I recently helped to organise a large outdoor concert where all of the funds raised went to an organization called Lifeline. Lifeline does an amazing job in the community – mainly focusing on a 24 hour telephone crisis line for people who need someone to talk to in a dark period of their lives. The concert was great and the event was considered a success on many different levels.
A few days later I received a letter in the mail from an old lady thanking me for getting involved in this concert. She explained how Lifeline had helped her when she had lost her husband to cancer and she was feeling very alone and she had seriously contemplated committing suicide. I couldn’t help but have tears rolling down my face as I realised the human side of getting behind my community.
Since that day I have made an effort to drop a short letter or email to people who I see playing an active role in making my community a better place to be. Sometimes its just to say thank you, sometimes it is more personal, maybe an experience that I have had just like the lady who wrote to me.
Taking the time to say thank you to people who give tirelessly of themselves is a good thing to do. It will mean a lot to them and they certainly don’t expect it but I am sure they appreciate it – I certainly do.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TODAY? The very next time you read about someone who has gone out of their way to help make your community a better place do some detective work and track down their address and send them a card or a thank you letter.
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