The Question of How
March 11, 2010
Okay, my next blog post is going to have some useful internet marketing tips for restaurant owners. I promise. This particular post is relevant, albeit perhaps not educational, to small business owners in any industry. It’s a post about a subject we visit often here at TwoTables – philanthropy.
This isn’t a guilt-ridden, you-should-be-doing-more-for-others admonishment. I find those a bit presumptuous, frankly. We all do as little or as much as we desire or we can, and that’s just fine. No, this post is a direct result of a question that invariably arises within that general discussion of helping others, and that’s the question of how.
Perhaps unfairly, I have always shied away from the major players in the land ‘o’ charity. You hear so much about administrative costs, wasteful budgeting, and, sometimes, corruption within the ranks. At some point I’d like to investigate how unfair those assumptions truly are. But I’m honest enough with myself to know, that along with those vague suspicions about the big boys, I also harbor a selfish need to make it all fun, and that’s more likely the driving force behind finding my own paths to advocacy. Plunking over a $2,000 check to a multi-million dollar organization is a selfless, admirable, and helpful thing to do, but it sure as hell isn’t fun.
Mindi and I were fortunate to hear Blake Mycoskie, the founder of Tom’s Shoes, speak in a relatively intimate setting, and I’m here to say the man was impressive. One of the key points I took away was his commitment to forming a philanthropic organization that was SUSTAINABLE. He was talking specifically about the organization making enough money via products and/or services to pay for its entire operation and its charitable work. Agreed 100%, but I also found myself taking it to the level of emotional sustainability as well. No one can give and give and give without receiving anything in return. Try it. You can’t do it. So, for me at least, a certain percentage of that type of work has to fulfill one or more of my needs as well, and fun seems to be as good a need to cover as any.
Obviously, that narrows the options a bit. Throw in “creative”, “active”, and “hands-on” – three terms that pop up often enough as well, and you’re at the starting line for a fun brainstorming session. And no matter where it ends up, it’s going to help some folks somewhere, because helping someone is the sole non-negotiable requirement.
Opportunities abound when you put a keen eye to ‘em. If you haven’t had such a brainstorming already, you’d be surprised at how many ideas spring up when you start looking around with those requirements as your perspective. For example, I’ll never forget our trip across Colorado last Fall (the keen eye for that one was Mindi’s). It was truly one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and one I got to spend with people I enjoy immensely. I won’t rehash our trip here – you can read about it if you’d like – but I do think it’s a great example of the type of philanthropy you can be “up for” again and again. And what’s more important in philanthropy than consistency and stamina?
So…how do y’all maintain your energy? What “emotionally sustainable” ideas have you come up with? We’d love to hear ‘em…
“Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings.”
~Helen Keller~
A Wild Week Comes To A Close
September 28, 2009
Finding ourselves back at I-70 after wandering through detours & construction in Golden.
What a whirlwind three days in Denver! It was the most challenging and perhaps most rewarding time of the entire Dine Out week for us; we came home yesterday, exhausted but content with our accomplishments.
Our goal was to make a purchase at every restaurant in Colorado participating in the Great American Dine Out. We didn’t make it. We got damn close, though, three kids in tow and hitting Denver restaurants right up to their 11:00 pm closing times on Saturday night. During our Dine Out Challenge, we were able to purchase from 17 of 25 participating restaurants in the state. If you read Matt’s recent post about celebrating failures to achieve success, you’ll know that although disappointed that we were unable to get to every establishment, we are embracing the lessons learned along the way and are excited for future opportunities to try again.
Of many excellent experiences, the following were standouts. We were able to purchase quite a bit of food from Buffalo Wild Wings, Bruegger’s Bagels, Mimi’s Cafe and Claim Jumper Restaurants which we then donated to the folks at the Denver Rescue Mission. It was an eye-opening experience for all of us but particularly for the kids, who have never known authentic need in their relatively privileged lives. We also met Libby and Brad Birky, founders of So All May Eat (SAME) Cafe, two people dedicated to the basic tenet that everyone, regardless of economic status, deserves the chance to eat healthy food while being treated with dignity. We are excited to be designing a new website for SAME!
Shaking hands with the sting rays at the Downtown Aquarium
Digging in at Joe's Crab Shack
There were many amazing moments from the past week, too many to mention each one individually. We are grateful for the opportunity to laugh a lot, meet many good and kind people, and help some kids get better access to nutritional food than they otherwise would. The photos included in this post represent some of my favorite memories from our trip.
Sincere thanks to each of you who supported our efforts and who contributed by dining out over the past week or donating directly to Share Our Strength.
Dine Out Challenge Day 4: Who’s Got the &$&%# Map?!?!?!
September 26, 2009
Thursday, the 4th day of our challenge, was the day we headed over the divide to spend a whirlwind 3 days in Denver trying to hit close to 20 restaurants… with 3 kids… and a giant Surbuban… and two adults who apparently were both born without any sense of direction.
The plan was simple: get on I-70, make it over the passes, head a bit north of Denver to Broomfield, quickly visit, purchase, and distribute food from five of our targets, and head South into the city to check into our hotel. Simple, no?
Not so much. I’m not sure how many historic misadventures have begun with the words “Let’s take a shortcut”, but methinks it numbers more than three. I won’t divulge who was driving and who was navigating, but I will say we ended up in Broomfield about an hour later than we had hoped… after getting stuck behind a Casino bus on a two lane road… and after taking a less-than-diligently marked detour… and after taking said detour and discovering our shortcut hooked back up with I-70 just a few miles from where we left it.
Yup. Classic. Three hungry children, two lost adults, and a ‘burban full of frayed nerves. I really can’t do it justice here, but I’m pretty sure our respective children don’t trust us to navigate our way across a room anymore. Ah, well. A little disillusionment never hurt anyone.
So anyway, we ended up eating at The Village Tavern near the Flat Irons Crossing Mall. I have to say, the pleasant interior, friendly waitress, and good, rib-stickin’ fare was enough to soothe our tempers quite quickly. I got the oven-roasted turkey sandwich with potato salad, the kids got shrimp scampi and a grilled cheese sandwich, and Mindi ordered the Maryland-style crab cakes. The waitress recommended a couple of appetizers we didn’t feel we had time to sample – the hot crab dip and freshly fried potato chips with a side of dippin’ ranch. It was a cool place, and we certainly left in better spirits than we entered with.
Unfortunately, however, our navigational debacle ate too much time to hit the other four, so we headed into the city to check into our hotel and get ready for the Rockies/Padres game (so much fun (!) even though the Padres prevailed). We’ll have to head north over the next couple of days and knock the other four off in quick succession…
Tomorrow: More fun, food, and our meeting with the good people of the SAME Café…