One of my favorite things about this job is checking my email first thing in the morning. While most people find the 50+ unread email notifications to be groan-worthy, in my case the majority of those emails represent donation notifications. The ones I receive first thing in the morning are the notifications of all the recurring monthly gifts from those who participate in our Partners giving program. Not only does seeing these notifications put a smile on my face, it also serves to center me each day. It is truly humbling to witness the generous response of our supporters. As I consider these gifts and the people behind them, it fuels the financial decisions we make so as to best serve the children we work with.
We have an army of Love that stands with us in the form of our supporters, and that is a beautiful thing.
That being said, not every day is a mountaintop experience, as recently referenced by my colleague (and friend) Dave Henry’s blog post. This week, I was having “one of those days.” Technology was not serving its purpose, my list of to-do’s was growing longer by the minute, and I kept getting interrupted by seemingly annoying tasks that were distracting me from the day I had planned out for myself.
The thing about interruptions though is they can also stop us in our tracks in good ways, and that is also a beautiful thing. So in the midst of my frustrating day, I had to sign in to our giving platform to check on something that wasn’t making sense. And there it was. A message from a donor who despite current personal and financial struggles had selflessly set up a fundraising page and made a donation. She made this statement: “I want to get involved and give to those whose struggles are greater than my own. I am devoted to raising funds in any way I can to help educate and stop child trafficking.”
In that moment, I was undone. Once again humbled.
I shared this donor’s message with our team, and it served to bolster our hearts and re-focus us in our mission to end child trafficking and exploitation.
That evening, my husband and I sat down to watch “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (spoiler alert ahead for the five of you out there who haven’t seen this movie). At the end of the movie, Dumbledore has been killed and it appears all hope is lost. But then Professor McGonagall raises her wand to the sky with the solitary beam of light against the backdrop of darkness. And one by one, everyone else raises his or her wands along with her. The light from their collective wands raised in unison makes the “Dark Mark” in the sky disappear. And I become very weepy (as I do every time I watch this film) because of the visual of an injustice that is interrupted by shared love/light and what that does to bring about change.
It’s what we aim for every day here at Love146.
To our supporters: please know that we are so grateful for all of you. You inspire us to do our jobs better, with a long and amazing ripple effect that ends with changed lives for children.
