Two weeks ago on a Sunday morning, I got dressed up -- dress, hose, heels and makeup -- and went to brunch at an exclusive restaurant called the LeMont up on Mt. Washington in Pittsburgh. They truly have the best views of the city, and the wait list to have your wedding reception there is, well, long. Suffice it to say it's pretty swanky, and it's not somewhere that I would go normally.
So how did I end up on the guest list? My service coordinator asked me to speak about my experiences while I had been in their program for homeless women and children. They were having a fundraising event and since I am not quite in a position to write donation checks at this point, I happily agreed to help in this capacity. The event was attended by almost 500 women, who purchased tickets and paid to be there. That in itself is phenomenal -- but they also had over 100 designer purses filled with themed sets of goodies to tempt ladies into bidding to win them. Some of the gifts were pretty impressive!
It's only been a few months since I moved out on my own, and my experiences are still so raw and fresh in my mind. I had spoken at one other event previously, where I had thoughtfully written out a speech and spoke about my journey. In the week leading up to this event, I had not been able to devote time to revising the speech I had written previously, but I felt confident that I could speak from the heart and convey my appreciation for all that I had been given during my time there.
After brunch, I stood up in front of about 100 of the women in one of the smaller rooms and began to tell my story. I didn't get very far into my speech when I realized what was happening. I literally stood in front of the people who opened their wallets and made my success -- and the success of those I had lived with -- possible. It completely overwhelmed me and I started to cry. I couldn't help myself. And that's what I told them. That their willingness to contribute to this organization meant more to me and my boys than they could ever know -- and that I could only hope to pay this forward in some small way down the road.
I'm saying all of this because one of my Facebook friends recently posted a spreadsheet that shows what percentage of funds from various well-known charitable organizations goes directly to helping those in need. The idea is to inform the public while at the same time chastising those that don't put 100% of donations back into their mission. Here's the thing that a lot of people don't understand: there is not a single charitable organization out there that has 100% volunteers. It's practically impossible to find people who are willing to put full time hours into a job without any pay (& please refer back to the use of the adjective practically before you jump all over my case with that one exception).
In my own daily encounters with the paid staff at my program, I know that these women feel passionately about the mission of this organization, and have seen a lot of women who participated in this program turn their lives around because of their efforts. I can say with a great amount of certainty that it would not be even a fraction of the success it is without their hard work and dedication. So it really burns my toast when people begin to criticize the administrative costs of charitable good works. These women deserve to get paid for their efforts -- and I can tell you that none of them drive Rolls Royces.
Are there organizations that abuse their "good" reputation and pay their CEOs too much? Absolutely. But I challenge those who think that they know the full story just by looking at an accounting sheet at the end of the year. I have utilized an information hotline that is run by the United Way (one of the members on the naughty list) several times this year alone. I have NO CLUE what I would have done without this resource at my fingertips. I literally spent two days making phone calls from the exhaustive list I had been given by one of the workers on the hotline when I was looking for a place to stay instead of sleeping in my car with my children. Then I called them again when I needed start-up funds for an apartment, and they gave me more assistance. Do I agree with all of their administrative fund allocations? Certainly not -- but there's a phrase about biting the hand that feeds you that comes to mind here. And I don't know the whole story either.
It's extremely easy for people who have never needed these organizations to sit in judgment and say that the people who run them should work for free. I can only express gratitude for the assistance that I have been given by The United Way, as well as at least another handful of various charitable organizations this year. It's truly a debt that I can never fully repay. I didn't ask any of these organizations to review their annual budget before I accepted their assistance, and I would do it all over again in order to take care of my family; I only speak the truth as I know it. I am grateful for the people who choose to support The United Way. I encourage everyone to support at least one charitable organization wholeheartedly, whatever touches your heart -- and not just at Christmastime. You never know when you might be the one who ends up needing the help.
