I got going there wasn't any good news to report. I didn't get through to anyone with auction items or get to speak with anyone about other work things. I'm working on calendar ad sales but things were a little dicey with that today. I felt really off my game this morning- I made a business phone call, but totally garbled what I was trying to say and ended up sounding slightly stupid. Thankfully by the time I got connected to the right person, I picked up the pace and was OK, but it still wasn't up to my normal performance. I don't mean to sound like a debbie downer, but it was just that things were tough today. I was worried about a personal matter and that was weighing on me and I didn't sleep very well, which always makes problems seem worse.
I feel like I'm really behind where we need to be for the beginning of April. I haven't contacted any sponsors for the anniversary celebration, we're very behind on calendar ad sales, we're behind on the number of police/fire departments that I wanted us to reach and I'm struggling with getting gift certificate donations for the date auction. I have had a lot of rejections lately. I think I need to focus more on the less high end restaurants and try to get donations from more affordable restaurants that are doing better business. Last year, I struggled to get gift certificates donated as well, so this is hardly a new thing. So far, there hasn't been anyone who donated last year who is not on board for this year.
I know it is OK to have days like this- the most important thing is to leave today behind, write my list and get back on track tomorrow and have a successful day. I have a lot of things that I need to pick up the pace with tomorrow so we can stay on track- police/fire outreach, calendar sales, anniversary event sponsors, date auction sponsors and auction items for both events all need attention tomorrow. There are other things that need work as well, but those are the top priorities.
Well, I'm off to bed. It is an early night, 12:11. I was going to read for a little bit, but my eyes are hurting and I really need to sleep. Until tomorrow friends- which I know will be a lot better day.
I feel like I'm really behind where we need to be for the beginning of April. I haven't contacted any sponsors for the anniversary celebration, we're very behind on calendar ad sales, we're behind on the number of police/fire departments that I wanted us to reach and I'm struggling with getting gift certificate donations for the date auction. I have had a lot of rejections lately. I think I need to focus more on the less high end restaurants and try to get donations from more affordable restaurants that are doing better business. Last year, I struggled to get gift certificates donated as well, so this is hardly a new thing. So far, there hasn't been anyone who donated last year who is not on board for this year.
I know it is OK to have days like this- the most important thing is to leave today behind, write my list and get back on track tomorrow and have a successful day. I have a lot of things that I need to pick up the pace with tomorrow so we can stay on track- police/fire outreach, calendar sales, anniversary event sponsors, date auction sponsors and auction items for both events all need attention tomorrow. There are other things that need work as well, but those are the top priorities.
Well, I'm off to bed. It is an early night, 12:11. I was going to read for a little bit, but my eyes are hurting and I really need to sleep. Until tomorrow friends- which I know will be a lot better day.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Good Day
Today was a good day. I had a meeting in Connecticut with a new sponsor and it went great- as good as it possibly could have gone. We do work with a small number of police departments in CT already, but because I didn't have any resources and financial support in CT, I haven't been able to focus much attention in the state for a while. That is about to change! I am really happy that we will be working with this company to develop our efforts in CT. They were very professional, very interested in our work and seem to be really committed to a partnership. I am really excited because this is the type of thing that we need in order to grow Project Smile in other states.
After my meeting, I headed down to a tote bag distributor near New Haven- I have wanted to get tote bags with our name and logo on them. I think that would be excellent marketing. It looks like we will be doing goodie bags at the date auction, so the tote bags would work perfectly. We can also include them in the tix price for the anniversary celebration. I was so glad I made the trip to their office because it is important to look at all the different types of bags- weight, color, style, etc. I have been using the red sample bag that they sent me last year for groceries and I really like it. It is a different shape than the traditional grocery store tote bags. They had our bag in a lime green color that looks so snappy. I want our bag to be eye catching and cool- I think this bag is it. I'm going to take another look at it in the morning and maybe carry the bag around for a few days before I make a final decision. I do have some other samples, but I think it will be the lime green bag.
