FOLKS. We had such a lovely time with all the tips you donated to our ROCWPC jar during June. If you didn't notice the sign or the blog about our June Jar recipient, the donations all went to: Muddy's Christmas (in July!) Community Blitz. As mentioned in the previous blog, we wanted to spread Christmas cheer throughout Memphis and we asked you to help us. We wanted to deliver surprise treats to places in our city where people work super hard to give great service, but don't always get as appreciated as they should. Thanks to your incredible generosity to the jar, nominations from you and our staff, and volunteered hours to pack and deliver, we blitzed 16 fantastic businesses/organizations in the 901!
We absolutely couldn't have gotten this accomplished, physically or financially, without you guys. Thanks so much to those of you who donated, and to the wonderful folks who showed up to write notes that went out with the bags the rest of you packed and prettified.
The overwhelming reaction to your treats was total confusion, then a lot of excitement as they realized what was going on.
I think, more than the fun of receiving goodies at work, what meant a lot to a few of the folks we talked to was getting to hear the good stuff instead of all the complaints. If you're like me, you're generally quicker to complain than to praise. It's not a pretty trait, but I suspect it's human nature. One of the places that I personally nominated was the Krystal's across from East High on Poplar. My mom and I have had several conversations about how ridiculously friendly and helpful their drive thru staff always is, no matter what time of day or night we've visited them. I remember her saying that she'd been really trying recently to actually write a note or call a manager when she received amazing service, especially from places where it wasn't necessarily expected.
That stuck with me, and I hope it sticks with you. I certainly think there's a time and place to offer helpful criticism and concerns, but are we just as quick to build folks up, to appreciate their efforts and the hard work they do? We need to be. How different a city would we live in if everyone felt seen and valued for the services they work to provide? How much happier would we be if we chose to be searchers for all the good stuff?
Again, thank you SO much for making this happen. Whether you put 75 cents in the ROCWPC jar or showed up to help package goodies like Santa's two tiniest elves (pictured below taking their much-deserved gingerbread break), you made Memphis a wee bit happier this Christmas in July.
