Tonight's picture was taken on May 11, 2009. At the Mattie March, his School's baseball team came to present him with a team ball. They were on their way to a game. However, before they left for the game, each player came to knock fists with Mattie's. We later learned that the team won the game and they apparently credited the win to touching Mattie. Hearing that news made him smile!
Quote of the day: You don't do kind deeds expecting kindness in return. You don't do kind deeds because you deem the recipient worthy. You do kind deeds because it's who you are, and because you understand the powerful difference your gentle hand makes in this dreary world. ~ Richelle E. Goodrich
It is hard to believe that the Walk is next weekend. I literally do not know how that happened. I continued to push through the day doing all sorts of Foundation chores and running all over town getting last minute items for the Walk. There are many people who can't possibly understand what I am working on! They really believe the Walk takes very little coordination, energy, and forethought to plan. Which is a riot of grand proportion! Every aspect of the Walk takes great execution because there are many components to the event, and many people involved. The set up alone for the Walk is a task unto itself. Which involves getting to the grounds of the School at 6am. Peter and I can't handle set up alone. We have the School's grounds crew helping us (along with a team of our own volunteers). Because large tents have to be set up, tables and chairs are moved onto the grounds, table cloths are placed on all the tables, and so forth. Again that may not sound like a lot, but it all takes time, and everything has to be set up by 10am, for inspection by the city. Remember those permits I paid for???? Well part of what I am paying for, is inspectors to come out and check the safety of tents, grills, the sanitary conditions of food and food service, and the list goes on. The building permit I had to file is for our rock climbing wall! Why one needs a building permit for a form of entertainment is beyond my comprehension, but I am not fighting City Hall! What I am describing is just the logistics of set up.
Then of course we have the raffle, which Carolyn, my friend and raffle chair and I have been plotting out and planning for months. The raffle alone is an event, but this event takes place at the Walk. The raffle requires soliciting people and companies for donations, then of course acknowledging all contributions as they come in. Once donations come in, they have to be staged and organized into a visually attractive manner. Again, I am giving a very simplistic overview of the process.
Within the Walk, there are a host of activities. Some activities we plan and some are hosted by outside vendors. Either case, all of these activities need to be coordinated and scheduled. One of the activities are relay races, which happen to be a revenue generating opportunity for the Foundation. Since this is the second year of relay races at our Walk, we are still hand picking team captains. It is our hope that once the concept catches on, groups will approach us in the future wanting to participate. Last year we had two teams, this year we have four. These teams are each raising money for the Foundation and in essence competing against each other to see which team can raise the most money.
The list goes on and on from coordinating food, volunteers to run each of our activities, planning gifts for our special guests, planning photography needs, sound checks, going over schedules with people, developing promotional materials, and so MUCH more. Truly the only way to know what is involved with the Walk is to spend a day with me. It is very hard for me to give people something to do at the 10th hour if they haven't been involved in the process with me. To me the Walk is a statement, it is not an event that should be thrown together at the last minute and when someone tells me no one will notice or care whether I have posters up or not..... that is a red flag. It is a red flag that the Walk doesn't mean the same thing to them as it does to me.
Any one who has truly worked with me knows that I am a collaborator. I am open to ideas and like to brainstorm. I have never been a leader who operates in a vacuum or who doesn't value outside opinion. If I sense you are invested in my cause and want to contribute, then you have my buy in. But if your heart isn't in the Walk, I know it immediately and just like all things related to the Foundation, you aren't getting very far with me. The Foundation has gotten as far as it has gotten because it is personal, because Peter and I pride ourselves on personal touches, and of honoring Mattie's memory. We don't do anything just half way, especially when it came or comes to Mattie. Therefore, when I hear that planning the Walk is simple and it plans itself, I just have to shake my head. It is almost as ridiculous as saying that a child raises itself. There is so much to parenting on a daily basis that it is hard to describe. Same is true for nurturing the Foundation and planning this Walk.
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