In my work for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society we have come to focus on CONNECTIONS. Multiple sclerosis (MS) destroys connections in the nervous system and we believe that we can make connections that will kill MS. People connect to others to raise funds for new research or to educate or even to create friendships that help them cope with the disease.
It didn't take long before I started to see how connections were playing a part in so many areas of my life. When I was first plunged into searching for a new job in early 2012 I worked with a job coach who emphasized how important it was to network (use connections) to discover job opportunities. Most employers I've worked for are more likely to hire someone who is recommended by a current employee and sometimes the employee can give you a "heads up" on positions that are opening up soon.
The last couple of months have provided our family with some challenges and emergencies. In nearly every instance the power of connections came to the rescue. My daily commute of 50 miles each way was taking a toll on my car and the motor on the heater fan went out. I was facing a large repair bill that we couldn't absorb. Fortunately, I had reconnected at our Bike MS event with a great guy who used to work for our favorite mechanic. I asked him for recommendations on a reliable and affordable mechanic and he connected me to someone who fixed the car at a price we could handle.
The freezing cold temperatures did a number on our backyard faucet. The pipe cracked and water was spraying all over. Every plumber we called was overbooked already and they estimated the job would be at least $300. There goes Christmas! We are blessed to have a guy in our neighborhood who can fix pretty much anything. Our sons came over to help us out and called our neighborhood hero as well. By the end of the night we were able to get the pipe replaced and have running water (without leaks) again.
My latest set of connections ended in the most fun I've ever had at a job interview. It all started with a dental emergency. I have an unhappy history with dentists and generally find them terrifying, but with a broken tooth developing an abscess there was no way to avoid seeing one. My hubby got a recommendation from a coworker for the dentist that has sponsored the football team he coaches. That connection helped me to get in for an appointment right away. The dentist turned out to be really great but I was also facing a lot of work to fix my dental problems. I found myself overwhelmed by everything that needed to be done and the cost of it all and started falling apart. That's when the dentist offered us some different options and slowed everything down so I could calm down. He was like no other dentist I had ever met. When I got home I checked out his website and Facebook page and saw that he had a great relationship with his patients. Reading through the posts and seeing how he and his office interacted with all these families showed me that he was definitely the dentist for me. How does this end up in a job interview? Today I had a job interview with a company that helps dental practices get their social media started. During the interview I mentioned my great new dentist and how impressed I was with his Facebook page. That's when I found out that my dentist was one of their clients! I felt so comfortable in that interview and my experience with my dentist let me see what a wonderful job this was.
These are just a few of the examples. Just connecting with friends on Facebook led to me getting tickets to a sold-out show my brother was performing in. Connecting on Twitter led to an offer from a "Finding Bigfoot" scientist to speak to my hubby's biology students and getting to meet comedian Gabriel Iglesias after his show (where he wished us a happy 25th anniversary). May you all find your own connections that make your world a much better place!
Friday, December 20, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
A New Challenge Begins
Last month, a visit to the doctor brought a lot of bad news. I already had high blood pressure and diabetes and cholesterol problems got added to my list. Expanding the battle beyond just trying to lose weight made things much more serious. My list of problems was creating a situation bringing me closer to a heart attack and I could no longer just be okay with how I look.
There are a lot of things I used to do that are more difficult now. I don't have the strength or endurance I had when our kids were younger. It was frustrating to feel those limitations during our big events at work. An office job body doesn't help at a major event where there's a lot of loading, unloading, setting, down, cleaning up, and general running around.
Feeling accountable is one of the best ways to help yourself stick to a plan. I decided to make this whole thing a win-win by turning it into a fundraiser. My mom battled her weight but was restricted by her multiple sclerosis (MS) in what she could do to stay active. I want to honor my mom by having the money I raise go to finding a cure for MS. My goal is to lose 30 pounds by October 4 (my birthday) and I'm having people pledge to donate for each pound I lose.
There's so much to battle when it comes to weight loss:
- Time - it takes time to prepare healthier foods and it's so much easier to grab fast food
- Money - a lot of the healthier options cost more than the unhealthy ones
- Culture - I married into a culture that celebrates everything with food. You don't decline the offers of food either.
