For the last four months, I have been working as Event Director for the Coldest Night of the Year. And, now, the actual WALK is less than a week away. Where has the time gone? I’m excited, nervous and obsessed with checking the scoreboard.
Goals are a tricky thing. You set them on the one end of the planning and then work, almost blindly, away at them the rest of the time and hope, pray and sweat that you’ve done enough to meet those goals. And there are some goals that can’t quite be measured. That’s hard, too. Have we reached out to enough people? Have we spread the right message?
A few weeks ago, we offered the people who were taking part in the WALK a tour of The LifeShelter. While we were there, I was speaking with the Volunteer Coordinator. I was saying how much I wanted to raise the goal we set in beginning. Heather told me that it already was a success in her mind. More people knew about the event and the shelter, we had already had a good chunk of the goal on the scoreboard and we had more walkers signed up than had taken part last year. And when she put it that way, she’s right, we’ve already succeeded!
It’s so easy to get caught up on the number on the scoreboard. That goal is limiting my vision. I forget about the other amazing things going on behind the scenes for the long-term support of the shelter. I forget about the friendships that I’ve made through this adventure. I forget about the ideas that we have up our sleeves for next year. I just get too caught up on the scoreboard.
But, regardless of the number on the board, we are going to have fun! We are going to WALK together, we’ll snack, we’ll greet friends, we’ll laugh at ourselves at the photobooth and we’ll eat some more. We will join together as a community and take a little WALK for a big problem. It isn’t just about the numbers on the board. It’s about the homeless, hungry and hurting. It’s about giving a hand up to those who are down.
Regardless of the number on the scoreboard, we have already succeeded!!
To be continued,
Lori
PS If you felt inclined to led a hand….you can donate here!
Photo credit to Coldest Night of the Year – next year we’ll have our own to use!! 🙂
