Sighs and Hallelujahs Stories and thoughts about the adventures of life without arms

Passionate about Fighting Poverty

This week was a milestone in what felt like a marathon (yet, run at a sprint's pace) in the process of trying to renew my main client at work, CARE. CARE fights poverty in developing countries by empowering women and their families. UN studies show that by helping a woman you will be something like five times more successful at helping a community than if you gave that assistance to a man (we're selfish bastards!). So, CARE does the efficient thing by focusing their efforts to reach women in their work to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and to rescue lives after disasters.

Amongst the day-to-day work, e-mails and the routine of writing analysis and strategies, it can get hard to remember why I do the things I do. But, yesterday I was reminded of this during our final presentation to the CARE team in Atlanta. See, a unique thing happens when you boil down what you do for a job and you are taken back to the core purpose of what you've been called to do. For me, that's to help non-profit charities raise funds for their worthy efforts. I believe that each of us is called to help the least of these amongst us, and I think CARE does the work of the Gospel (even though they do their work under a non-religious mission). And, I'm humbled by the fact that I get to play a part in that.

During a recent conversation someone said, "Well, let's talk about what makes you tick at work." Naively, I quickly responded, "Passion?" After a hearty laugh, the person replied, "Ha! That was a good one. Let's talk about what you get paid." I tried to laugh off my heart-felt response as I considered how rare my excitement for the work I did was.

I simply get fired up about the work that I and the great team I'm surrounded by do. And, I wanted to share the video below with you. Mainly, this is what awoken the passion within me earlier this week. As it played at the conclusion of our four hour-long presentation, I considered what it would be like to not be allowed to play a role in the great work CARE does. I stared into the eyes of the people in the video and my heart sank at the fact that next week CARE could decide to move their business to another agency. In that moment, tears welled up in my eyes. It was just too much for me. I have been part of the great work that CARE does for the past eight years (that's a lifetime in agency-land) and I am deeply committed to it. My reaction had nothing to do with business outcomes of whether CARE decides to renew with Merkle or not. Instead, it had everything to do with emotions. I hope you're as touched as I was by this video --

If you were, may I ask you to click on this link to give a gift to CARE -- www.care.org/donate. This is a very worthy cause and your gift is tax-deductible.

Whatever the outcome of CARE's decision next Friday, the flame in my heart still burns. I firmly believe that Merkle offers them the best option for meeting their growth goals, but it's the passion that drives me the most. Maybe I'm weird that way, but when I can stop and reflect on my work with non-profits like CARE I can't think of a better place to be!