A Dream Come True

The past couple days I have been passing out the gift certificates to the winners who were not present at the bowling night. Since we went around to dorms on campus before our event selling the tickets, there were some students that won raflle prizes that weren’t there. At the end of last week I had e-mailed them and told them that they had won and how/where I could give them their prizes. I went to a couple of the dorms and found the kdis and gave them to them. I thanked them for their participation and their support of our event and the Room to Dream Foundation. It was very important to me to give them to them in person (versus putting it in their Friarbox or sliding it under their door) because through that direct contact I felt that it would make the greatest impact on them for what they had done for us and the charity. In this manner it would continue to raise awareness about the Room to Dream Foundation and perhaps they may be inclined to do the same thing in the future.

On Tuesday, Jeff, Sabrina, and I met in Feinstein to do the final edit of the video for our project. I arrived and they explained to me what they had gone through a day previous. Despite their efforts for many hours they had nothing to show for it and we were starting anew. I felt bad that I had been unable to join them on Monday but I had a take-home test and paper to work on and did not leave the library all day. We got there and the two of them had already been schooled as how to use the software and had seen the cut of the video, it seemed, about 3 dozen times. At one point while doing the editing Sabrina was predicting the things that were going to happen next, including an exclamation by myself. We sat there for a couple hours working on the cut.

One of the things we were most disapointed about was the inability to include the Room to Dream Video in our final cut. The video was a marketing piece about the Foundation and some children that they had helped and the different things that they had done and the impact it had. Since the video included the story of a few children and their medical conditions we could not reproduce and show it because of HIPA (Health Information Privacy Act) regulations. When we watched the video on the night of our event I think everyone there was especially moved by it and it is unfortunate that when we show it to the class, which includes some students who did not see it the first time, they will not be able to share in that. I think seeing that video would help to create some passion, for the cause of children and those that are chronically ill, among more of our classmates. 

After a couple hours working on it we finally came to our final draft which lasts about 12 minutes and shows us setting up, people arriving, Kris and Stefan speaking, and people bowling. In is a good comprehensive overview of the actual event. I guess this blog is everything preceeding and after the night. While the video copies were burning we worked on our presentation. Jeff had brought along the guidlines from Tom along with the notes that he and Sabrina had made the day prior. We divided those up and made our powerpoint slides with information about the event, our finances, what we learned, and what we would have changed. We divided it all up and tomorrow we are meeting to discuss what we will say on Saturday. Since our video is 12 minutes long, and we only have 20 min. to present, we will all need to be very succint.

When talking about the things we learned it is going to be difficult to ecapsulate all of that into an eight minute talk (divided by three people). I personally learned so much about the power of collaboration. As someone that had never really stepped outside of the bubble of the college environment to seek outside assistance it was amazing to me the things that could be accomplished. Through the help of people like Bob, Dean Gemma, and Stefan we were able to put together a successful event. With people like Bob and Dean Gemma, who did not have a stake in our event, they gave us great ideas for how to improve it and helped us put together something great. From nothing came this bowling event with sponsors, prizes, and speakers all through the collaborative efforts of some many people. Thank you so much to everyone that helped us get there.

Another thing I learned was the ways people are willing to help. When we went out to seek sponsorships from restaurants and others It was amazing to me that people would indeed do so. While searching for these sponsors we tried to convey to them the benefit that they could derive from it as well. As we’ve touched on before, when seeking partners it is important to make them feel as if they are indeed a PARTNER and not just someone that is being utilized without return. This holds true for our event and outside into the business world. I hope these people did indeed feel like they were a part of our efforts. If they did not then I am even more grateful for their willingness to help even though they felt there was no return for them. Thank you.

Tomorrow we meet to wrap up the presentation and Saturday we do it. Then the class is over…

-SRD

I e-mailed all of our raffle winners who were not in attendance on the 19th so that we can get them their prizes.  Now we just need to get their prizes to them.

The next step is working on our presentation

Now that it has been a couple days I want to share some of my thoughts on how our event went. Like Sabrina talked about it started off a little slow with people showing up. We knew that people were going to come but we really wanted them to be there for Kris’s speech. Senge talks about people being driven by their passion. We felt that if people were able to hear her story then they would be more likely to give mone,y buy raffle tickets, and be more sympathetic to the cause. In the efforts to raise awareness her story would have done hte most to touch people.

Her story was wonderful. Her daughter  had a disease (I am not going to  say which one for privacy issues) that caused her to be hospitalized again and again. Room to Dream Foundation came in and redid her room in a “Secret Garden” theme.  They put in a swing and gave the room an outdoor feel. They constructed it so it looked like an awning that went outside but was in fact indoors. They also put in climate control equipment because her disease made it difficult for her to regulate temperature. This effort had a huge impact on their lives. Kris said having this wonderful room to come home to made each trip to the hospital easier. The room was built so she could use her computer and play without her mother’s help and so it gave her greater independence and helped her self esteem. The physical space of the room made her happier and made dealing with her disease easier. Today Kayla is going to school everyday and remains pretty healthy.

Hearing this story reminded me as to why we were doing all of this. Kayla’s room was a leverage point in her life and changed the nature of her relationship with her family and her perception of self. She became more independent and was happier as a result. The Room to Dream Foundation had a huge impact on her life. I am incredibly happy to have been able to do this for them.

The event itself went well and I think everyone had a great time. I was able to meet Stefan for the first time and he is an incredible guy. He has such passion for the children he is helping. He was also very appreciative of our efforts even though our small fundraiser is a very minor in comparision to their overall efforts. I look forward to meeting with him to debrief and talk about what we could have done better. I also spoke to Joann about working at their gala on December 13. I am really looking forward to that opportunity to give more but also meet many other people who care about this cause as much as I do.