- Regular eating - for both weight loss and diabetes it is important to eat regular meals and not skip any
- Exercise - I'm not a fan of working out and my job and the commute leave me sitting most of the day. Fitting in the exercise will be a challenge for sure.
I've only lost a few pounds so far, but at least I'm going in the right direction now.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Pay Attention Before You Pay Money
With our hectic, rush-around lives today we often put ourselves in a vulnerable position. Most of us probably put a good amount of thought into making our purchases. I know that I will research items and brands to find out about a product's features, compare prices, and read reviews by others who have tried the product already.
Unfortunately, we go through our day making purchases with barely any thought at all. How much are you losing when you zone out and trust the cash register to ring up the correct price? My dad was big on watching as items were rung up at the store. He taught me to pay attention to sale prices and to make sure they showed up that way at the cash register. He also explained that stores are regularly checked for their accuracy and that mistakes are always found. Nobody is perfect and some stores seem to avoid programming in sales prices intentionally.
It's only a few cents, right? Why bother making a big deal out of the 15 cents they overcharged you on something? Because that one item is the only one you caught and there are most likely many, many more. If you don't say anything, they will happily overcharge you over and over again.
I had another experience with this on a higher level today. I needed to buy tires for my car and I checked ahead of time on prices at the specific store I was going to. We were also smart enough to take advantage of a daily deals offer that allowed us to get $50 vouchers for $25. I also saw that the store was running some rebate deals when buying sets of 4 tires. Armed and ready, I headed into Big O Tires to make my big purchase. The quote I was given for the tires was $20 per tire more than I was expecting. When I challenged the clerk, he printed out a list of all the tires that size with their prices from their store's website. Imagine his surprise when I showed him that the tires I was shopping for had a lower price on the website than what he had in his computer database.
It doesn't end there. When I came to pick up my car with the pretty new tires, the original clerk was gone and he didn't put my vouchers with the work order. There was no way I was going to let $200 in vouchers just disappear! Fortunately, the clerk who was there did a serious search and found the vouchers. Paying attention and standing up for myself saved me more than a few cents today.
Unfortunately, we go through our day making purchases with barely any thought at all. How much are you losing when you zone out and trust the cash register to ring up the correct price? My dad was big on watching as items were rung up at the store. He taught me to pay attention to sale prices and to make sure they showed up that way at the cash register. He also explained that stores are regularly checked for their accuracy and that mistakes are always found. Nobody is perfect and some stores seem to avoid programming in sales prices intentionally.
It's only a few cents, right? Why bother making a big deal out of the 15 cents they overcharged you on something? Because that one item is the only one you caught and there are most likely many, many more. If you don't say anything, they will happily overcharge you over and over again.
I had another experience with this on a higher level today. I needed to buy tires for my car and I checked ahead of time on prices at the specific store I was going to. We were also smart enough to take advantage of a daily deals offer that allowed us to get $50 vouchers for $25. I also saw that the store was running some rebate deals when buying sets of 4 tires. Armed and ready, I headed into Big O Tires to make my big purchase. The quote I was given for the tires was $20 per tire more than I was expecting. When I challenged the clerk, he printed out a list of all the tires that size with their prices from their store's website. Imagine his surprise when I showed him that the tires I was shopping for had a lower price on the website than what he had in his computer database.
It doesn't end there. When I came to pick up my car with the pretty new tires, the original clerk was gone and he didn't put my vouchers with the work order. There was no way I was going to let $200 in vouchers just disappear! Fortunately, the clerk who was there did a serious search and found the vouchers. Paying attention and standing up for myself saved me more than a few cents today.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
An Insider's View of Nonprofits
For nearly 12 years now I have worked for nonprofit organizations. In addition, I have worked with a handful of other nonprofit groups in a volunteer leadership capacity. In hanging out on Facebook tonight, I saw a post that got me all worked up. It was an infographic that claimed to tell about how some very large charities were paying large salaries to their executives and how some smaller charities were putting more of the money donated to "the cause."
