Fund-Raising

Let me preface this post with the fact that every single person that I come in contact with becomes an opportunity to blog. Eventually the interactions sink in and I begin to process what was actually communicated. I was struck by a conversation that I had with someone recently. It was more of a short dialogue in passing. It has stuck with me longer than conversations of that nature typically do. The conversation began with the generic opening greetings. The other person in the conversation asked me if the company I work for would be taking residents to a specific performance. I let them know that, indeed, we would be taking residents to the program on the “Senior Day.” The other person replied, “its so interesting that the people who have money attend the program that is free.” I didn’t have a reply to that at that moment. My ‘keep the peace’ frame of mind was engaged. It later occurred to me that perhaps our residents could afford to give back in other ways because they took advantage of what they qualified for now, being “seniors” and all.

Later that same day another person spoke about one of our residents and how wonderful the resident is. I concurred that this resident had done a lot for the Spokane Community. I didn’t appreciate the way that this person came a crossed when discussing the resident with me. The value of the resident seemed to be only recognized by the amount of money that had been donated to various organizations throughout Spokane.

Are we all just a dollar sign? Does the person who volunteered for hours to provide companionship to the lonely have any less value than those who donate tons of fiscal resources to change the way visions evolve?

These conversations served as great reminders to value everyone, not only for their resources but for their being.  We all have something very special and significant to offer the world.