Charitable Giving. Next week starts our two week long cheerleading fest better known as the Community Giving Campaign. For years I've been involved with the campaign, mostly because the charities we raise money for are ones I donate to anyhow and I really like the idea of working for a company that participates in community. That said, having just gotten done with the "you've been volunteered" fiasco that was the heart walk and having donated money to other organizations and missions this year I just didn't have it in me to do anything with the program this year.

Of course walking into Eco-ville this morning, who should I run into but the person who has been our liaison for the overseas portion of our fundraising efforts. I got a big cheery - we miss you at the meetings and felt about two inches tall based on the very fact that I know my decision will be that I'm not going to contribute this year.

When you get personally involved with organizations its downright difficult to not do something during this campaign. It's not like they MAKE you donate but the way they go about collecting money, they surely know if you don't. I know I shouldn't feel bad about not participating and should just feel good about the groups that I do support, but how do you avoid the guilt when around every corner you run into a plea to participate?

We have a big meeting on Sept. 11th. I was in a meeting a few months ago and there were several people who were surprised that we would pick that date to have the meeting. Am I just unfeeling that I kind of wanted to stand up and say so what? There are tragedies all over, maybe not as graphics as planes crashing and buildings collapsing and yes, I do remember the people who lost their lives but a part of me wonders why people are so concerned about doing anything on that date. It was just another terrible senseless tragedy that joins the ranks of all of the other senseless tragedies. Yep, I'm probably insensitive....but we're still having the meeting.