After a quick check of Snopes to see if anything had been said about this infographic, I found that the information it presented was old and very inaccurate. Unfortunately, things like this fly across Facebook at amazing speed and most people will just decide to turn their backs on larger charities without ever trying to learn the truth.
If you intend to give to a charity/nonprofit, you should be checking to see where the money goes. I'd like to .
tell you some of the things I've learned so you can have a better understanding of how some of these organizations work. I'm no expert, but I have a working knowledge to share. The first thing to be aware of is that charities need to be recognized as such by the IRS. Getting that official nonprofit status means that they've set up the organization and proven their purpose and that they will have to meet certain standards to keep that status. Not every charity is a nonprofit. There are actually some charities that are for profit rather than nonprofit.
My biggest pet peeve when people look at and judge nonprofits is that they assume that everyone involve should be working for free or for very tiny salaries. Good will and desire to help drives many people to volunteer their time and talents to the causes they believe in, but how many of you would be willing to work a 40+ hour per week job all year long without any pay? Those in executive positions would make at least 2-4 times more for the same work in a for-profit company. In my current job with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, we make very good use of volunteers and the hours they contributed last year were equivalent to five full-time employees.
The task of calculating where the donated money goes is a very interesting process. You have to determine how much money went toward the mission of the organization. That could be programs, services, research, etc. On the other side are the administrative and fundraising costs. Although some donations would probably come in without prompting, the majority of donations will come in through fundraising campaigns and events. There will generally be costs associated with either of those activities.
For example, I manage our Walk MS events in Utah. We do what we can to get things donated and have fees waived, but we still have a lot of costs involved. It was a challenge to do the budget and determine every penny needed and where to cut spending. Here is just a sampling of what costs go with this type of event:
Even with a fundraising campaign, you're paying for the envelopes, letterhead, and postage and then the salaries of those involved with preparing and executing the campaign. Bulk mailings can help with costs for sending out a lot of appeals at one time. Despite the way most people seem to feel about these appeals, they tend to bring in more than what was spent with much less effort than a large event or phone campaign.
I used to work for a different nonprofit that had a very different setup. It was a residential treatment center for youth and the fundraising (or development) side of things was actually quite small. Funding for the treatment provided came in from various agencies, health insurance, and families of the clients. That meant that the basic needs of the facility were already taken care of. Fundraising targeted specific needs and improvements to the program rather than the daily needs. In some ways, they could claim that 100% of the donations went directly to the cause and nothing was spent on administrative and fundraising expenses since the employees, buildings, equipment, etc. were already being paid for and weren't dependent on the fundraising. It makes sense, but the official way of calculating it isn't swayed by that logic. Salaries for executives and the development personnel had to be weighed against the small number of donations that were coming in (fees for the services provided aren't donations) and that gave an unfavorable picture.
Next time you decide to support your favorite cause, check to see how they handle the money and keep in mind what it takes to keep that organization up and running. If you decide to be part of a charitable event that doesn't charge a fee, I hope you will consider donating a few dollars to offset the costs of that "free" event. I hope you will also consider how you can make a difference by contributing your time and talents (especially professional skills) as a volunteer for your favorite charity.
After a quick check of Snopes to see if anything had been said about this infographic, I found that the information it presented was old and very inaccurate. Unfortunately, things like this fly across Facebook at amazing speed and most people will just decide to turn their backs on larger charities without ever trying to learn the truth.
If you intend to give to a charity/nonprofit, you should be checking to see where the money goes. I'd like to .
My biggest pet peeve when people look at and judge nonprofits is that they assume that everyone involve should be working for free or for very tiny salaries. Good will and desire to help drives many people to volunteer their time and talents to the causes they believe in, but how many of you would be willing to work a 40+ hour per week job all year long without any pay? Those in executive positions would make at least 2-4 times more for the same work in a for-profit company. In my current job with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, we make very good use of volunteers and the hours they contributed last year were equivalent to five full-time employees.
The task of calculating where the donated money goes is a very interesting process. You have to determine how much money went toward the mission of the organization. That could be programs, services, research, etc. On the other side are the administrative and fundraising costs. Although some donations would probably come in without prompting, the majority of donations will come in through fundraising campaigns and events. There will generally be costs associated with either of those activities.
