Right Now with Kevin
What I’m reading: I Will Find You (Trigger warning for some. This is so heavy and moving.)
What I’m watching: Parks and Rec (season 4)
What I’m listening to: The Sense of Me by Mudflow
“Your first three years will be like drinking from a fire hose,” my mentor told me as I was preparing to move into my new role as the executive director of the Beaverton Downtown Association. “But eventually, and with practice, you will learn how to shut the water off for a minute so that you can breathe.”
And so it began. I hopped into the new position with a terrific blend of optimism, excitement, and gratitude. Immediately, the fire hose began its burst of information into my head. Never one short of confidence, I would respond honestly to the question of “Are you overwhelmed yet?” by laughing a little and saying, “No, actually. This is making sense!”
And here is why:
My local government partners with the City of Beaverton have been so incredibly supportive. Over my first three weeks on the job, I have met with City staff over 15 times on various projects, and that doesn’t even include the phone calls and emails we have shared as we have maintained open lines of communication.
Sure, the City provides funding for our small nonprofit, but there is so much more to this partnership than just the exchange of monetary resources for the provision of a service.
Our relationship is based on that of trust and common vision.
Perhaps you have experience running a nonprofit. Perhaps you help fund nonprofits. Perhaps you have nothing to do with nonprofits at all. But I wanted to say this:
Thank you.
Our communities are facing some massive challenges today, and I want to thank those of you who recognize that none of us need to be in this alone. Because of people like you, nonprofits like mine can support our communities as we move forward into the future.
And we will be better together.