October 24, 2008

Kickballers are Awesome

A swell lady from a DC division of the World Adult Kickball Association (or, WAKA) recently stopped by--out of the blue!--and handed over more than $400 in sweet cash to Bread for the City. When, flabbergasted, we asked what had prompted this random act of kindness, the WAKA lady told us that her kickball group was looking for a charity to donate some of their small budget toward, and they liked our mission of promoting short term and long term growth in the community.

My guy Greg was just talking about a meeting he attended at which a bunch of other non-profits were expressing how worried they were about the recent market downturn. Our little industry is scared, for sure. But how much of that fear is founded? It's true that we're seeing record numbers of people coming here seeking support. But we're also seeing a record number of volunteers, and more people than ever are giving us money. People don't give because they're doing well (though they may be); they step up because they see suffering and they want to do something about it. That part of your brain doesn't fluctuate with the market, and it doesn't go silent when the need is most urgent. We often forget that generosity always involves giving something up. Thank you to Michael Dunfee, Jill San Marco, and all of our friends at WAKA for having our back!

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