For example, I manage our Walk MS events in Utah. We do what we can to get things donated and have fees waived, but we still have a lot of costs involved. It was a challenge to do the budget and determine every penny needed and where to cut spending. Here is just a sampling of what costs go with this type of event:- event permits
- police fees (for blocking streets along the route)
- location/park rental
- food and water for participants
- signage (sign, sign, everywhere a sign)
- bibs (race number) and safety pins
- design and printing of posters, brochures, postcards, etc.
- design and printing of event shirts, volunteer shirts
- prizes/incentives to motivate fundraising by participants
- rental of sound system, tables, chairs, tents
- envelopes, letterhead, and postage for letters to acknowledge and thank donors
- miscellaneous office supplies and printing for registration forms, waivers, check-in lists, etc.
- first aid/emergency personnel
- gas/mileage, truck rental, etc. to haul supplies
- armored transport for money
- advertising for event
- bank fees for credit card donations
- software platform for online fundraising
- salaries of staff involved
I used to work for a different nonprofit that had a very different setup. It was a residential treatment center for youth and the fundraising (or development) side of things was actually quite small. Funding for the treatment provided came in from various agencies, health insurance, and families of the clients. That meant that the basic needs of the facility were already taken care of. Fundraising targeted specific needs and improvements to the program rather than the daily needs. In some ways, they could claim that 100% of the donations went directly to the cause and nothing was spent on administrative and fundraising expenses since the employees, buildings, equipment, etc. were already being paid for and weren't dependent on the fundraising. It makes sense, but the official way of calculating it isn't swayed by that logic. Salaries for executives and the development personnel had to be weighed against the small number of donations that were coming in (fees for the services provided aren't donations) and that gave an unfavorable picture.
Next time you decide to support your favorite cause, check to see how they handle the money and keep in mind what it takes to keep that organization up and running. If you decide to be part of a charitable event that doesn't charge a fee, I hope you will consider donating a few dollars to offset the costs of that "free" event. I hope you will also consider how you can make a difference by contributing your time and talents (especially professional skills) as a volunteer for your favorite charity.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Win a Keepsake Tatted Lace Doily
I am raising money for an event called Walk MS. It supports the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and will help fund research to find a cure so nobody else has to lose their mom to this horrible disease. For every $1 donation to my fundraising efforts, your name will be entered into a drawing to win this doily ($5 donation puts your name in the drawing 5 times). I will draw the winning name on May 1, 2013. Donations can be made online, delivered to me in person, or mailed to the National MS Society (address below).
Thank you for anything you are able to give. Giving up this keepsake will be worth it if it brings us closer to finding a cure.
Mailing address:
National MS Society
1440 Foothill Dr., Suite 200
Salt Lake City, UT 84108
(Please make sure you include a note that says "Karen Tapahe, Walk MS" so the money is credited to the right place)
The doily is approximately 8.5 inches across and tatted in peach colored cotton thread. This was one of the first doilies I ever tatted.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Changing the World in Just One Day
There is an amazing new trend and it's absolutely awesome! Various communities are holding giving days. These are 24-hour fundraising blitzes encouraging people to give where they live. The state where I live (Utah) is having it's Love Utah Give Utah campaign on Friday, March 22, and I'm thrilled to be involved.
One of the wonderful things about this campaign is that many smaller nonfprofit organizations are getting exposure because of the campaign as a whole. In Utah, the hosting organization is also giving extra donations of $1,000 - $2,500 to the causes/organizations that bring in the highest number of unique donations. That's the number of donations, not the dollars given in the donations! This is a great opportunity for those of us working for organizations that have lots of regular people donating instead of major donors.