So our event has now begun. It started off a little slow with people showing up. I guess it should have been expected given that we are dealing with college kids. We maybe should have developed a different system with them that gave them benefit to show up. The main reason we wanted people to arrive early was to listen to Stefan speak and Kris Biaggioti, a Room To Dream Mother.

Stefan welcomed everyone and talked a little about the Room to Dream Foundation and the ways in which they worked. He said this “little change in room makes such a big difference” in the lives of those whom they are serving. For these families, the makeover of the living environment is a leverage point for coping with and embracing the misfortune. They go and visit 30 days, 60 days,  and 6 months later and they’ll see kids doing homework more, the house will be clean, and much more. It has such a huge impact.

Kris then spoke about the impact that the Foundation has had on her. We’ll talk later about that speech because I don’t want to waste time blogging about it now but I think everyone was very moved by it and further energized in their support of this cause.

The room was a little less crowded than we would have hoped. More people showed up during the time that she was speaking but now we are off to bowl.

-SRD

Sabrina, Jeff, and I are at the bowling alley. Sabrina and Jeff got here before I did and started making some signs to direct people at the alley. There is a function room on the second floor where we are having our speaker and we just need to make sure people know to get up there. 

Now we are trying to set up some of the AV stuff for the speaker and a short dvd we want to show. Everything is prepared for gametime. Let’s just hope people show up….

-SRD

At the end of last week I went to Federal Hill to go door to door to try and get some help from the restaurants up there. I figured I would go at around 3ish since managers would be there before service. So I went in, introduced myself and asked for the manager at which point the manager became the most elusive person on the planet. This happened about 8 times.

I was successful at one restaurant, Donna’s Grill on the Hill. I went in and spoke with Donna and explained our cause and how we could help spread word about the restaurant. She liked the idea and donated a gift card. When I went to go pick it up, it was during breakfast and the place seemed really good. I then suggested it to my friends who went and ate and have now found a new favorite place. The power of collaboration. We were able to get a gift card for our raffle and she is able to further expand her client base. If only the other restaurants could see the value in this type of action.

-SRD

So today I went to the media services in Feinstein to reserve a camera for Wed. to video tape our event. Thhat was successful and easy. I also dealt with the S.A.I.L. office, not so easy but successful.

We are having our event in 8 days and we wanted to advertise on campus. The guidelines for SAIL is that you are supposed to put in your request two weeks in advance.  I walk in and talked to Leslie about it. I explained the event we were putting on. She asked what class it was for and who the teacher was and then seemed alarmed that I did not know that we were supposed to register the event with them at the outset. Apparently any event that is somehow linked to the school; whether through a class, club, or whatever; is supposed to be OKed by the school. News to me. I explained to her that while we did want to get PC students there we were also trying to really drawn on outside sources for help. She also said that all students that go must sign a release waiver to go to it!! So we are supposed to get every student that attends to sign a release waiver. This further confused me.

We then talked about the event further and she of course checked if there was any alcohol type things involved and I assured there weren’t. I told her about our work with Stefan, Shawmut, and other resources that frequently hold these types of events. I think she was somewhat put at ease by this. She said that if we get the paperwork in tomorrow that we could advertise on campus and if we wanted to get to the residence halls to talk to residence life. 

So ultimately it was successful. We will advertise on campus and make us of PC AV equipment. There are alot of run arounds and steps to go through that seem arbitrary and pointless but it should all work out.

-SRD

Like we talked about in class I am once again seeing the value in relationships. The past couple of days I have called many local printing and copying places. I ask to speak to the manager and when I tell them what it is in regards to they tell me he or she is not in. I have left numerour voicemails with no response. I asked Kelly about the place that she had used with success. She directed me to Format Printing.

I went down there today and met Mike. I spoke briefly about what we were trying to do and if there was anyway that he could help. He responded saying that he was quite busy at the moment and to come back later. I asked him when would be a good time and he replied by asking when our event was. I told him and he said to come back Monday. This seemed to be a positive response rather than him ignoring me because he took into account when our event when deciding we should meet again. 

At Format Printing where I met the gentleman personally, even though he was busy, he listened to my story and was willing to work with me for when we could discuss it further. At the other places I got no response to a phone message. 

Relationships and personal contact matters and this further reinforces that.

So I just finished up drafting a letter to Chris Van Allsburg (The guy that wrote Polar Express and Jumanji). I went onto his website to see what he is involved with to add it into the letter. So it talks a bit about our charity and what we look to accomplish. A message I hoped to convey to him is that we just simply want some help but that we can also help him. He works with the Draw A Breath program out of Hasbro Children’s Hospital so this event could benefit both parties. It would also be wonderful for the schools, the children, and the parents. I did not specify in anyway what we wanted from him beyond to chat and draw on his knowledge of working with charities in the local area.  The letter says we want to use him as a resource in any way that he can help us. Who knows?

We can probably use a similar format to be sent to other potential speakers while tailoring it to the involvement of the other people. We’ll see what happens.

-SRD

After the meeting with Dean Gemma one of the things he had mentioned was the Make-a-Wish program in Rhode Island. Apparently the RI chapter has had some issues recently with the national organization. They got in trouble for the compensation of its head. It was deemed to be excessive and that they had not fully disclosed that fact. For this reason the national organization was looking to pull their charter and cut funding. Not to take advantage of another’s misfortune but we thought about contacting them to see if they had any ideas to help us or we could do aynthing to help them. I went on the website to check out events they currently had planned. We figure given their desire to help children and the similarities between our and their organization it may be able to work out. We’ll see