Over the summer, I received an email from Dr. Meg Bond of the Center for Women and Work asking if I would be interested in joining the planning committee for the Center’s 10 year anniversary event. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up! The event was called Everyday Advocate for Working Women: Ordinary Actions, Extraordinary Impact, and its purpose was to honor people who have made positive impacts on women in the workforce. On October 23, 2008, we had a jam-packed room at the Wannalancit Mill complex full of people who wanted to honor a certain someone. Our guest of honor Niki Tsongas garnered a standing ovation such that the camerawoman (that would be me) couldn’t capture anything but the backs of people’s heads for probably a full minute. After the event was over, the Center was showered with praise, we had raised a ton of money, and we got to sit back and breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Getting to that point took months of hard work, from fundraising to marketing to working out all the minutia involved in making a big event a success. There were some moments where panic started to set in because things didn’t seem like they’d work out, but it turned out to be a smashing success. For me personally, it was a wonderful learning experience and confirmation that yes, I really do want to work in a nonprofit organization. Despite the fact that I was working 40+ hours at my retail job, the time I spent at/for the Center kept me going. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed the whole vibe of the small nonprofit group, and I underestimated the amount of satisfaction of working for a cause I supported.
A number of people have asked me why I am still working in an industry that has little to do with my heart’s passion, and yesterday’s entry on the Idealist Blog pretty much sums it up. It’s secure, it pays the bills, and it’s something, when so many people are without work. And it’s not as though I loathe my job, either; there is a lot to like about my position. There are days when I wish I could focus exclusively on finding the nonprofit job of my dreams, but I know that isn’t possible right now. I consider myself lucky that I know what I want and where I want to go from here; I’m lucky that I work with great people in an industry that isn’t going to fall through the cracks. Times are tough, but we have to be tougher.
