Last week I got a call from someone on committee. They were in a bind. They needed someone to help with a project--could I volunteer for half an hour? I checked my calendar and thought quickly. I’m a full-time artist, and usually work all hours of the day and into the evening to manage all the aspects of my business. My schedule is full, but somewhat flexible. I have volunteered to read in my children’s classes once a week for the past 10 years. I have two out-of-town boards I serve on two days a month. I checked all my dates and commitments, and said I could do it one morning.
I went in today for my assignment. I was greeted by the person in charge and I went to work. Half an hour later, the task was done, and I asked the person in charge, "Is that it?"
She said, "Yes. Now, wasn’t that easy? That wasn’t such a big deal, was it?" with a kindly smile.
Being a grown-up, I managed to bite my tongue before the words "I think the word you’re looking for here is ‘thank you’!" popped out. I simply smiled and left.
At my next stop, I related my story to the woman behind the counter.
"Oh, that’s nothing," she said. "Last year my fiance was at a local organization. He saw their Christmas tree in the lobby, covered with dozens of tags. Each tag had a child’s name, a child who was in one of their community outreach programs, with the child’s age and one wish for a gift. It was a week before Christmas, and no one had taken any of the tags."
He found the woman in charge of the program, and said he wanted every tag on that tree. The woman went shopping with him. He bought every single child not only their designated gift, but lots of other presents as well. He spent over $2,500 in all.
They returned to the facility and stored all the presents to be distributed the next day. He told her he preferred to remain anonymous. As he was leaving, the woman said, "You said you don’t even have a tree for Christmas yet. Why don’t you take that tree home with you?" He did, and as he walked out the door, the facility director saw him.
This week, the man saw this year’s tag-covered tree in the lobby and approached the front desk, where the director was standing. "I’d like to help out again with your Christmas program again this year," he said.
The director looked at him. He only remembered seeing this guy walk out of the facility a year ago with the tree. He sneered, "I don’t think we’ll need your help this year."
What you see is not always what you get.....
I told the woman to have her fiance write a letter to the director, cc’ing the board of directors, the woman in charge of the Christmas program, and the local United Way, which supports and funds this facility. He should explain that last year, he had donated his time and $2,500 of his personal money to make sure no child in their care was left out at Christmas. This year, he had repeated his offer, and had been told his help was not needed this year. And he should say how delighted he was that the facility had been so successful in their efforts that they needed no other help from their membership or the community to ensure every child had a wonderful Christmas.
Kill ‘em with kindness, I say.
