Sunday, March 7, was a great day. It was 70 degrees and sunny, but weather had nothing to do with it. The reason it was such a great day is that it was the annual Change is Good event hosted by Community Partners of Dallas (CPD).
For those unfamiliar with the organization, CPD provides for the immediate and urgent needs of children who are abused and neglected and supports the caseworkers who help navigate these children out of difficult situations. They serve over 20,000 abused and neglected children annually and cover the spectrum of needs with everything from basic hygiene items to winter coats to a fully staffed storyline for children who need a kind voice on the other end of the phone.
Change is Good is an event that focuses on children and teaching them about helping others at an early age. The tagline for the event is “Kids helping Kids,” and the recent event was the culmination of months of kids collecting actual change (think nickels, dimes, and quarters) to donate to Community Partners of Dallas to help children in need.
The Change to Virtual
Like so many things, Change is Good had to change from its original format and move to a virtual event. What was once an afternoon of kids flying through bounce houses, getting their faces painted, and requesting any one of hundreds of tied balloon animals has now migrated to a virtual platform. The day’s events were narrowed from an afternoon to an hour, and all the activities neatly placed into a box to be enjoyed at home through vignettes of virtually led instruction by said balloon artists and face painters.
I have the privilege of being on CPD’s Board and was honored to Co-Chair this year’s event with my wife, Brynn, our children, and a close friend and his family. As we leaned into learnings from last year’s first virtual event, we were purposeful about one thing…momentum. We wanted to move beyond the narrative of things being so different and into a place of opportunity, hope, and you guessed it…momentum.
The boxes were delivered, the volunteers engaged, the kids frenzied from grabbing that last bit of spare change, and while tallies still unofficial, through donations and change collected the event grossed over $100,000 this year.
COVID-19 Has Changed Many Things
Aside from the outstanding focus of the organization and the financial lift from those who so generously donated, I am particularly struck this year by the event’s name. A fitting title as I realize that so much has changed for so many of us and will continue to change in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
COVID-19 has changed the way we work, communicate, live, and operate as a human race, while civil unrest has changed us to view diversity, equity, and inclusion as we work to navigate our differing races as humans.
Change is hard, and often we are dragged into it rather than volunteering with open arms. However, to grow and evolve, we must all change along the way. With this change, we have struggled, we have evolved, we have broken down, we have built up, but without a doubt, each of us has changed.
As we migrate into a changing world of a more readily available vaccine and an encouraging future of more understanding about the differences (and similarities) we all share, I am hopeful that everyone realizes, recognizes, and appreciates that this Change is, in fact, Good!
