What’s on my desk?

• A stack of resumes. We are currently looking for a new Development Assistant and I have received several resumes. If you are interested in the job, take a look at the position description here.
• My laptop. I work from home some too so it is nice to be able to take my computer with me.
  
• A water bottle – I drink a lot of water throughout the day.
• A pile of business cards. I recently went to a Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce event and met several great local business owners who gave me their cards. I plan on contacting them and enlisting their support of GSH.
• A postcard for our upcoming Endless Summer Event. If you are interested, here is some info on the event.
• A post-it with the phone number of my car insurance company. Please – don’t ask.
• Four Books – Planned Giving Simplified, The Art of Planned Giving, Donor Centered Fundraising and How to Raise Planned Gifts by Mail. Gee – Do you think I am trying to learn more about Planned Giving?
• A photo of my two children. Of course.

Labels: Budgets, Google, Technology

I am new to blogging. When our President, Rosemary Murray asked that me to contribute a segment, I have to admit the intimidation factor was high. You see I am relatively new to the Board of Directors and to Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services. As a matter of fact, I am somewhat of a novice at participating in non athletic organizations altogether. I did pledge a fraternity but did not finish the pledge cycle because in 1968 there was so much happening on campus it seemed crazy to be stuck at a House. As I told Rosemary when I accepted the election to Secretary (by the way, a perfect job for novitiates), I was once a Boy Scout but even that attempt at volunteerism had its difficulties when I got homesick at summer camp. So when John Murray, Jim Sullivan and Nick Andrus suggested that GSHFS was a great organization to work with, I accepted their assessment but was skeptical about how the whole non athletic group dynamic would be. After all, there are no scores, no high fives or standings to ignite team camaraderie.

A recent series of events made me aware of just how short-sighted I was being and how much I have missed. At a recent Executive Committee meeting, we were brainstorming about the upcoming annual meeting. I thought it would be great if we could put together an annual report to share with any attendees at the annual meeting and to have as a marketing tool to distribute at events throughout the rest of the year. The committee encouraged me to present my idea at the following Board meeting which I did. The official reception at the Board meeting was mixed. There are cautious members of the board who were not discouraging but who had reservations about getting a decent product out in three months. God bless the protective ones, every organization who has worked hard to establish a positive message needs its share of them.

But what astounded me and is really the point of this blog, was the response within minutes after the meeting adjourned. On my way to my car, four board members came up to me, each on their own, and volunteered to contribute a section of the report on a topic that they felt comfortable writing. That evening I got an email from the head of one of the committees who offered to produce charts and graphs to include in the Annual Report. Their collective enthusiasm for moving the project ahead inspired and energized me. They were putting themselves on the line as contributors to the report not because it was such a novel or wonderful idea but because the spirit that is GSHFS moved them. They made me realize what a great team I had joined and what fantastic team spirit they have to reduce homelessness along the Route 1 corridor of Fairfax County. My fellow board members GET IT! They were giving me metaphorical high fives in the hope that through this project I will GET IT too.

When you get an opportunity to serve on this Board there are so many opportunities to experience those types of high fives. For example, when staff members relate their experiences at our Board meetings you can not miss the passion and devotion to the cause or, when you hear about volunteers who collaborate with the staff to fashion unique solutions to some very unusual client needs. Every once in a while my mind wanders back to that tent in summer camp and I wonder why I was homesick. I think I have figured out that I was so sad, so lonely and so afraid to be separated from my home and family, even temporarily, that I could not hold back the tears. It is eternally gratifying to be part of a team whose mission and goal is to try and make sure no one in our area feels that sadness, that loneliness or that fear as long as Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is around.