Phone Bank Lessons

I was reminded today of a yearly event that the Rockford Aces used to participate in. The local Education Foundation (nonprofit) would conduct an annual phone-a-thon fundraiser, with calls going out for six nights over two weeks. Volunteer supporters would be given a script, a stack of contact cards, and a phone.

I loved this event for several reasons, and have missed it since it was canceled, because of the impact it had on the community and on my students.

  1. It taught us that rejection is a regular part of any journey to success. (The number of people who hang up on you…to say nothing of the ones who yell!)
  2. It taught us that we can only succeed together. That stack of contact cards literally couldn’t be called by one person, or even a small group. It took all of us.
  3. It taught us to be willing to step outside comfort zones for organizations we value. Personally, I found my heart rate would rise 20-30bpm every time I made a call. But remembering the mission, and seeing my friends and students doing the same hard job, inspired me to put myself on the line.
  4. It taught us the value of their support. We have been the recipients of multiple grants from this organization; getting involved in raising the money they use for grants gave valuable perspective on their gifts.
  5. It taught us about word-of-mouth awareness. Many people we spoke to had never heard of the foundation, which has been around for over a quarter-century. Understanding how long it takes to raise awareness, and helping to be the one to raise it, is a great lesson.

There was more – we loved getting to sing for our fellow volunteers, and the teenagers in the group greatly appreciated fresh fruit and cheese trays!

I haven’t found a way to teach all these valuable lifeskills in another venue, so I hold out hope that someday another phone-a-thon will magically appear for us to volunteer at. In the meantime, I’ll keep reminiscing (which thankfully comes without the pounding heart…)