A Lesson from the Line

I was visiting one of our larger corporate donors today for a United Way campaign meeting, and I was struck by the fact that while the economy is down, it doesn’t effect every industry the same.  This is one of those companies where their line workers don’t make a large sum of money annually, but their jobs are stable.  The economy doesn’t dictate too much about the supply and demand of their products, and so they’ve set their United Way goal higher than ever before. 

During the presentations, employees were interested and appalled at our community’s issues….and they responded the best way they knew how.  They were going to fulfill that need.  I of course didn’t see their pledge forms, but many were actively filling them out and asking about designations to specific agencies.  This was a great indicator that these men and women were donating – and trying to make the most informed decisions possible.

When the economy is shaky, many people decrease or eliminate their charitable giving and save more of their discretionary income.  These line workers understood that they are blessed to have stable jobs – even if they won’t ever get rich quick there – and that it doesn’t take a lot to make a big difference.