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...