Day 90 ❦ Give and Inspire Others

Day 90 ❦ Give and Inspire Others

The Gift: Cash for Flood Victims Times Two

As a result of the recent gifting by Rotary to the flood victims, the continuing plight of those impacted by the floods in Austin has received a lot of media attention. As with most disasters, the media is all over it when there are devastating pictures, tears, and heart-breaking stories but absent when the pain remains and the photo ops are gone. Perhaps the Rotary gifting opportunity created new reasons for the media to stand up and again highlight the pain that remains so that the community consciousness can be piqued. For whatever reason, a number of organizations are again doing some fund-raising for the on-going needs of the flood victims, especially those who need mittens, hats and coats as we approach the winter in Minnesota.

Our youngest daughter has been learning about money. Now this girls is a money magnet - odd jobs and gifts come her way all of the time and as a young child, she has some significant spending power. So we decided to work with her on a plan to think about how she spends, saves and gives and we are encouraging her to actively give a percentage of all of her income. She has taken this seriously and has become a very considerate giver. She enjoys learning about what her money is going to do and especially likes talking to the people who will be using her funding to do something meaningful. Today is no exception.

Now Shannon was aware of what was happening with the Rotary gift bags because she helped to stuff the bags with all of the Christmas goodies - both of our daughters spent an evening with Rotarians filling the bags. And to a sensitive child with a huge heart, the thought of people who did not have food or Christmas tree decorations was almost more than she could bear. (Author’s Note: Shortly after this experience, we were in Washington D.C. and when Shannon saw her first homeless person on the streets with a sign asking for money for food, she handed him her lunch which we had just bought at the Spy Museum.)

So today as I drive through a coffee shop after picking Shannon up from school, I notice a box collecting donations for mittens for the flood victims and ask that my change be put in the box. Shannon asks the clerk at the counter about the box and who the money will be going for and when she is satisfied that it is legit, she takes her mittens off, hands them to me to put in the box and then digs out the $9 that she has been carrying around looking for a cause to give to. I match her gift with both my gloves and an additional $9 and we drive away. Pretty cool day, and hopefully, warmer for someone.

❦ Give and Inspire Others

Day 81 ❦ Giving Thanks is a Gift

Day 81 ❦ Giving Thanks is a Gift

This is an excerpt of a thank you letter that was distributed to the hundreds of people who helped make the distribution of Rotary goodie bags to flood victims such a success...the words in italics were authored by the recipients, the remaining parts of the letter were authored by me...

Members of Rotary District 5960, Thank you, thank you, thank you. When Rotarians from the flood stricken areas of southeastern Minnesota reached out for help – you rose to the challenge and impacted the lives of hundreds in our own backyard. As a result of your efforts - whether it was a Fast For Flood effort, direct contributions, volunteering for clean-up and demolition, or supporting the District Simplified Grant awarded – hundreds of people will hold in high esteem the thoughts and actions of Rotarians. In all, over $21,000 was raised and District 5960 Rotarians volunteered hundreds of hours toward clean-up efforts.

Rotary flood relief bags were distributed to 165 households by disaster relief workers in the most impacted areas of the flooding. Each Rotary bag included holiday ornaments, ornament hangers, candy canes, a card explaining Rotary and its mission and finally, $100 in local vendor gift cards as a token of recognition of the difficulty faced by all those impacted by the flood and the unique un-met needs of each household. Armed with the gift bags, relief workers hand-delivered each bag and were received with surprise, gratitude, tears, and deep appreciation. We have received 118 thank you letters so far. Here are some excerpts:

“I thank you for your thoughtfulness and assistance, God bless you”, “Everyone has been so kind. An experience like this is very humbling.”, “Thank you so much - who says there is no Santa Claus?”, “What an unexpected wonderful surprise. It brings tears of amazement/awe that we were blessed to receive these gifts. We lost so much – and to be thought of and receive of this, we are so thankful from the bottom of our hearts.”, “People like you continue to surprise me. It only goes to prove that there are many good people left in this world. Thank you for your generosity and remembering us. May the Lord bless you all.”, “I am just one gratitude filled recipient of a flood assistance bag you so kindly gathered and most appreciatively distributed. Its most meaningful motto – Service Above Self – says it all. Your collective unforgettable kindness encouraged me in multiple ways.”, “We would like to thank you for your efforts for the families effected by the floods. We were able to enjoy Christmas and not worry about how spending for Christmas dinner would effect our repairs.”,  “ Dear Rotary Members, This should be typed - my handwriting leaves a little to be desired, but I chose to write by hand to make my thank you as personal as the gift you gave me. I was amazed at the time of the flood by the display of care and support the community extended. Now to receive this wonderful gift confirms my faith that this is a season of hope. We are continuing to work on our home to restore it to the livable condition it was before the flood. To know you still think about all we have to still deal with is encouraging. THANK YOU”

Each Rotarian and Rotary club is dedicated to strengthening the local and world community by assessing human needs and implementing humanitarian projects. In all our work we respect the dignity of each person and the equality of all people. By making this $21,000 gift, Rotarians of District 5960 displayed the spirit of building goodwill and peace in our own backyard. Thank you.

Day 80 ❦ Give Intentionally, Thoughtfully and without Judgement

The goodie bags ready to go to
families impacted by the Austin floods

Day 80 ❦ Give Intentionally, Thoughtfully and without Judgement

The Gift: One hundred goodie bags loaded with gift cards and holiday/Christmas decorations

Yesterday, I described the origination of the idea about how I could do something that would provide relief to a group of people who were so hugely impacted by the flooding in my community. The grief-stricken student with whom I sat couldn't have been the only person who lost their holiday decorations. I brought the idea to my Rotary Club and District to give holiday gift bags to impacted people with a generous amount of decorations and gift cards so that they could really feel special for even a short time. An emergency humanitarian grant was approved with matching funds, for $18,000.

The Austin Rotary Club in cooperation with Rotary District 5960 and adjacent Rotary Clubs in Albert Lea and Owatonna raised additional funds and we ended up with a little over $21,000 to provide some much needed pre-holiday relief in goodie bags. With those funds we purchased Christmas ornaments, decorations and gift cards for food so that they could have a nice Thanksgiving dinner and then decorate their home. Included in each canvas bag was enough for people to really have a wonderful dinner and to be able to have some respite from their continuing nightmare. Working with disaster agencies we had learned that there were 100 families who were the most impacted and divided our resources accordingly.

I have included some of the pictures of the bags so that you can see the scope of the project. More importantly, we gave the bags without judgement, without criteria of financial need, income, social standing - simply triaged by impact of the flood.

Relief workers delivered all of the bags today and the giving impact hit. Gratitude, friendship and compassion began flowing. Tomorrow, I will dedicate the entire post to the thanks that were received to share the impact that this initiative had...and it all originated from the quiet moments sitting by the river bank...

What can you do, what can you dream up, what can you make happen...if you quietly listen and create spaces for people to share their hearts?

❦ Give without judgement

Some of the goodies that went into the bags

More goodies...

And even more...

The goodie bags being sorted for distribution

On their way...

Day 68 ❦ Continue to Support a Courageous Person

Day 68  ❦ Continue to Support a Courageous Person

The Gift: A Sumner Cookbook

The great thing about new exchange students is that they typically present many giving opportunities and today is no exception. It is not that they are so needy, but instead I think it is our desire to ensure that they feel cared about.

Sisselin’s host family is holding an open house for the community, Rotarians and school mates to meet her. Having a Norwegian student has garnered a lot of attention, perhaps because of the strong Scandinavian roots here in the mid-west - and people are really excited to meet her. Not surprisingly, most of the conversations with her are related to weather (COLD) and food (plentiful and traditional) and during one of those conversations Sisselin tells me that she loves to cook and is excited about learning how to cook meals that are typical here.

Well, I don’t have to be told twice! I love to cook and I love to learn about cooking so I strike a deal with her that we will have some time to share cooking strategies, she agrees and I get her started with a cookbook produced by my daughter’s elementary school as a fund-raiser for playground equipment. Bam giving opportunity complete - and perfect for the occasion. I love it!

❦ Continue to Support a Courageous Person