Community leaders – Thank you for caring and being invested in our neighborhood. Your hard work is noticed, as is your confidence and influence.

We thank you because community leaders are in the muddy field (literally raking sport fields), knee deep in the trenches (row-of-boxes from clothing and food drives) and the last ones to leave. Because you wear your passion on your sleeve, you stay until the last fundraising call is made, the last invite is accepted, and the last recipient receives the help they deserve.

What possibly started as a pet-project has captured your heart and is fueling your drive to do more for others. Your passion is what makes the difference as you bring attention to unmet needs in underserved areas in a fresh way. You are using your voice through mega phones and social media to advocate for change, as well as for protecting, preserving and caring for the historic aspects of the neighborhood.  You understand that to change the world, you don’t have to start a new 501c3, that change comes from the synergy of linking arms with others.

Community leaders typically aren’t paid, yet everyone benefits from how you freely share your honed leadership and parenting skills in guiding others. You capitalize on your influence, using the relationships already in place to select who is good at tasks, confidently drawing on their passions to get their willingness to say yes. Because this isn’t your day job, you recognize the importance of time management and delegation. You prioritize succession planning to allow future growth as well as sustainability. By knowing who is in the wings, available to step in quickly when burn out or an unexpected career transfer occurs, you graciously work yourself out of a job as you onboard others to fill your boots.

Somehow you pull out your inner-cheerleader, yes, even you introverts, to encourage the entire group. Everyone might be there for a different purpose and different goal, some for bettering the world, or giving back, others are drawn from a higher power, and you get the group to work together, keep them focused on the task at hand and make it enjoyable.

If your boots are muddy, if you are knee deep in a food drive, if you are happy, yet tired from “asking”, if this resonate with you – Thank You!

*If these words are appropriate for your spouse, friend or colleague, forward this to them with your personal note of appreciation*