It's Been Awhile

Since I've cried in frustration about Open Hand so I think today is as good a day as any. Once again, the idea of this blog is to show behind the scenes of starting a non profit and it's also good to be able and go back and see how far we've come and when things have gone well so we can remember Haiti was God's idea, not ours and that there is only so much we can do before Someone bigger has to step in and make this happen.

Alisha is out in California working all her contacts to raise money and I have been diligently going through my husband's business rolodex and calling on every.single.person. he's ever worked with that he thinks may be interested in what Open Hand is trying to accomplish. First I call, then I send an email and after a few days I call back to see if they have any questions or if they'd like to just go ahead and cut a check right then and there :) You know the whole squeaky wheel analogy? Well I'm hoping to get a lot of oil!

I've had my calls 'accidentally' dropped on their way to voice mail, I've had men flat out tell me that they have no desire to help, I've had people not even open the email I sent them and send it straight to their trash bin, and I've had others, who when I mention my husband's name tell me to send them the information. My husband is in a very small industry and he has made a good name for himself. That being said, I will go back and reference my other post Chills Don't Pay the Bills and you start to get the idea. Yes, what we are doing is honorable and selfless and all that but write.the.check. Just be generous and see what happens.

Once I have called on, sent out, and re-followed up with all those I sent our email to - I'm done. I have no other resources to tap. And I have it on good authority that more than a handful of those I'm calling on could write a check for all we need in a heart beat and five times over!  Even one extremely well off company could be all Open Hand needs to bring in the money for these loans.

If the saying about 'working your ass off' was literally true I know for a fact, Alisha and I wouldn't have one.