Over the years, some things have changed a bit, but there are some staples within me and this organization that will never be modified. After getting yelled at by a former boss for using this phrase, I’m still looking for the correct way to say it. I may not verbalize it as much, but it definitely goes through my head constantly – “It’s okay, I’ve modified my expectations.”
For context, 10 out of 10 is considered perfect. That means EVERY box has been checked, and I’m thoroughly impressed in every way possible. But 10 out of 10 is not realistic. These days I expect more of a 7-8 out of 10 on the scale. That’s more reasonable. I know what to expect.
When it comes to the returned kindness from our partner nonprofits, schools, companies and individuals, I’m expecting a 7-8 on the scale and I’ll do my best to return the 10. As mentioned before, Extremely Kind is one of my staples and something I shoot for. Thankfully, for all sides impacted, Cardz For Kidz has been growing and people have been finding new ways to contribute, especially some of the companies in California. When explaining participation to outsiders, I often highlight how some of the main groups who have joined are financial companies, insurance companies, education entities, independent artists, and technology companies. Those technology companies, many based in California, are the ones who have financially contributed and allowed us to grow and launch the scholarship.
On this end we’ve been working harder too, so I would now adjust the ratings – or have positively modified my expectations. In the Not As Nice blog post, I felt I was losing to an organization since they were having people make cards during their events and contributing in other ways. Thankfully, the ways people have been joining my ratings have changed a bit. I realized that the two places I was worried about were the University of Michigan (they were mentioned in the prior post) and the State of California (based on board members and technology companies proudly joining in).
Competitive Ike was looking for a way to reach more overcomers in California to begin the process of evening the score with both. Over the years, I have learned that it is easier making connections to new locations if you have a direct contact. I reached out to a friend who I met in Chicago, but she recently moved out to California to work with the Golden State Warriors. I asked her if she had any names of Group Homes or other nonprofit organizations. She connected with her coworker and provided one. Soon after I contacted the recommended partner in California, it clicked – I met Kim through a University of Michigan Alumni kickball or volleyball team. I was trying to catch up with California, but technically that was more points for University of Michigan. Currently, the only state we’ve sent more cards to than California is here in Illinois. We send cards to people of all ages there. I think I’m doing alright in compassion’s competition.
University of Michigan
First, let the record show that I warned you and myself during the first blog post that this school was lurking. Here was the original breakout:
University of Michigan | Ike |
Scholarship | Blog Posts |
Child Life Visit During Hospital Surgery | Volunteered Hundreds of Hours at Mott |
Sit in on Spanish Classes During Testing | Advocate |
It was tough. During a recent trip back to Ann Arbor, MI, I went to a festival formerly known as “Top of the Park.” It was fun that the main stage was right outside the Modern Language Building – the place where I sat in on many Spanish classes before, during, and after my surgery.
Competitive Ike is not going down easy! After the local alumni chapter here in Chicago made bags for one of our partner nonprofits, I instantly fought back and paid the dues to be
an alumni member FOR LIFE.
I’m working to make sure my nephew in Ohio has enough Michigan gear and even worked to connect some alumni together at our mixer.
The University of Michigan is competitive as well. Technically, I could add a couple more things to U of M over the years since they’ve been assisting with Cardz For Kidz:
Provided their logo years ago – some schools denied
Made 1,000+ cards with different student groups
Contacted us a couple times to have BBA and MBA students put together business plans for the Cardz For Kidz organization
MBA students provided some strategy for the Hearts & Crafts Mixer
For some backstory, I connected with Dave, the Director of Development, and we agreed that we would NOT work alongside schools anymore for business plans and/or marketing presentations. We learned that many of the final presentations contained third party research about global nonprofit organizations with large staff and big donor bases. We tried to highlight that recommendations/plans for organizations with 100+ paid employees do not align with our organization. We don’t even have a single full-time employee. Even with those reminders, we continued to get similar outputs from those reports. We agreed, it would be better for everyone involved if we held off.
Ross School of Business reached out to see if their MBA students could work on a project. I figured this was perfect. If it was like many of the prior reports, that would be nice points for me. If they fit within my biased Ross perspective, we could get some helpful information. I convinced Dave and we agreed. We outlined our goals and the students delivered.
They provided details ranging from immediate updates such as changing the sign-in/registration process for our Hearts & Crafts event to providing a detailed breakout of influencers and a script we could use to make a connection.
I think what really made me realize this all-around collaboration was making me lose was when I had one of my seizures – auras. A full one. It was while I was supposed to be presenting to my coworkers about a new data process I was running. I realized this was the first setback I had in years. The reason I had this attack was because I forgot to refill and take one of my medications after traveling.
How this connects to U of M is there was a time when I was on a different set of medications, and I was led to believe that was the only option. When I transferred back to Michigan Medicine, my neurologist switched up my medications to my current dosage which has things WAY better maintained.
When you add Michigan Medicine to Ross School of Business to the Alumni Association, the formula is clear. There’s a difference. My expectations have been modified.
I know a perfect 10 out of 10 would be things like my Spanish teacher letting me sit in on classes while I was prepping for my surgery, my marketing professor finding a way to give me extra time to take my exam, and the alumni association participating and bringing on
my nonprofit for at least one of their events. Now a 12 out of 10 would be things more like my Neurosurgeon coming to my house years after the surgery to celebrate my college graduation at my open house and signing the book, current students putting together a detailed actionable plan that Cardz For Kidz could use to connect with potential donors and influencers, and more.
In the past I was disappointed when I felt I was Not as Nice, but now I’m grateful I was able to completely experience COMPASSION’S COMBINATION as a student and an alum.
To Whom It May Concern:
Just in case, I’ve mentioned it before, but we’re Equal Opportunity Encouragers. Yes, I went to school across the street from the Big House and first started volunteering at children’s hospitals at Mott Children’s Hospitals over two decades ago, but we don’t discriminate. Our first partnership outside of Illinois was a hospital in South Bend, IN. Now we have a hospital and an RMHC in that city. We’ve sent hundreds of cards to an RMHC in Lansing, MI. Finally, we broke our name and one of the first ways we started to expand past children was serving veterans in Columbus, OH. We also have an RMHC in Columbus, OH as well.
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