Participating in the Friends in Action Phone-A-Thon was a very unique experience for me. Each Board member was asked to come with their cells phones, address books, and a list of 10-15 names they expected to reach that night. As each member picked up their phones and started dialing, it was amazing the amount of money that we brought in.
What was also very interesting to me is the generosity of some folks and lack of generosity of others. There was one board member who called a neighbor only to have the neighbor ask if $500 was enough or if she had been expecting more! What a treat to hear when we were asking for donations starting around $50 in order to raise 1,600 friends and keep our organization sustainable.
Furthermore, I personally received comments such as, “we can sacrificially offer $25.” What a blessing and treat to both the giver and receiver when this occurs. I was also stunned by those whom I expected to be larger contributors and weren’t as well as by those from whom I didn’t expect much yet they gave more. Double incomes and no kids, houses or not, family or friends; the only thing that truly matters is the heart of the giver.
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