Recently spent the day at US Steel, Gary Works as the keynote speaker for United States Steel's 2007 United Way Campaign. Emcee? Moderator? Hmmm hard to classify it...
Given the task to speak to 1200 men/women from 6:30 a.m. (5:00 a.m. arrival - YES it's true) to 5:00 p.m. LONG DAY. LONG amazing WOW kind of day.
My charge was: "Hey Jude, you're a professional speaker, I've always known that - okay, so I'm the Project Manager for the USS 2007 United Way Campaign (big task!) and I need you to come speak. You know - INSPIRE! CHARGE! Be authentic - you're so good at it, and be passionate! I know you can communicate that! And we're gonna ask people to give - like never before and we're gonna feed 'em and celebrate the 34 agencies that Lake Area United Way funds and we're gonna show real people - who their money's going to and, and... and I want YOU to be the speaker..."
Get the picture? Big charge.
Big.
"Is he nuts?" was my first thought (silently!).
"Absolutely!" was my second thought (out loud! did I just tell him YES' ???').
"Stink!" was my third thought (what the heck did I just get myself into?)
THE DAY - as in THE DAY of speak-age - I was given more specific directives - by 2 people, at the same time -5 minutes before the first bus arrived to the Celebration Center - 5 minutes before I was to take the microphone and SAY WORDS OUT LOUD.
Didn't even have a pen to take their notes with...
So I grabbed the microphone and I did what I love to do - I said words. Hopefully a few, well-chosen, heart-felt words. I sensed emotions raised and eyes brightened...saw heads lifted from oh-so-tired-people who were longing to be in their beds from another long 3rd shift - and we connected.
In preparing for something so open-ended and unclear, I felt that God had given me a specific task. My mission was to somehow communicate to these precious people that THEY MATTERED. Their individual effort DID matter. The "power of the individual and the dynamic force of many" has been resounding in my soul since this past March. I knew I was charged with communicating to these people that their sacrifice - their dollar combined with other dollars became a DYNAMIC FORCE, that was life-changing for so many people. How easy it is to get lost in the thinking "I won't make a difference. Giving 60 cents of every 100.00 (considered a 'fair share') won't make a difference"...
When my 15 year old son was in elementary school - we struggled financially. Willing struggle - oldest son in college and happy to sacrifice to help provide higher education. Just do it. Sacrifice of love. Needing child care after school proved to be an expensive problem. I was faced with shorter days just to be with Timmy - which also means less effective at work and less $'s on payday.
The Boys Club was our MIRACLE gift! For $10.00 Timmy became a member. As a member, I'd leave work for a short break, pick him up from school, pick up a snack, and go immediately to "the CLUB". He safely checked in, almost every day they were open, eat his snack and run and play in a well-supervised, enclosed, clean, emotionally-supportive, wonderful environment. For $10.00 per YEAR.
$10.00 per YEAR.
Peace of mind was priceless. Who picked up the balance of the costs? It never occurred to me. I just lived life and ran through the days.
At this US Steel event I learned that The UNITED WAY picked up the balance. Almost $400.00 per child per year. The United Way, funded by people who would never see the face of my son.
5 minutes before speaking I knew why I had been sent. I was finally able to THANK these who had so generously given through payroll deduction - some for DECADES - for agencies like the Boys & Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Meals on Wheels, Arc Bridges (developmentally challenged) and 28 other remarkable agencies. Givers, like these people at USS helped me through a tough season in MY life. They had a face to connect to their giving - and the face was smiling and genuinely saying "thank you, thank you, thank you."
Hours of buses, hours of re-speaking the same (similar) message - and it didn't get old. THE LAST group of the day, as I was "shooting" my thank-yous directly to some amazing eyes, I was stopped dead in my tracks as one young man so clearly, so firmly said: "you're so welcome".
Tears stinging, silence so thick you could feel it touching you and direct eye contact with hearts connected but for a moment... I tried to regroup, but moved beyond composure as I watched wrinkled grimy faces nodding in affirmation, younger, brighter eyes smiling in agreement... We who were privy to that moment knew we experienced a defining moment in time: they "got it".
He knew he had made a difference.
THEY knew THEY had made a difference.
I knew I had made a difference.
How cool is that?
Recent Comments