![]() ![]() They said the issue of children in the world growing up without books resonated with them and they felt frustrated at not being able to do something about it. They talked about their heartfelt love of books and the effect that books had on their life and the lives of their family members. They spoke intensely about their passionate belief in making a tangible difference in the life of a child, and their deeply-felt need to do good in a very difficult world. I started asking others the same question. It was like pulling the cork from the side of a wine barrel! Rather than a difficult dialogue, I listened intently for 10 minutes while this wonderful person literally poured their heart out to me. I began my conversation by asking the simplest question: What led you to become a Worldreader donor? Would I feel as if I was pulling myself up an impossibly steep hill? I wondered if there would be awkward pauses in the conversation, whether I might run out of things to say. ![]() ![]() I was intensely curious before my first one-on-one telephone conversation with a Worldreader donor. They imagine being asked to talk to donors as something on the same plane as being asked to “sell door-to-door” or work for a collection agency. There is a link – and it has to do with the idea, quite commonly held, that fundraising must be, frankly, frightening to do, and must come with its own bitter shot of rejection. What does this award-winning David Mamet play have to do with it? Some would say that nothing else in literature distilled fear, money and power into their vital essence than this powerhouse of the written word. Friends and family often ask me, “Where does the money come from?” and “Isn’t asking people for money really hard?” But it’s kind of a big mystery to many, to be honest. Most Friends of Worldreader (or FOWR as we fondly phrase it) are at least peripherally aware that we are donor-supported. Something similar may have happened to you, and here you are again or here you are for your first visit as the case may be. I wanted to do a quick, 10-minute survey, and 89 minutes later I looked at my watch and said, “Wow! What just happened?” Sometimes the deepest friendships happen that way, with an inconsequential first meeting that has the greatest consequence for your life and the lives of others. If you are reading this blog (and thank you for reading!), you are what we call a potential “Friend of Worldreader.” I became a Friend of Worldreader about six months ago, during a 90-minute “deep dive” into this very website. ![]()
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