by Donna Katzman, Director of Development, North Penn YMCA
The Reinvest theme this week speaks to me both personally and professionally. We all make choices about how to use our time, our talents, and where to spend our treasure. And if the pandemic has taught me anything over the past year, it’s that the time, talents, and treasure are shown in many different ways.
My Time
Like so many of us, I remember the exact moment I found out that my “work time” would be turned upside down, but I had no idea at that time that I would spend the next 12+ months working from my kitchen table.
The biggest challenge for me was how to carve out time for just me. To this day, it continues to be my biggest time challenge. Like so many working moms, I struggle with balancing work/home life, especially when my desk is still my kitchen table. But I take little victories…like when my husband takes our young daughter to ice skating lessons on Saturdays. Those 45 minutes are time for me. I force myself to sit down, turn off my computer, and just relax.
My Talent & Treasure
My talent and treasure are really a reflection of our Board, Staff, Members, and Volunteers. I love what I do, but it’s a total team effort. And that effort was incredible during the past 12 months. The best example of reinvesting our time, talent and treasure came from our Sustaining Members. More than 580 Sustaining Members asked us to continue their membership fee as a donation as we worked to support the community during the most difficult time. Our members 100 percent helped make it possible for us reinvest in our community. We could not have done that without their support.
Out of every bit of bad has to come some good. The good that I saw over the past year has been above and beyond anything I could have imagined. Much of my time has been spent speaking with our members and listening as we all have similar experiences. Every conversation ends with, “I look forward to meeting you in person when we’re all back to normal.” I can’t wait for that time.