I often highlight with these blog posts that I’m going to be 100% open and honest, but how can you really tell? This is all coming from the guy who says, “I’m breathing, so I can’t complain,” so am I ever REALLY telling the full truth?
I was trying to figure out how I could write this blog in a way that made everyone actually believe this was the full truth. I thought maybe I could take a video recording of my mom vouching for me since she’s seen ALL sides of me, ranging from my personal life to my professional life. Then again, am I 100% open all the time? For example, I told her that I was tired because I was just working hard and that’s why I wanted us to drink coffee at the same time. I didn’t mention that the nurses told me that coffee could help combat the migraines from a recent spinal tap. Or even that that there was testing to see if I needed to start my whole neuro process all over again, #cantcomplain.
My friends? Not really, #cantcomplain. Myself? Yeah, but how? My journal! For some background, before my brain surgery, I was told that one of the side effects could be that I would lose my short-term memory. After talking with contacts, I was advised by a long-term family friend to keep a journal. I’ve fallen off recently, but I do try to take notes when something important happens. Here’s a glimpse of some important things I NEEDED for Cardz for Kidz:
Journal Entry – 5/4/2020
First, sorry, Ms. Moore and Ms. Wilson for the penmanship: 3rd and 4th grade teachers. I write late at night.
Second, ‘4 – another Sherry & Lex set’ referring to more consistent volunteers.
Some of our new friends may not know what that’s referring to, but in summary, I was praying pleading for more dedicated volunteers. Ones who I could rely on consistently. For example, with both Sherry and Alexis they started during the early days and helped count thousands of cards. If Cardz for Kidz was going to grow, I needed at least 2 more people who weren’t just going to volunteer every now and then. Two more people who weren’t just going to volunteer when their group was hosting an event. Two more people like Rachel and Beth.
Thankfully, based on my passion for numbers, I can use data to show their impact. That journal entry was from the start of 2020, but I’ll show you the total data. And by that, I mean EVERYTHING – including my nephews counting cards over the holidays.
For the visual learners here are some breakouts:
Do those charts mean anything? Hopefully, it’s clear to you that within two years, two volunteers were able to produce 22% of the total hours, although some volunteers had been volunteering for years. We’ve had 53 different volunteers and our two new contributors have been essential.
What’s extremely exciting about both Beth and Rachel is that they have been providing updates in a variety of ways and letting us know when they’ll be able to contribute.
Rachel: Actions speak louder than words. Have you ever heard a “sales pitch” and thought to yourself, “Sounds interesting” and you planned to go investigate it, but never did? We doubt Rachel has! 😉 We often set up tables at an expo and try to recruit volunteers. Last year Rachel stopped by our table and signed up. Most people who express interest simply want to make cards and very rarely want to do the behind-the-scenes work. Last year she was the only one who continually responded to help count cards. Her support has ranged from counting cards at our location to receiving hundreds of cards and counting them from home on a weekly basis.
Beth: As we’ve grown, it’s been more difficult to package the cards and reach our hundreds of partners across the globe. During the early days, volunteers like Sherry and Lex would stop by to count the cards and then I would simply package ALL the cards for our locations after. Now that we’re getting more partners, I needed to think of some more effective ways to package and ship cards – insert Beth. During Beth’s volunteer shifts she thought of ideas like having all the partners’ names created on labels in alphabetical order. Originally, shipping 1,000 cards in a week was EXTREMELY impressive, but ever since she was volunteering every Monday during her off season, shipping 1000+ cards became the standard. We’re always looking for more ideal volunteers like Beth.
Do you recognize her? Yeah, you can find her on our How To page.
I’m grateful Beth and Rachel have been dedicated to helping us grow. Thankfully, they’re not only interested in some of the more entertaining portions of Cardz for Kidz like making cards and/or engaging with kids, but instead they’re dedicated to helping with the essential behind-the-scenes work of counting and packaging thousands of cards. Hopefully, we can all see by the DOCUMENTED PROOF that their work is essential and has helped take Cardz for Kidz to a new level.
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