I belong to a networking group to help get referrals for my business. Our group decided to adopt Shop With A Cop as our official charity, and of course when it came time to arrange the fundraiser the charity liaisons asked me to donate my services for creating the flyers, fundraiser letters, etc. No problem.
During that process I got a bit frustrated because the police officer who needed to approve said documents was so darn busy it took much longer than it normally would for such a small project. Plus there was the added frustration of getting the feedback 3rd-hand, because I hadn't actually been put directly in touch with the officer.
So. About 6 six weeks ago I'm sitting in my prenatal class waiting for the visiting officer to give us the lecture on car seat safety and I notice his name badge. Same guy! So I used the 5 minutes before class to introduce myself, explain the SWAC fundraiser connection and make nice. BAM! I had his personal contact info, his approval on the documents and no more frustration for a pro bono project that had been taking far too much time.
Then he proceeded to give the car seat talk, where I learned part of the reason he's so darn hard to reach. He's the local authority on car seat installations and has personally done nearly 2000; he also supervises the other car seat installers, who he feels aren't quite yet up to speed.
Turns out, national statistics for incorrect car seat installations approach 90%; locally it's closer to 98%. He takes this very, very seriously and is personally responsible for saving quite a few kids whose seats would have been ejected from the car had he not fixed them.
Of course, this challenged my inner perfectionist and Wonderful Husband's inner engineer. We were determined to be in the 2% who got it right.
Cut to last week. I'm far enough along we don't feel like total dorks installing the car seat, so we dutifully read all the manuals and do everything else Officer A. told us to. Then I call to make the appointment for inspection, only to find he's been reassigned to midnights due to a staff shortage and is no longer doing them. But like the nerdy kid in class bouncing up and down with her hand up, I was determined to get teacher's recognition that I had the right answer.
So I emailed him under the guise of asking if I'll see him at the upcoming fundraiser, and threw in a question about sourcing a foam spacer for the car seats (because we need one to get the seat into WH's car properly). He promptly offers to do me a personal favor (his words) and could we meet him when his shift ends at 8am Saturday? Done and done.
It takes him all of 3 minutes to check the seat in my van and pronounce it a winner. (Secret OCD happy dance in my brain for being in the 2%!) Then we mentioned the challenge of getting the seat into Wonderful Husband's car - a Toyota Celica - and asked if he had any advice (this truly is a safety issue, we're not sure we'll be able to make it work). He said his car's an issue to, and his kids have simply never been in it.
I said, kind of off-hand to WH, that would work for us except for when I have to take my van to races because it's the only vehicle my bike will fit in.
He got SO EXCITED, said something like "Hey, another crazy person!" and asked me what kind of races and what kind of bike.
Turns out he's a hard core cyclist and has done several triathlons, including Chicago. He's so into it he talked the department into certifying him as a bike mechanic so he can play with bikes at work, plus he insisted on being certified as a bike officer. He rides like a crazy person and eats centuries for breakfast. We ended up chatting about riding and racing (in a 28 degree parking lot!) for nearly an hour, and our conversation ended with an invitation for me to come with him and his buddies (cops and paramedics all, talk about feeling safe on a ride!) next time they do the Cowalunga (a 200 mile, 3 day event I've been interested in).
How totally cool is THAT?!
By giving just a little bit of my time to a worthy charity, I ended up making:
- some great business connections
- a priceless connection in local law enforcement
- a potential training/race buddy who happens to be a certified mechanic!
The moral of the story....
Give what you can of yourself to those in need. You never know what you'll get in return.
4 comments:
Give and you will receive ten fold!
Thank you for sharing the lesson and reminding us how important giving really is.
I love it when things line up like that! It just makes the world seem so purposeful.
On a side note: I had a dream last night that you were in. You were sitting in a rocking chair, very pregnant, and I asked you how you were feeling about the baby coming soon. At first you got mad and wouldn't talk to me and then you made me suck your toes. I kid you not. I could not make this stuff up. I am laughing at how ridiculous it is now typing this. Oh, and you had like 6 dogs and one would not get off my lap, it was a big lab type dog. I have to stop drinking before I go to bed. ;)
Wylee, HAHAHAHAH that is a funny dream.
Siren, That is really a cool post. So happy for you.
Good illustrative anecdote, and a couple of nice wins for you!
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