I only have $10... Now what?

As a fundraiser, the most frustrating thing that has ever happened to me was someone taking back a nickel because it wasn't enough. In a charity, nothing is never enough, and every little bit helps.

CharlotteONE: recently started the BeONE campaign to raise money. The point is to have 40 people donate $10/month ($4800/year, for all of you math slackers). As you can see, this adds up quickly. Still, it isn't a ton of money towards the cause. But that's ok.

The point isn't necessarily that every $10 helps, although it does, it is more to get people on a regiment of giving. $10/month--$2.50/week--seems like nothing. Ok, I have one more teeeny bill, but compared to my $500/month in student loans, this seems like something I can handle. So, I start giving monthly. Well, then I realize that I can up my giving to $15/month with very little effort, and so on and so on, until finally that starts adding up to some major buck-a-roos.

At Bethlehem Center giving $50/month would put you amongst our top 10 individual donors. A fact that made my Board of Directors gasp when I told them. In all honesty, we can all afford $50/month. Truth is, you probably easily spend that on lunch in a week b/c you don't want to eat PB&J every day (ok, or am I just speaking about myself right now?).

I challenge every one reading this blog right now to find a cause and start out donating just $10/month. No fair with counting event ticket costs in that amount. Set up your bill pay or use their fundraising services. Let's see how much of an impact $10 can make, shall we?

What in the world has been going on??

Yes, "what in the world" is right. I haven't posted lately, due to a miriad of factors. Specifically, I haven't shot anything praise-worthy in a while, although I hope to shoot an engagement session for my friends who recently got engaged. This is the friend who was my first model when I got my camera. Poor guy.

Recently, I've been trying to find my passion, though. There were definitely a couple of days of me not wanting to get out of bed b/c I couldn't find the motivation to. To say that I need a change is an understatement. Don't get me wrong, there are things that I enjoy, but sometimes it's hard to remember those things.

Anyway, before I change this into a sob story, I wanted to update. I am still looking for study buddies for the GRE, since I haven't been doing a great job of staying on top of it. In the meantime, I have been looking for opportunities overseas to study economics hands on before I go back to school. This has not been easy. After all my searching, I found one fellowship overseas that is exactly the type of thing I'm looking for. I would be away for approximately 3-4 months, living and shadowing Kiva, an organization that pairs business owners in poverty with donors that can help them with their mission. It's an amazing organization doing something very similar to what I've already studied and talked about. I've also researched opportunities with their partners. Ideally, I would like to find something in the states that would give me the opportunity to travel overseas from time to time, but actually working and living overseas for a few months before I head back to school would also be a great opportunity.

Prayers are appreciated. I'm very much a believer in open and closed doors, so I trust that God has my ultimate good in mind. Still, I'm getting slightly impatient with his revealing of that plan to me!