Giving Tuesday Trifecta

Time, Money, Support = Magic

This Giving Tuesday is brought to you in a roundabout way by a few furry (and recently reproductive organ free) friends.

I had the pleasure of supporting one of my students at a non-profit spay and neuter clinic………for 9 hours.  This is her THING.  It’s a pop up one day clinic that only happens every other month and she’s been talking about it since I met her.

We were tasked with the recovery room, keeping the animals warm and hydrated while coming out of anesthesia before giving them additional meds and sending them on their way.  Animals are cute but less so when they are peeing and vomiting on you, so after my favorite old cat in a bag went home I was ready to excuse myself as well.

All the animals had been operated on, all the money had been raised to pay for the operations, the clinic was a success and my student didn’t need me there anymore.  Except…..she did.  

Just because animals are her THING doesn’t mean she floated through the day on a cloud above those of us only mildly interested in hands-on animal rescue.  She was also exhausted, covered in pee, and ready to go home hours before we closed up shop.  At that moment she didn’t need my time as a volunteer or a donation, but she did need my support.

This Giving Tuesday, I want to thank you all for the support you’ve given to Make Our Day over the years and to me personally.  Support is an elusive aspect of giving that’s often left out of discussions for one reason; it’s hard to find.  But it’s what keeps you going when all the other volunteers have gone home and you’re tired and don’t want to know what the sticky substance is on your hand (…and your pants….and your hair?!)

Having support is also the thing that allows you to look towards the future with hope and encourages you (often more than money) to make big leaps in pursuit of your THING.  This week I hired a local public school teacher in Guatemala to teach me how to teach my curriculum in Spanish and next year, I’ll be teaching it.  My student will continue to do vet clinics and will eventually be able to run her own.  Hundreds of childrens’ days will be made and hundreds of animals will be saved.

When she and I reach these respective milestones it will be because we individually put in the time and because people consistently donate money to our projects.  But with equal measure, we will accomplish these things because of the support we’ve been given in the form of interest, attention, and encouragement.  If you are reading this, you’ve been a big part of that support for me.

Just knowing that you are on the right track isn’t always enough to get you through a long day let alone a lifetime of work.  Non-profits (or people in general for that matter) won’t achieve meaningful results by relying on time and money alone.  You need joy, you need love, you need support.  Only because it’s been given to me am I able to give it to others.

Thank you for bringing the money and support.  I’ll keep putting in the time.  It really has made magic over the years.  

2022 is poised to be our most magical year yet as I start to tackle two huge long term goals for Make Our Day: creating our own online learning portal with the curriculum I’ve written over the years and setting up a permanent bilingual classroom using that curriculum.

I don’t know where that classroom is going to be, but if you do let me know!

All my love and deepest gratitude for the years of support.

Teacha Katie