This year I have the most amazing role in my agency's holiday charity drive. Every mental health agency I have ever worked for has done some kind of sub-for-santa charity event around the holidays. This year was not different. My normal role is to chose the families that need the most assistance, assist the families in filling out their applications, and making sure things remain relatively organized. Anyone who has any experience working for a non-profit organization understands the importance of the word relatively.



This year has been quite chaotic, and at the last minute 80 families were left without donors. Fortunately, we were able to retain a mass amount of gift cards for these families, but we still do not have the clothes/toys that the families need. This is where I come in. Being the shopping extraordinaire that I am, I will be taking the donations and gift cards and buying the gifts for these children. I have never in my life been so excited about a service project. I will not be doing all 80 families, but I still have quite a few to do.



In addition to this good news, I have been selected (as the SLC rep) to participate in a statewide training funded by a grant given to the Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. Through this grant I was able to meet with the Director of DSAMH to advocate for the rights of children and families with mental health. Although my job is far from perfect, I feel truly blessed to have a job where I can come home at the end of the day and feel that I have made a difference for the families of Utah. Even if it is just by making sure they get good stuff for Christmas:)

Labels: Just Me, The Fam