September 23 is the official NPO Anniversary for The Right Relief Inc! I remember how exciting it was to see the envelope in the mail with the name we had thought and thought about. The Right Relief Inc. A way to honor the hard work of caregivers and a way to provide them Relief to be able to continue caring for their loved ones. Like my Mom and family did for my Dad.
I recently got a donation and note in the mail from a long time family friend Jan DesJardin. It was so thoughtful and her words made me really think about all that this organization has done in just a year (562 meals)! She also wrote about my Dad of course and how he would be proud. I think of him often obviously, especially when cooking and writing blogs. He loved providing a good meal to all who entered our house. He gave "thank you pizzas" to neighbors. He was a quiet, gentle soul with a subtle sense of humor who I miss every day. I think he would have loved tracking our meals and kept pushing us to make record breaking numbers of lasagnas or pizzas in a night. I can hear him saying, "You made 8 lasagnas?! in one night?!" I am so fortunate that I can remember and honor him and my mom Diane (his primary caregiver) through The Right Relief Inc.
COVID 19 has dominated our world the last 6 months. Reading back to my 6th month anniversary post, I would not have guessed how different this one year post would be. And yet...
we STILL increased our meal total: 310 at 6 months to 562 at 1 year!
We added more social media followers: 142 at 6 months to 161 at 1 year!
We had new #ReliefSquad members
We had another successful online fundraiser and our first ever Restaurant Give Back Night with The Waterlin in Menomonee Falls
We provided Relief to THREE schools' teachers for our Back to School #ReliefLunch
We provided our first #Relief outside of Southeast Wisconsin
AND through all of this... my family sold and bought a house, moved AND I was on maternity leave for 2+ months! WOW! It has been such a fulfilling and busy year for sure.
I have learned a lot (and am still learning) about true confidence in oneself through this process. It's one thing to say..."I'm going to start an NPO and make a zillion meals." It's another to BELIEVE that that is actually going to happen....and then MAKE IT happen. There is a whole other component as well... the WHY. I've thought a lot about my WHY this year and being able to put it into words. As Kyle always tells me... if the WHY isn't strong enough, then it probably won't happen. My WHY is very personal of course and to open up about it so that others can benefit and get Relief has been a big part of this year for me too. It has been so worth it. Just hearing the "thank yous" from caregivers after providing a meal makes me remember how much my family appreciated the kindness of others when we were caring for my Dad. It is a good feeling. A warm fuzzy feeling. A "I miss my Dad but I will always remember him" feeling.
One year down.
9 (or more?!) to go...
562 Relief providing meals made...
4913 (or more?!) to go...
Thanks for following along and supporting my WHY. I wouldn't be here without all of you.
