Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2007. Mattie was five years old and was sitting next to me at our dining room table! Do not ask me what Mattie was eating. I can detect carrots and cheese, as he loved both. But what I love was the smile Peter captured. This was Mattie's look that he would give us when he was busy, distracted, or simply did not want to take a photo. Yet even so, to me, it's still a great photo!
Quote of the day: If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Tonight's quote.... the endless immensity of the sea! Wow.... does that resonate with me! I think fundraising and event planning are like the sea. The tasks to reach one's destination are endless and overwhelming. Just like the sea, minute by minute can be unpredictable especially with regard to raising money. It can almost feel like you are drowning and unsure that you will be able to take back control of your rudderless ship. After all, without donations, the fundraising ship is lost at sea.
I have a feeling that I know why so many of our registrants of the Walk & Family Festival do not also fundraise for us. They don't because fundraising is difficult. It requires persistence, humility, and the ability to accept a lot of rejection. A LOT!!! If I did not have to, I don't think I would sign up for humility and rejection either! It would have to be a cause I was very passionate about first.
Yet without others helping us to fundraise, we will not meet our goal. Fortunately, I have a great group of core supporters who help me raise funds for the Walk. I was talking and emailing several of them today. I find that it helps to brainstorm and to also support one another in this very isolating and daunting task. In fact, one of our core people was telling me today that there are several people who want to be on her Walk team, because her daughter's friend in college was just diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. We chatted about this and what caught my attention is that these college students are already aware of the psychological toll of cancer. The toll on their friend and on their friendship. Which is why Mattie Miracle's mission and programs resonates with them.
The psychosocial consequences of cancer are like an immense sea. They build on top of one another and the issues are as far as the eye can see...... from treatment through survivorship or bereavement. So why shouldn't fundraising for the cause also be the same? It is and what I have come to appreciate is because it cancer is immense and produces immense issues, each of us has something positive we can bring to the table to help the cause.
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