Here we go
again – we’re going to be 100% open and honest. Originally we were going to
provide a quote from an email, but we realized that wouldn’t be the nicest,
so we’re just going to provide a brief summary of some of the different things
we’ve been experiencing behind the scenes and why that makes us so thankful for
some of our key artists.
We’re not
sure if you’ve seen it, but we have a page on our website that recognizes all of the groups who
agreed to be recognized and the amount of cards they’ve made - #everycardcounts.
One time an individual reached out to us and asked if we recognized independent
artists and put their names up on our site as well. While we do not, we
stressed how independent artists are #1; at the time, they produced over 10,000
cards while the next highest group was less than 5,000 - #everycardcounts. We
told them that in order to recognize our artists, we promise to post pictures
of their artwork on at least one of our social sites. Their response to this was
that we should redo our website. They believed that we should pay more for a
separate page on our site OR find a way to list their individual name as a key
contributor. We found out they did something similar to our sister nonprofit as
well, Send a Smile Today.
Hey, maybe
that’s normal. Maybe that’s what EVERYONE is thinking. It’s just not what we’ve
been experiencing whether via our team or the top artists we’ve been connecting
with. We’ve highlighted a couple times how there’s no such thing as a Cardz for Kidz!
employee, #amateursimpact. If you search LinkedIn, you’ll see
there are a couple people with titles, but everyone has another paid position
as well. With that in mind, everyone ranging from the people counting the cards
to the advisory board members is simply doing this in their free time.
Therefore, they most likely have 9-5 jobs, families, and we’re hoping a life
(aka hobbies) they enjoy as well. Now that’s a full plate!
When we
asked one of our volunteers how she would feel if people told her she needed to
do more she said, “You’d need to pay me!” Understood. We already think it’s
great how our Superhero, Dream
Girl and other
behind the scenes volunteers are so dedicated. We’ve been able to grow since
they’ve donated over 220 hours of time volunteering.
Circling
back to the potential new independent artist’s request, what we’re currently doing is a two part response. We always post pictures on at
least one of our social sites, #solemnlyswear,
so artists can see that we’ve received their cards and so that people can get
an idea of some fun examples. It’s interesting. Is that enough? It all depends
on who you ask.
What we
think is equally impressive is how some of our top independent artists are
exceeding a lot of top global corporations, but yet they are making things
EXTREMELY easy for us. They never check in on their cards, they make them in
many languages, and simply “like” the social posts that recognize we’ve
received their cards.
Here’s a
breakout of some of those top artists
and their contributions:
Then there
are some essential independent artists who are not only making quality cards,
but are also helping us spread the word about the different initiatives we have
going on.
We thought
everyone was on the same page with that background on our organization.
Therefore, with all the necessary details that need to take place ranging from
counting the thousands of cards to moving logos on the website, it’s hard to
respond to everything all at once since this is done as a passionate hobby. We’re
sorry that we’re currently unable to do more, but we’re BEYOND THANKFUL that we have several artists and volunteers who are
doing more than enough.
#beyondthankful #upliftingspirits
