It’s Still Quite Humbling
I’ve been interviewing candidates for the Communications and Administrative Manager position we have open. I’ve met a lot of good people at various career stages. I am still praying (and hope you might too) that I choose the right person who will support PC’s staff and students for years to come. They deserve the best!
To start all my interviews, I share the values I hope the PCF showcases to the world. These include integrity, levity, and of course gratitude. You’ve read more than one blog from me about how important I think gratitude is, but it’s the core of what we do. I’ve worked in nonprofits or on campaigns where staff will say something akin to “she’s got enough money to give us a bigger check.”
It’s the sense of entitlement, which I find off-putting. If Bill Gates sent the PC Foundation $100 I would be in shock- because BILL GATES knows who the PCF is. Sure he could give more, but he doesn’t owe us a thing. No one is required to give us a dollar! We are just lucky that it happens, that people find what we do meaningful, and trust us with their dollars.
Sometimes when a person passes away, their family will ask friends to donate to us in lieu of flowers. We’ve gotten several gifts this way over the years, and it always touches me to be included in such a poignant moment in a family’s life.
The group of donations we’ve received in honor of Dean Manning has humbled me. I never got to know him, but I have met his wife who used to work in Putnam City. They are a solid family for sure, and I was so honored when Dean’s daughter-in-law reached out to let me know of the family’s intentions.
We haven’t done anything to deserve these gifts, and it’s really hard to feel justified in keeping them. But we honor the family’s wishes, and these gifts will be used to make another generation of young people’s lives just a little better. They will make a teacher’s work just a little easier.
I sure hope that brings some measure of comfort to the Manning family in a time like this.
by Jennifer Seal
October 22, 2021