Often I'm awoken around 4 am each morning, but after I toss and turn I usually fall back to sleep until the alarm sounds at 5:45 am. Today, however, I could not fall back asleep. Very, very loud and persistent thoughts reverberated through my mind. They went something like this -
"Sarah, you can do more. Think bigger! Think really big! This isn't about you, but it is about all the people who could be helped if you can get out of your own way. One family is great, but what if you could convince towns nearby, nationwide, real estate brokerages, companies to start adopting 1 family a year to help ease their burdens. What if this was an annual "pay it forward" movement? Make it happen!"
Well, I wanted to shut these thoughts off for about another hour at least until I 'HAD' to get up, but that wasn't going to happen. So I laid in bed and just tried to quiet them enough so I could find out how I was to make it happen. That's when the ideas on 'how' started to emerge. Write a Facebook post and ask friends in nearby towns to start looking for 1 family in their community to help. Blog about it on Activerain because who is more action oriented, outside of the box type thinkers and compassionate as the real estate industry? I seriously mean that. You already give back to your communities on Earth day and through Make a Wish and other charitable means. You're the givers in life. Yes! Blog and start a conversation.
The thing is, as I told the Morgans, the insurance companies should be the added ingredient because they do NOT usually step up when needed. Sorry to the insurance industry, but this is from experience and viewing what people are crowdfunding for. It's usually medical costs or events when homeowner's didn't work. That's the case with the Morgans. Insurance said they'll do the repairs, but they aren't going to put a roof on the house. They'll repair some of the inside ceilings that were damaged by the collapse, but not all of them. Nope! Don't lose sleep over what they will cover and won't cover. Let that be added to the pot. It's time to start supporting our community and the families in them. Crowdfunding is the future in my opinion.
So can you step up and take the challenge? I have had no fund-raising experience at all as my background has been social media and legal secretarial work. I will tell you after 1 phone call and email the ball started rolling and became a giant snowball. I'm getting responses like the following:
"Let us know when the workday(s) is because we want to help." (After monetary donation made.)
"Sarah, some people want to send cash and checks. How do they do that?" (Setting up a bank account and P.O. Box early next week.)
"Sarah, I know a used car shop where we buy all our cars and they might be able to come up with something." (Regarding my dream of finding them a RELIABLE used vehicle.)
The list goes on. Don't you think when things come together like this that you're on the right path? My thought is this is our purpose, to help people live an easier existence. In other words, to turn around, extend your hand and pull them along with you. Have a great day!
Sarah A. Cole
Sarah Cole VA On Demand
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