There was no way I could have anticipated how my little suggestion would explode and impact the lives of hundreds of people on the other side of the country.
It was just another meeting at work. One of our vendors
wanted to hold an event with our sales team in Buffalo to promote their “Build
To Order” network during the week of September 11th.
A few ideas were tossed back and forth, and then I said
it: “Why don’t we have our sales team build backpacks full of school supplies
for low-income families?”
It was a winner. But I had no idea just how big it would
be.
Weeks went by and I heard nothing. That, in itself, is
not unusual. I almost never hear feedback about how these things go. It’s rare
to even get a photograph after the fact. But then the news started coming back
to me.
At first it was only a comment from the vendor rep who
said, “Keith, that was the single best thing I have ever seen or been part of
at this company.”
Wow. I was shocked. Then came the internal email which
provided photos and details which were overwhelming.
Over 400 backpacks were stuffed with supplies by hundreds
of associates in less than two hours. Two schools in the Buffalo area were
awarded 200 backpacks each. Then it got really awesome.
Cisco, the vendor, donated $1,000 for every hundred
backpacks we filled. So each school received a check for $2,000 in addition to
the backpacks and all of the leftover supplies.
But the story wasn’t finished yet. Not by a mile.
When the principals for each school showed up to receive
the backpacks they were stunned. One woman, when she saw what was waiting,
burst into tears while describing how many of her students are Refugees. “Some of these kids barely have clothing and
can’t afford school supplies,” she said. “This is a dream, how could they be so
lucky?”
By the time she was done telling the stories of these children there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Then Cisco decided to make this an annual event. And then the Wall Street Journal did a story on it.
Best of all? Both of those schools will have funds freed
up to fund other important programs that, without those checks, would have been
cancelled completely.
Not bad for a simple idea at the end of a conference call
on a random Tuesday.
Want to know what I love most about all of this? It’s
that I have been asking God to show me the fruit of my ministry for a few
months now. Mostly because I’ve been feeling as if I need to do more, or be
more, or serve more. Then God shows me how much He can do with the most simple
and random actions we take. Even when we’re not trying to bear fruit, He can do
so much with so little.
It really is just about bringing our two loaves and a
fish to lay it at His feet. He is the One who does the real work. He is the One
who gets the Glory.
I keep seeing the picture of someone carrying a large
sack of seed to the newly plowed field and every little seed that drops off
along the way is springing up, growing stronger, bearing fruit – just as He
designed every seed to do.
-kg
2 comments:
Keith, it is impossible for you to know hoe many lives you have impacted. Your books and blog and willingness to correspond with others like me have been a tremendous encouragement to many people. Please keep it up!
What a great story this is, Keith. Thanks for sharing it.
Telling and retelling true stories about what Jesus has done amongst his people is a great way to encourage more people to get involved. This story is a keeper :-)
Post a Comment