I didn't get anything else done today. My CT trip took up pretty much the entire day, so I have a lot of things that need attention tomorrow. It was a really good trip though and it was important. I'm glad that everything went well. I love getting out and talking about Project Smile. The thing that I love best about speaking about Project Smile is that everything is so genuine. I have never had to force a feeling, to pretend to love my work, never said a word that wasn't true. All I do is tell a story about what I do, why I do it, how it is done, what we need and why it deserves to be supported.
Anyways, I am tired from my 5 hours of driving today. It is 12:35- I was planning on starting my blog earlier, but was too busy munching on a french roll and cheese- so delicious. It's funny how the tiredness hits all of a sudden. A few minutes ago I was feeling fine, now, my eyes are starting to hurt and I feel like I can't move out of bed. Until next time friends..
After my meeting, I headed down to a tote bag distributor near New Haven- I have wanted to get tote bags with our name and logo on them. I think that would be excellent marketing. It looks like we will be doing goodie bags at the date auction, so the tote bags would work perfectly. We can also include them in the tix price for the anniversary celebration. I was so glad I made the trip to their office because it is important to look at all the different types of bags- weight, color, style, etc. I have been using the red sample bag that they sent me last year for groceries and I really like it. It is a different shape than the traditional grocery store tote bags. They had our bag in a lime green color that looks so snappy. I want our bag to be eye catching and cool- I think this bag is it. I'm going to take another look at it in the morning and maybe carry the bag around for a few days before I make a final decision. I do have some other samples, but I think it will be the lime green bag.
I didn't get anything else done today. My CT trip took up pretty much the entire day, so I have a lot of things that need attention tomorrow. It was a really good trip though and it was important. I'm glad that everything went well. I love getting out and talking about Project Smile. The thing that I love best about speaking about Project Smile is that everything is so genuine. I have never had to force a feeling, to pretend to love my work, never said a word that wasn't true. All I do is tell a story about what I do, why I do it, how it is done, what we need and why it deserves to be supported.
Anyways, I am tired from my 5 hours of driving today. It is 12:35- I was planning on starting my blog earlier, but was too busy munching on a french roll and cheese- so delicious. It's funny how the tiredness hits all of a sudden. A few minutes ago I was feeling fine, now, my eyes are starting to hurt and I feel like I can't move out of bed. Until next time friends..
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Small Steps
So what's new? Well, today does not fall into the most productive category. I got a bit of a late start and really struggled with things this morning- things were taking longer than they needed to get accomplished and I wasn't getting through to anyone which doesn't help. Things picked up in the afternoon and I did make some progress, particularly with auction items. We have commitments from a new donor and two more donors from last year. I am making progress on the calendar ads as well- two months are all set, that only leaves 11 more ads to go. There are 3 spots that I am really worried about- they all went to banks last year, but two of those banks are in the process of merging and one has been unresponsive lately.
We got another gift certificate for the date auction as well which was good- we still have a long way to go though- we need enough gift certificates for 40 couples. Another one of the organization's that sponsored last year's date auction is back on board with a sponsorship trade. They are promoting our event on their website and newsletter and donating auction and raffle items.
I was at a networking event tonight in Boston. It was a pretty good event and I think I made a couple of good connections that I'm going to follow up with tomorrow. There was a fellow there who works with one of our sponsors from last year's date auction. He was very interested in our cause and said he would put in a good word for us. I haven't actually contacted them for this year's support, but it was already on my list for this week, so I'm going to reach out tomorrow.
It's funny- I didn't think that I accomplished very much today, but now that I'm writing about it, I've realized that I actually did get a good amount of things done today. It wasn't a great day- more could definitely have been done, but it wasn't a waste. Well, it is midnite and I'm craving crackers and cheese- not really in the grapefruit mood tonight, so I'm going to go and munch- until tomorrow...
