November 18, 2010

High Fives to Board President Mark Aron

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's our board president!

Today, at the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ 2010 National Capital Philanthropy Day, Bread for the City is honoring the President of our Board of Directors, Mark Aron.

For all those who won’t be at this event to hear in person why we think Mark is just plain fabulous, let me blog it at you.

Mark is a great friend and tireless advocate of Bread for the City. Just ask anyone who has ever sat next to him on a train, walked their dog past his house, stood in line with him at the grocery store -- you see where I’m going here-- Mark is simply crazy about Bread for the City. He is passionate about our clients, and the work we all do together to help make lives better. This passion is contagious.

Mark’s commitment doesn’t stop with helming our Board. Mark has volunteered in pretty much every one of our programs. He is game for folding shirts, packing grocery bags, planting herbs, or conducting intakes. In fact, he conducts intakes every week at our Southeast Center -- one of a very small core of dedicated volunteers. Intakes are hard work -- meeting our clients at their most vulnerable -- and not everyone can do it. (I should know: I’m an intake quitter. I became overwhelmed with the magnitude of the problems our clients face.) Mark, however, handles this challenge with grace, humility, and calm. He just likes helping people solve problems. It’s amazing.

But Mark doesn’t stop there. Not only do Mark (and his wife Cindy!) give generously to Bread for the City, but they get others to do the same. From foundations, corporations, individuals, and churches -- Mark has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Bread for the City.

And as a development director, I also gotta say that I deeply appreciate how Mark is always the first to give for the “little stuff” -- the staff Christmas party, a bonus, or the extra gift in honor of a birthday or wedding. It’s in all the little stuff that you see how big his heart truly is.

All that and more is why Bread for the City is honoring Mark Aron today at National Capital Philanthropy Day. So, thanks Mark, from the bottom of my heart.

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