Sunday, July 01, 2018

Personally Battling Indecision -- Which Doesn't Happen Often

This blog has been a place where I have been able to "think out loud" for thirteen years.  Some of you have been reading it off and on that long.   And for those of you who have, I'm sorry.  There were some really ugly years in there.

The past couple weeks I have been stuck trying to decide what to do and I hope by the time I put this all in writing to you I will have a decision made.

You may know that I was the leader of a fund-raiser that ended in March called "Do It 4 The Kids Day."  I started getting healthier last year in order to do a "2.6 mile Marathon" on March 17th.  I worked really hard and did it.  Lost about 20 pounds and got much healthier.  So many people donated to the cause both to encourage me and to help the organization that I serve.  It was awesome.

Because the event was very successful  we decided we should do it annually.  However, we also decided to start having an annual gala and that they could not be in back to back months because they are both exhausting and some of the same staff members are involved in both events.

The easier one to move would be Do It 4 The Kids Day.... mainly because many of our staff did not get very involved last year and  burn out their friends and because the gala is local and involves a lot of the same people.   So we have scheduled it for October 13th.

Here is my dilemma.  More than one person complained last year that I posted about it too much.  I certainly do not want those who donated to feel like they need to again (Though of course, I wouldn't turn away their gift).   So I've been telling myself not to use online media to fundraise.  I don't want my friends to feel manipulated and I don't want people to unfriend me.  I also know that there are many other great causes out there and so throwing this back in the midst competes with donations to things that may be more significant.

However, there are some good reasons to jump in again.

1)  It's a great cause with a new twist -- I have a new position that allows me to head a department that is leading an initiative that may be the coolest thing I've ever done.  I could raise money for this which would allow us to do more to make this vision a reality.

2)  I could use the encouragement to keep going with weight loss/training.  I haven't quit - I've just hit a slump and have been gaining and losing the same 5 pounds for over 5 months.  Having the encouragement of people via their donations was super powerful last time.  I would like to walk a 5K in October and need all the cheerleaders I can get.

3)  I'm in charge of the event again and I feel like I need to lead by example.

4)  I had a lot of fun with it last year and lots of other people did too.

5)  I'm super competitive and I'm losing.

6)  It will only be 3.5 months this time instead of six.

I'm sure you can tell that I've talked myself into it.   Not wanting to annoy people can't be the reason not to do something if there are 6 good reasons to do it.  And I believe that I can trust God to lead folks to give what they feel He would have them give.

Plus, I had my first donation by someone who donated a LOT last time and she was happy to get this started this time.

So....

If I offend you I'm sorry, but the greater good are the families and kids we serve.    I'm jumping in and, as you know, I can't do anything half-heartedly.

So welcome to #DoIt4theKidsDay version 2.0.   I guess if you need to unfollow me until October 15th, I'll understand.

If you'd like to get it over with so you can donate now:

https://secure.ministrysync.com/ministrysync/event/website/home/?e=15867

If you do it today then every time you see me post about it from now until October 13th you can say "Already did it!."

Woo Hoo!

1 comment:

Susan said...

Keep going, Claudia! It's so worth it. Yup, hitting a slump sucks. But so does gaining weight. I am about halfway to my goal and am holding steady. Transition times in life make it hard to lost but I'm sticking to my diet most of the time. Once we settle in somewhere again I'll be able to be more focused. Go, go GO! I'm not why people don't just scroll by. I'd be happy to share with you what I'm doing or maybe some great recipes. <3 Susan