Excellent Day!

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...