We got another gift certificate for the date auction as well which was good- we still have a long way to go though- we need enough gift certificates for 40 couples. Another one of the organization's that sponsored last year's date auction is back on board with a sponsorship trade. They are promoting our event on their website and newsletter and donating auction and raffle items.
I was at a networking event tonight in Boston. It was a pretty good event and I think I made a couple of good connections that I'm going to follow up with tomorrow. There was a fellow there who works with one of our sponsors from last year's date auction. He was very interested in our cause and said he would put in a good word for us. I haven't actually contacted them for this year's support, but it was already on my list for this week, so I'm going to reach out tomorrow.
It's funny- I didn't think that I accomplished very much today, but now that I'm writing about it, I've realized that I actually did get a good amount of things done today. It wasn't a great day- more could definitely have been done, but it wasn't a waste. Well, it is midnite and I'm craving crackers and cheese- not really in the grapefruit mood tonight, so I'm going to go and munch- until tomorrow...
Monday, April 6, 2009
News
I can't believe it has been a week since my last blog! There is so much to update on. Good news first: Sofft Shoes is back on board as the shoe sponsor for our date auction. I am so happy and relieved about that- I wasn't sure for a little while if they would participate again, but the good news came in. We will be doing the same thing as last year- each bachelor comes with a pair of sexy high heels for the winning bidder. It is such a unique twist on the typical date auction. Melissa, who runs Hello Stiletto Shoe Club, suggested it last year and she got Sofft on board. I was speaking with her last week and she suggested having a company donate mens neckties so that every bachelorette comes with a necktie for the winning guy. Emmi, who has her own mens image consulting company was able to get a Boston mens store on board to donate the ties- so that was even more good news.
We did two donations last week to new departments- Methuen and Haverhill PD. We are now working with 143 police and fire departments. Tomorrow, I have to get back to contacting more new departments. I got a phone call this afternoon from a nursing home in Ashland that we donated to last year with our Operation Elder Care program. They asked if I could bring more stuffed animals and also spend some time visiting with the residents. The lady said how happy they were last year when I brought the stuffed animals. I scheduled an appointment for next Wednesday. I actually don't remember that donation. I did so many last year it is hard to remember each donation. When I get there, I will probably remember the place. I'm happy that they called. Personally, I find it so sad to be in nursing homes. It is heart wrenching to see people in such a sad state. There is also a bit of selfish anxiety that sets in because I can't help but think of how someday I will be an old lady and there is a chance that maybe I'd end up in the same position. It is a reminder of how important it is to look after your body as much as possible, but even so, there are certain diseases that one can't control. I'll never forget the first nursing home donation last year- I know I blogged about it when it happened, so I'm not going to rehash, but I felt so sad and helpless- I wanted to give so much more than a stuffed animal.
Anyways, moving on from that sad subject. What else is new? I had an interesting phone conversation last week with a prospective auction item donor. I had called this golf course over a month ago, seeking a gift certificate donation for our silent auction. I left a message with the manager and emailed him the info. He called me back and left a message saying he had some questions about the event. I made about 3 follow up calls- trying to get in touch with him. He called me back last week as I was driving up to Haverhill and the first thing he said was "I should give you a gift certificate just for being persistent." He was so nice and friendly, it was great. He said how he really liked how professional I was and he said that he probably shouldn't base his donations on professionalism, but he did- as least partially. He mentioned how sometimes he gets donation letters that are just form letters or have the name of the business misspelled. He sent a gift certificate which is worth over $200. It got me thinking about the idea of perfection that I was talking about last week. To be successful, one doesn't have to be perfect (although that is the ultimate goal), but instead one simply has to be better than most of the others. In a lot of cases, that does require near perfection, but in a lot of other times, it simply requires hard work, persistence, patience and a pleasant manner.
