Day 9: No gift too small

[Alicia Brown]

Hello again, everyone!  I'm happy to report that I have, so far, dodged the stomach bug, but I made up for it yesterday with a splitting headache.  Fortunately, the whole family was back to work and school today.

I made a very quick stop at Goodwill today, dropping off one woman's dress and one pair of baby shoes.  The teenager at the counter was not impressed. 

"Is that it?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"You wanna receipt?" he asked, after looking at what he clearly considered a pathetic donation.

I had not planned to ask for one, but since he was being so ungrateful, I said yes.

It would be very helpful if Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the VA, etc. would put together a list of what each item is worth for of tax deductions.  I know that one person can spend $100 on a pair of pants, while someone else will spend $25, but for the purpose of itemizing your charitable donations for your tax return, a pair of pants should be worth a fixed amount.when you're giving them away.

When I rule the world, let me tell you, things are going to be different ;-)

After I made my paltry donation to Goodwill, I headed back to work to ask other people to give.  Every couple of years, we ask the teachers in my school to come up with a list of things they would like for their classrooms that are not necessities.  I put it together as a Teachers' Wish List, which we bring to major events, along with a tree and leaves for people to fill out if they make a donation.  In addition to the major fundraising events we have, we also run a deli every other Thursday night.  I thought it might be a good idea to bring the tree out once in a while and offer a free slice of cake with a $15 donation.  The first night I tried to do it I had the kids with me, so I couldn't give it my full attention.  The folks who run the deli said to leave the tree out, and if someone made a donation, they would get the info to me.  The next day I got to work and there was a $30 donation to buy the nursery 3 class an educational toy.  Hooray!  And I didn't even have to be there!  If we could make $30 without my being there shmoozing and telling everyone about the Wish List, imagine how well we would do if I was there!  I was determined to be there for the whole evening the next time.  Tonight I got two donations, one for $15, the other for $15.99.  Now I'm feeling kind of like the guy at Goodwill.  Is that it? 

Instant Karma.  Maybe I should make a bigger donation next time!

At least my donors will get a personal thank you letter from the teachers! 

[Deb~ Community Manager]

All gifts count and yours rock!

[Marina Wildt]

Oh wow! What an enormous amount of giving, it really is fantastic! Every little thing counts and adds up in the end! 

[Ann]

Every gift counts.  Your gifts will touch many people and little by little, the gifts to the teachers fund will add up!