By: Catherine Pettis, BA 2016
Time has flown the last few weeks and it is almost time for our class to make some big decisions. After researching and speaking with each organization in our groups, this week we come together to discuss all that we learned. And boy have we learned a lot; this will not be easy!
The conference calls with each organization were very insightful. We researched each individual organization before we set up our conference calls, but there was still so much to learn with each call. The websites do not do these organizations justice, as we learned that they do far more than what their websites present. I have volunteered with various nonprofits, but I have never thought about how each individual organization was run. It was shocking to learn that only a few people run some of the organizations that we spoke with, some of which are pretty large organizations. In speaking to one organizations we found that until just recently, the whole organization was run by one man! He was able to hire a new staff member, but before that he was the only one overseeing all of the day to day operations. They have so many things going on that you would think they had an office full of people, which also made me realize that these organizations run because of volunteers in the community more so than I had ever thought before.
With each conference call my group inquired about many aspects of the organization, which helped us to get a clearer picture. My favorite thing was hearing their goals and future plans. In hearing goals and future plans we got to see a snapshot of what’s to come next in the organization and how they are only planning to continue to grow their services to reach more people in McLennan County. It was in answering this question that I could hear passion in their voices. And for the organization move forward, they will need resources. It is exciting to think that we as a class have the opportunity to help some of them move towards reaching these goals. However, it is also really hard because we will not be able to help all of them.
I would love to be able to give a grant to each organization my group spoke with, but the reality is we as a board will have to make difficult decisions to narrow down who will move forward to the next step of this process. Each organization has a story and mission and a heart for those that they serve and the thought of having to speak with them to tell them they will not be moving forward is heartbreaking. The Lord has provided for these organizations up to this point and the Lord will continue to provide for them and their needs even if we cannot play a part in that. It seems as though the semester just started and it felt like we were never going to get to this point, but we are here, and I am excited to see all that everyone has prepared for this week.
About the Author: Catherine Pettis is a senior Corporate Communications major from Madison, MS. She is a member of Chi Omega and is a leader for KLife Minisitries in Waco. She enjoys traveling and spending time with friends and family.