As Jackie said last week, "Ah! I'm late writing this!" Part of the reason I'm late writing my blog post is that I work for the Salvation Army, and this is the dreaded holiday season. It's understandable why life is crazy in the Salvation Army. Between kettles, toy distributions, advent, and Christmas meals and baskets everyone is working harder than ever (except youth worker people; they're craziest during camp/day camp season). But I don't work standing kettles or distributing toys. I work in the exciting Direct Mail department doing the super fun job of data entry!
That's right, I get the privilege of entering in all the donations that the bank can't automatically scan or that don't automatically upload from one system to another. I also read all of the notes donor's send in with their donations. I do a few other things as part of my job, like run reports, but data entry and reading donor's notes is the majority of my work. The Salvation Army, like many other non-profits, gets most of its donations at Christmas time, so that my workload during the Christmas season at least doubles and often triples.
There are also a lot more notes from donors during the Christmas season, and I read them all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. There's a surprising amount of ugly. Sometimes people who write in to the Salvation Army, and I feel that this is probably the case for most non-profits, are angry. They might be angry about something they personally experienced, something they read about on the internet, or just angry without an explanation. As a result, I get cussed out and yelled at through text almost every day at work throughout the Christmas season. It can be really exhausting to deal with so much negativity when I'm already stressed out and over-worked. It can also be really hard to focus on advent and hope and peace and joy when I see so much hate and anger every day.
But there's also a lot of good donor's notes. Really really good donor's notes. It's one of the perks of my job to get to read these ones. I get positive notes every day during the Christmas season from World War II veterans who remember the Salvation Army donut girls bringing them free coffee and donuts in the trenches. I get notes from people whom the Salvation Army has helped during a crisis point in their lives. I get notes from people who remember bright happy Christmases, only made possible by donations from the Salvation Army. And I get lots of notes just saying "Thank you for your good work." These notes make my day. They encourage me. They help me get through the crazy Christmas season, and actually try to enjoy it.
So, I guess I would like to give you two main take-away points:
1. Don't write angry notes to non-profits. You might think you're "sticking it to the man" by writing these, but you're probably just sticking it to the 23-year-old working part-time trying to pay off her student loans. It's not nice, and it's not really making the impact you want it to. If you do have legitimate concerns, express them calmly and politely. People are a lot more likely to listen that way. It's also helpful to try and find the right people before you start expressing your opinions. If you express your opinions calmly and politely, you can make a difference.
2. Do write thank you notes to everyone who's part of a non-profit. Like I said before, kind notes from donor's make my day. I don't think people know how much of an impact they can make with a few simple words. Someone is reading those letters you send in to your local non-profits, and it's amazingly encouraging when you tell that someone you're grateful for what they're doing. Also, try and thank the people who aren't as visible, the ones who aren't necessarily on the front lines. Thank the finance department at your favorite non-profit. Thank the church secretary or treasurer. Thank the person who's in the kitchen washing dishes at the community meal. Thank the people who are visibly doing the most good, but don't forget the ones behind the scenes. Their work is just as essential in spreading joy and peace and hope during Christmas, and they're often the least thanked. So go on! Make someone's day! It's probably a lot easier than you think.
That's right, I get the privilege of entering in all the donations that the bank can't automatically scan or that don't automatically upload from one system to another. I also read all of the notes donor's send in with their donations. I do a few other things as part of my job, like run reports, but data entry and reading donor's notes is the majority of my work. The Salvation Army, like many other non-profits, gets most of its donations at Christmas time, so that my workload during the Christmas season at least doubles and often triples.
There are also a lot more notes from donors during the Christmas season, and I read them all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. There's a surprising amount of ugly. Sometimes people who write in to the Salvation Army, and I feel that this is probably the case for most non-profits, are angry. They might be angry about something they personally experienced, something they read about on the internet, or just angry without an explanation. As a result, I get cussed out and yelled at through text almost every day at work throughout the Christmas season. It can be really exhausting to deal with so much negativity when I'm already stressed out and over-worked. It can also be really hard to focus on advent and hope and peace and joy when I see so much hate and anger every day.
But there's also a lot of good donor's notes. Really really good donor's notes. It's one of the perks of my job to get to read these ones. I get positive notes every day during the Christmas season from World War II veterans who remember the Salvation Army donut girls bringing them free coffee and donuts in the trenches. I get notes from people whom the Salvation Army has helped during a crisis point in their lives. I get notes from people who remember bright happy Christmases, only made possible by donations from the Salvation Army. And I get lots of notes just saying "Thank you for your good work." These notes make my day. They encourage me. They help me get through the crazy Christmas season, and actually try to enjoy it.
So, I guess I would like to give you two main take-away points:
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2. Do write thank you notes to everyone who's part of a non-profit. Like I said before, kind notes from donor's make my day. I don't think people know how much of an impact they can make with a few simple words. Someone is reading those letters you send in to your local non-profits, and it's amazingly encouraging when you tell that someone you're grateful for what they're doing. Also, try and thank the people who aren't as visible, the ones who aren't necessarily on the front lines. Thank the finance department at your favorite non-profit. Thank the church secretary or treasurer. Thank the person who's in the kitchen washing dishes at the community meal. Thank the people who are visibly doing the most good, but don't forget the ones behind the scenes. Their work is just as essential in spreading joy and peace and hope during Christmas, and they're often the least thanked. So go on! Make someone's day! It's probably a lot easier than you think.
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