By Nick Reynolds (Volunteer Coordinator)
I got a letter in the mail from a group of students from Greater Atlanta Christian School (GACS). You can see the letter in the image, but in essence, it was thanking me and some of our individuals for showing them a good time and "letting" them volunteer with us. You see, a group of students and parents came to Hi-Hope on April 21st and threw a Country Western Hoedown for our folks, complete with decorations, apple bobbing, temporary tattoos, crafts, country music and dancing. For a solid 2 hours, we rock n' rolled in the Lowry Building and it was all thanks to these amazing kids and their chaperones from GACS. And yet, here they are sending me messages like "thank you for everything you do," "thank you so, so, so much for letting us come and create the party. I had so much fun. Thanks for having us," and "thank you for making the difference you do!" Wow.
I will take a little credit for coordinating the dance - getting the space ready, letting folks know when and where it would happen, putting together the playlist, etc. - but that really doesn't take much. Still, it really made my day to get this letter, to be recognized for playing the very small role that I played in this whole thing. Now I want to flip the script and turn the attention to the school. What and amazing place! They do stuff like this for us at least twice a year and it is always a huge, over the top, memorable event. If they do a dance, they do it all the way. If they do crafting, it is crafting to the max with snacks and music (and they always bring a sugar free option so no one is left out). They are outgoing, engaging, social, kindhearted, and smart. It is a joy to work with the school. So, it is just icing on the proverbial cake - a very, very big cake - when they follow up a great volunteer event by sending a "thank you" note.
I will wrap this post up by focusing on a message in the bottom left-hand corner. It says, "thank you so much for giving us the honor of working with such wonderful people! Tell Betty her best friends love her and we'll never forget her." Betty came in my office as I was reading this and I showed her that message. She looked at me and said, "THOSE KIDS ARE SOOOOO SWEET!"