This week was very interesting in the sense that there were many changes that took place at Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services. Internally, there was a change in management, which greatly affected the Advancement department. Because this change took us all relatively by surprise, we had to work together even more so than before to make sure everything stayed on track. We had many meetings, some with Dr. Seleshi and others with just the Advancement team. We created a central list of all of our current projects and activities, as well as our short term and long term focuses and goals. While many more meetings and lists are in the future, these tactics have allowed us to stay on track through these transitions.

I was informed this week that I will now be splitting the rest of my time between the Advancement department and our Youth department. As Youth Summit is quickly approaching on August 4^th, any help and focus on the day’s planning and coordination is welcomed. While I don’t have any specifics on what I will be focusing on with the Youth department, I have many meetings set up for next week to learn about the events’ progress and connect with the team.

With Advancement this week, I focused primarily on donation requests and coordinating the delivery/pickup of the packages. While most stores are located here in Columbus and allow for in-person pickup, there are many chain stores whose headquarters are located elsewhere in the United States.

We have been reaching out to many companies for donation requests, and it’s great to see how generous and kind our community is. However, not everyone is able to donate due to varying reasons. Nonetheless, one specific interaction this week left me in awe of how kind people can be. When inquiring about an in-kind donation to Shores and Islands Ohio, a center offering regional attractions in Sandusky (including Lake Erie, Kelleys Island, and Put-In-Bay), they informed us that they were unable to fulfill our request. However, they generously shared the names and contact information of companies who have helped them in the past. This unexpected list of contacts was very helpful, giving ETSS more ideas of who to contact and what to include in our EOP auction.