Another cool thing is the potential for doubling your donation. I heard this morning that there are companies like Maverik and IntegraCore willing to match employees' donations. Some of the charities have also lined up matching donors.
 |
| My mom - walking with only 20% feeling in her legs after 13 years with MS. |
My heart is with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and not just because I work for the Utah-Southern Idaho Chapter. I was only nine years-old when my mom was diagnosed with multiple Sclerosis (MS). There weren't any treatments back then and I felt so helpless. She taught me to do "the twist" and we had our "shop til you drop" tradition every Black Friday. Over the years, I watched her struggle with her eyesight and lose feeling in her legs to the point that she eventutally couldn't walk. MS is unpredictable and affects each person differently, making this a very frustrating disease. Mom died in 1999 after 25 years of living with MS. I thought my fight against MS was done until I found friends being diagnosed with MS and I just couldn't sit back and do nothing. Nobody else should lose their mom (or dad, friend, son, daughter, etc.) to this crazy disease! Even kids are being diagnosed with it now.
There are now nine disease-modifying treatments and amazing progress is being made. In case you aren't familiar with scientific and medical research, it's important to know that researchers go where the dollars are. If we can't fund their research, they will move on to other projects. That's just the harsh reality. Please join me in supporting the National MS Society or another great charity during Love Utah Give Utah or find the giving day for your area (Arizona's was March 20). I challenge you to give $14 for the 14 years since I lost my mom to MS. There is a matching grant that will double at least the first $1,000 of donations to the Society, so your money will be extra powerful. If we get the most people donating, we could also earn some extra funds. YOU will be helping to change the world!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Being Dumped by a Job
Just over a year ago, I had an experience that I'd never had before and that I didn't see coming. I lost my job. It was a job I had loved for 10 years and being told that my position was being eliminated was an absolute shock. How am I doing now that a year has gone by? That depends on when you ask me.
Although I took the news well initially, I eventually struggled with it in some interesting ways. The closest scenario I could compare it to is that of being dumped by a boyfriend. The sting of rejection. Trying to figure out how to define yourself without that relationship/job. A sense of betrayal as you wonder what went into the decision and how long the decision was in the making. The heartache of remembering the good times and almost feeling guilty for having any good feelings. The constant temptation to dwell on every ugly, unhappy, or bad thing you can conjure up about the job or employer. And a lingering hope that you'll wake up and it was all a dream or that they'll call and beg you to come back.
Well, nobody called to stay they were wrong to let me go. No news has come out that they totally fell apart without me there. I am now ancient history and I have to cope with it. Originally I thought I would still do volunteer work and stay connected somehow with my former employer. For the first events to come along, they were the ones to push me away. They said it was to help me focus on finding a new job. Later, after I found a new job, things really didn't change and I had lost that drive to be involved since I felt unwanted.
My life has moved forward and I'm busier than ever with my new job. Even though I stay in contact with a few former coworkers (via Facebook), I miss the relationships I had in that old job. It's hard to explain, but there were people that seemed more like an older brother or cool aunt than a supervisor or coworker and I find myself wishing I could get their advice on things. Just like with a bad breakup, I tested those waters and didn't get good results.
Learning to move on and put the past behind me has made me more cautious about thinking of any job or situation as permanent. When my parents were working, most people stayed in their jobs until retirement. Once you found your career, you stuck with it and the job usually stuck with you unless you did something awful. Times have changed and people change jobs all the time. My goal from this point on is to have any job changes be my decision and not another surprise.
I do appreciate all my friends and family members who have put up with this rollercoaster of emotions and helped me see my value. Let's hope I don't have to face another adventure like this any time soon.
Well, nobody called to stay they were wrong to let me go. No news has come out that they totally fell apart without me there. I am now ancient history and I have to cope with it. Originally I thought I would still do volunteer work and stay connected somehow with my former employer. For the first events to come along, they were the ones to push me away. They said it was to help me focus on finding a new job. Later, after I found a new job, things really didn't change and I had lost that drive to be involved since I felt unwanted.
Learning to move on and put the past behind me has made me more cautious about thinking of any job or situation as permanent. When my parents were working, most people stayed in their jobs until retirement. Once you found your career, you stuck with it and the job usually stuck with you unless you did something awful. Times have changed and people change jobs all the time. My goal from this point on is to have any job changes be my decision and not another surprise.
I do appreciate all my friends and family members who have put up with this rollercoaster of emotions and helped me see my value. Let's hope I don't have to face another adventure like this any time soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)