A couple of weeks ago I was asked to go take some pictures of a donation drop off for a local charity here in the Dallas area. I was asked by my employer, a healthcare company (we'll leave unnamed for sake of blog) that's based out of Plano, TX.
Over a period of a couple of months we decided to have a friendly competition to raise some money that we could then donate. We went with a "Penny Fundraiser" which if you don't know, is exactly what it sounds like...raising pennies. The motive of the competition (between our office departments) is to raise more pennies than other competing departments without getting "tagged" with silver coins or dollar bills by others. (this makes your points go down but encourages you to throw dollar bills in other department fund jars)
It might sound a tad confusing but in essence your goal is to fill your own jar with pennies and fill your competitors jars with silver coins and dollar bills. Easy enough right :) So anyway, back to my story, after a few weeks we raised quite a bit of money, over $400.00 - which is literally thousands of pennies, lots of quarters, nickels, and dimes, and even a nice chunk of bills.
The winning team got to choose where the money was to be donated and they decided the recipient should be Texas based non-profit, Heroes for Children - a decision that I couldn't be happier with. This organization works non-stop to help children who've been diagnosed with cancer, both financially and socially. The things they do to help people during such a difficult time is nothing short of inspiring.
At first, I thought I was just going to be there to take a few pictures and then head out, but the Executive Director wanted me and my two colleagues to sit and chat for a few minutes, which we gladly did. That's when it hit me just how amazing this organization and the people who work here are. In a crammed full office not much bigger than a two bedroom apartment this lady asks us to sit and talk, rather than quickly take our donation and return to her desk piled work, she extends her time and friendship to us.
She begins to share intimate moments of past families that they've helped and a few that they're helping right this second and we couldn't help but be thankful. From giving away laptops to allow students to finish school during there hospital stays, to helping with medical bills, and even helping to plan graduation parties and a wedding proposal for one lucky lady, this organization does it all.
The statistics for cancer among children and young adults is shocking, but to see a handful of people working so diligently to provide a better life for others is incredible. I look forward to being able to help this charity out again in the near future, penny fundraiser and all:)