We have been getting some good auction items in last week- including some new gift certificates for outings. Today, we received our first gift certifcate that is less than last year's donation. Last year, a casino donated a $100 gift certificate for dinner at one of their restaurants, this year they donated a $40 gift certificate to dinner at one of their buffets. Of course, I am happy that they donated- I had actually thought twice about asking since I know that they are struggling, but I was a little disappointed that they weren't able to match last year's contribution.
Well, that's it for tonight. There are lots of other things that happened last week that I totally can't remember right now. I had some late nights last week and by the time I got home it was too late to blog. I do miss blogging though. There is so much that goes on every week- not all dramatic stuff, but a lot of little things that I like to share. Anyways, I'm off to eat my grapefruit- I got a few more at Market Basket today when I was shopping for New Food Monday. I'm also fighting the crackers and cheese urge, but will stick with the healthier grapefruit. I was trying to get to bed early, but is is already 12:33, so I don't think that is going to happpen. Until tomorrow friends...
We did two donations last week to new departments- Methuen and Haverhill PD. We are now working with 143 police and fire departments. Tomorrow, I have to get back to contacting more new departments. I got a phone call this afternoon from a nursing home in Ashland that we donated to last year with our Operation Elder Care program. They asked if I could bring more stuffed animals and also spend some time visiting with the residents. The lady said how happy they were last year when I brought the stuffed animals. I scheduled an appointment for next Wednesday. I actually don't remember that donation. I did so many last year it is hard to remember each donation. When I get there, I will probably remember the place. I'm happy that they called. Personally, I find it so sad to be in nursing homes. It is heart wrenching to see people in such a sad state. There is also a bit of selfish anxiety that sets in because I can't help but think of how someday I will be an old lady and there is a chance that maybe I'd end up in the same position. It is a reminder of how important it is to look after your body as much as possible, but even so, there are certain diseases that one can't control. I'll never forget the first nursing home donation last year- I know I blogged about it when it happened, so I'm not going to rehash, but I felt so sad and helpless- I wanted to give so much more than a stuffed animal.
Anyways, moving on from that sad subject. What else is new? I had an interesting phone conversation last week with a prospective auction item donor. I had called this golf course over a month ago, seeking a gift certificate donation for our silent auction. I left a message with the manager and emailed him the info. He called me back and left a message saying he had some questions about the event. I made about 3 follow up calls- trying to get in touch with him. He called me back last week as I was driving up to Haverhill and the first thing he said was "I should give you a gift certificate just for being persistent." He was so nice and friendly, it was great. He said how he really liked how professional I was and he said that he probably shouldn't base his donations on professionalism, but he did- as least partially. He mentioned how sometimes he gets donation letters that are just form letters or have the name of the business misspelled. He sent a gift certificate which is worth over $200. It got me thinking about the idea of perfection that I was talking about last week. To be successful, one doesn't have to be perfect (although that is the ultimate goal), but instead one simply has to be better than most of the others. In a lot of cases, that does require near perfection, but in a lot of other times, it simply requires hard work, persistence, patience and a pleasant manner.
We have been getting some good auction items in last week- including some new gift certificates for outings. Today, we received our first gift certifcate that is less than last year's donation. Last year, a casino donated a $100 gift certificate for dinner at one of their restaurants, this year they donated a $40 gift certificate to dinner at one of their buffets. Of course, I am happy that they donated- I had actually thought twice about asking since I know that they are struggling, but I was a little disappointed that they weren't able to match last year's contribution.
Well, that's it for tonight. There are lots of other things that happened last week that I totally can't remember right now. I had some late nights last week and by the time I got home it was too late to blog. I do miss blogging though. There is so much that goes on every week- not all dramatic stuff, but a lot of little things that I like to share. Anyways, I'm off to eat my grapefruit- I got a few more at Market Basket today when I was shopping for New Food Monday. I'm also fighting the crackers and cheese urge, but will stick with the healthier grapefruit. I was trying to get to bed early, but is is already 12:33, so I don't think that is going to happpen. Until tomorrow friends...
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