The big day, the day we start actually making gifts to local charities, finally arrived on Thursday, April 4.
Eric Hansen, who has done so much to make this program successful, arranged for a bus and for the students to take a field trip. I arranged for the Orlando Sentinel to send a reporter and photographer to join us on our journey. All the students and Eric were wearing their "Longhorn Legion" shirts--I was so jealous.
We first went to the vet clinic at Harmony High to make a gift presentation to "Pawsitive Action Foundation." They do amazing things to teach vet skills to students, to train service dogs, and to provide low- or no-cost vet services to low-income families in the community. We came on surgery day, so there were lots of dogs and cats there being prepped for . . . you know. Kristen Bowen presented her gift, the first one, and it was a new experience for all of us. Good job, Kristen, for breaking new ground for us.
Then we got on the bus and went to the offices of the Osceolas Education Foundation, where we were greeted by the executive director, Kathy Carr. She took us on a tour of the resource center and free store for teachers. Very impressive. Kathy is all about helping students, teachers, and schools in Osceola County, and she can see the impact of Main Street Philanthropy on these kids. I wanted them to see what her organization does to help the community, and I wanted her to feel the enthusiasm these student have for our program. I'm hoping to become long-term partners with OEF and Kathy.
The local branch of Habitat for Humanity was our next stop. I've had a wonderful relationship with Pat Filippone through the years, having orchestrated some very large service projects with them and our church groups. I was so pleased that several of our students chose to donate to them. Pat was very touched by the gifts she received, and pledged to use them for matching funds in her "students for students" program, "This will be multiplied one-thousand-fold," she told our students. That was definitely the tender spot of our field trip.
One the bus, the reporter David Breen made a point of talking with each student, asking them what they were learning and why they chose the charity they did. He had planned to only ride for a stop or two, but ended up going all the way to our final stop, Give Kids the World.
At Give Kids the World, we met with Eric Gray, who we met when he came out to our class a couple of week earlier. He gave us as much of the VIP treatment as he could in the limited time we had there, and I must say everyone was really impressed. Several of our group were trying to figure out how to arrange a group service party to GKTW. It really is a first-class organization and Eric is a first-class guy. Thanks, Eric!
We had enough time on the way home to stop at Cici's Pizza. The manager gave all the kids a discount and let the driver, her assistant, and me eat for free. I wonder if he knew how much a bunch of high school kids can put away? I'm sure he lost money on our group, and his generosity was greatly appreciated. He even gave us some warm cinnamon rolls to eat on the bus--like we needed anything else to eat.
It was a fun and heartwarming crescendo to the class so far. Then we woke the next morning to find that David's article and a huge picture of part of the group at GKTW was on the front page of the Local News section of the Orlando Sentinel.
Fun, food, and fame--and doing good for others--what more could you ask for?
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
It's All Coming Together
Our session for Week 6 was amazingly simple and simply amazing. The students reported on their interviews with a family member or mentor who is involved in community service and charitable giving; and then they reported on their choices of organizations to receive their donations.
One of the common themes in the reports of the interviews was "I saw this person in a whole new light," or "I never knew about this side of them." It is a good trait in our society, I think, that much giving and serving is done quietly, without fanfare, and often hardly noticed. The only downside of that trait is that the opportunity to inspire or motivate or encourage others is lost when the stories of service and generosity are not shared. One of our objectives in including these interviews in the Main Street Philanthropy program is to increase our students' awareness of how much good is being done all around them that they may not have noticed. We certainly don't want our students to think that giving and serving are rare or unusual patterns of behavior.
In each case, the interviews served to strengthen the bonds between the student and the person they interviewed. I've found in all my work with story (which is what these interviews are--a chance to share and hear important stories from the interviewee's life) I've learned that when we listen generously to another's stories, it connects us in a deep and heart-felt way. That's what happened with these students. Whether it was a sibling, parent, grandparent, or mentor, loving ties were strengthened as a result of these interview experiences.
From the reports of the students' choices of organizations to receive their checks, one very strong lesson came through loud and clear: once a charitable organization passes the threshold analytical or "numbers" test, it's then all about the sense of connection with the group. All the local organizations chosen to be honored with a donation had excellent analytical scores, because if an organization didn't, it had been weeded out weeks before. That was loudly expressed back in weeks three and four.
But these reports in Week Six focused mostly on qualitative issues. The students' decisions turned on how they were treated when they called the charity for information; on their sense of how committed to the cause they felt the people they talked to were; on the ability of the organizations' representatives to connect the students' concerns with the charities' mission. It was clear that those organizations that went to the trouble to send someone to speak to the class face-to-face fared much better than those who--for whatever reason--were unable or unwilling to do so.
So here's a powerful lesson for charitable organizations: keep your numbers clean, but after that, the most important thing you can do is treat potential donors and volunteers with respect, kindness, and appreciation. Develop strong relationships with them because in the end, most people give because of relationships and the way the people in the charitable organization made them feel.
One of the common themes in the reports of the interviews was "I saw this person in a whole new light," or "I never knew about this side of them." It is a good trait in our society, I think, that much giving and serving is done quietly, without fanfare, and often hardly noticed. The only downside of that trait is that the opportunity to inspire or motivate or encourage others is lost when the stories of service and generosity are not shared. One of our objectives in including these interviews in the Main Street Philanthropy program is to increase our students' awareness of how much good is being done all around them that they may not have noticed. We certainly don't want our students to think that giving and serving are rare or unusual patterns of behavior.
In each case, the interviews served to strengthen the bonds between the student and the person they interviewed. I've found in all my work with story (which is what these interviews are--a chance to share and hear important stories from the interviewee's life) I've learned that when we listen generously to another's stories, it connects us in a deep and heart-felt way. That's what happened with these students. Whether it was a sibling, parent, grandparent, or mentor, loving ties were strengthened as a result of these interview experiences.
From the reports of the students' choices of organizations to receive their checks, one very strong lesson came through loud and clear: once a charitable organization passes the threshold analytical or "numbers" test, it's then all about the sense of connection with the group. All the local organizations chosen to be honored with a donation had excellent analytical scores, because if an organization didn't, it had been weeded out weeks before. That was loudly expressed back in weeks three and four.
But these reports in Week Six focused mostly on qualitative issues. The students' decisions turned on how they were treated when they called the charity for information; on their sense of how committed to the cause they felt the people they talked to were; on the ability of the organizations' representatives to connect the students' concerns with the charities' mission. It was clear that those organizations that went to the trouble to send someone to speak to the class face-to-face fared much better than those who--for whatever reason--were unable or unwilling to do so.
So here's a powerful lesson for charitable organizations: keep your numbers clean, but after that, the most important thing you can do is treat potential donors and volunteers with respect, kindness, and appreciation. Develop strong relationships with them because in the end, most people give because of relationships and the way the people in the charitable organization made them feel.
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