My latest career endeavor has been diving into the world of nonprofits and canvassing, aka standing on the street and asking people for money. It has been fun, it has been frustrating, and it has been rewarding. I have met so many interesting people, both in the office and out on the street. Even though there are sometimes obstacles, it feels great to know that you're doing work that makes a difference... which is what I tell myself on my third hour standing in the same spot, when my toes are about to freeze off and people are ignoring me. To illustrate what it's like out there, I'm going to express myself in the only way I know how: through Disney characters.
When you're heading out for the day in the freezing cold/wind/snow/rain:
Waving down people on the street like:
And when you call out to people and they're just plain rude:
“Hi, would you like to support...“
“No.”
“Hey, I’m out here with...“
“No.”
“Hello...“
“No.”
But you try to stay positive anyway because you still have to stand out here for four more hours.
When you do your grab for the 31864th time and it actually works and someone comes over and wants to help! (omg!!)
The way a potential donor looks at you while you do your rap:
When you recite the rap word-for-word from memory:
When you finish your entire rap and they're just staring at you so you're like:
When someone approaches you on the street and talks to you for way too long and you're not sure what their point is:
When you do the entire rap and then they say, "Oh you want my money? I don't have any." and walk away:
Or when they cut you off in the middle of the rap and say, "So, what do you want from me?"
When someone in a suit who had shopping bags and a coffee tells you they don't have any money:
*k*
When you're having a shitty donation day and an angel on earth comes and blesses you with a large donation:
When someone doesn't agree with the cause you're fundraising for and wants to tell you about it:
When you walk up to turf and see another canvassing group there AND YOUR GROUP ALREADY RESERVED IT:
When someone thanks you for the work you’re doing:
