The photos I choose to put on Facebook and Instagram are composed and edited, as most things you will see on social media right?! Everything placed just so with the lighting highlighting all the important things, cropping out the evidence of daily life.

 

As with all things, there is SO much work behind the scenes before our kits make it to the hospitals. No surprise there, I know. There is the work our team puts into creating each kit- what supplies will it need, how practical is it in a hospital setting, can we purchase the supplies for a reasonable price, how many are requesting this kit, how will they be assembled, instruction sheets & more.

 

There is the time put into ordering supplies, searching for the best price (we are a nonprofit remember?!), how long will it take for delivery, will anyone be able or willing to purchase and donate supplies, providing information and posts about how to help donate, invoicing and recording ALL transactions

 

The time put into communicating with our board who is scattered around in 3 counties with families and schedules of their own. Occasionally we meet in person and while we love doing so, it is truly much easier to meet over FaceTime or Zoom in our sweats and hats, with a cup of coffee in hand.

 

Creating connecting to hospitals, finding who within those walls we should be talking to, reaching out to promote our kits and ask if new hospitals would be interested in our donations, how many kits each hospital would like to receive and how often.

 

And the packing. Waiting for all the supplies to come in the mail (I swear it’s better than Christmas sometimes!), checking to make certain we have the correct quantities, deciding how best to package each kit, dividing all the supplies up, sterilizing them to ensure they are germ free, and creating a semblance of ease in packing them. I’m not about to lie to you and say it’s always a pretty system, but it is a beautiful mess! On those days my office door is shut tight and my head is down with the music playing! It is fun, it is fulfilling, but I so miss our volunteers and the opportunity for everyone to join in helping assemble them. We will get back to that … one day. I have no doubts it will look different, but that connection and feeling of helping is beyond words.

 

 

Of course we also have the office work… papers and papers. Phone calls, texts, emails… the list goes on. Am I perfect at all this? Heavens NO! Every day is a learning curve, but I’ve also learned that it’s OK to not know and to just try. So, I keep doing just that.

 

At the end of the day though, I am happy and fulfilled. I know that I have done something to make this world a better place. And better yet… we’ve encouraged someone else to feel the same, even if it’s done through the mail.

This matters.

This is appreciated.

This is beautiful.