A LITTLE CHAPSTICK GOES A LONG WAY
I just got this message via LinkedIn from a colleague in the field:
Katie Bailey has sent you a message.
Date: 6/02/2009
Subject: storyHi Doug,
I don’t know if you’ll remember or not, but EFC, the organization I work for (Education Finance Council), added you to our website last year. I really enjoyed learning from you about your program and just think what y’all do is terribly important. From time to time I find myself telling people about OFA. Usually it’s in casual conversation, but a few months ago I was giving a presentation as part of a panel at the National Network for Youth conference in DC. I was presenting with a woman from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth and a woman from College Goal Sunday about college access programs and other college support issues.
At one point during the Q & A somebody asked a question that naturally teed-up OFA so I mentioned your organization and the care packages that your organization sends out, etc. Well, I could have fallen over, but there was a college aged girl in the crowd who, while previously seemed pretty disengaged, became very excited and said, “I got a care package from OFA. I still am using the chapstick that was in it…” She went on for a while about how much it meant to her and I thought that was just such a cool thing to see the life of a girl your organization helped to impact for the better. I have been meaning to tell you that story but our industry has been all topsy-turvy lately (like the rest of the world!) and haven’t slowed down to write you till today.
At any rate, I wanted to pass that along.
Best wishes,
Katie Bailey
Thank you from all of us, Katie. We’ve heard little “OFA anecdotes” like this before; and I always say that our students are our best spokespeople.
