Excuse me, would you mind removing your foot from my back?

For anyone that is wondering, the work that TJ and I do for Relay For Life is completely volunteer. Translation: We don't get paid.

Now this is fine for both of us since we've both been touched by cancer. For example, my mom was diagnosed with Basal cell carcinoma, just two days after last year's relay. That was scary for us, but I can't imagine what my mom was going through or what she was thinking. After all she lost both of her parents to two different types of cancer, so I'm sure she was incredibly intimidated by the diagnosis. 

Okay back to the original thought here, we do this because it's something we want to make a difference in. We're trying to make this difference through running our own team (in it's second year by the way) and this year we are the chair and co-chair for all the online functions for our local Relay.

What this means is that we're in charge of the website, Facebook, emails, and customer service for those that need help online. 

So we have invested many hours into this cause, and since most people know that we are volunteers, you would think that people wouldn't give us grief right? Wrong.

On a regular basis we ask people if they would like to donate, even just a dollar to help in the fight against cancer. All they have to do is say, "No, thank you," and walk away. Most do, but those unfortunate few like to take this moment to berate us about anything from the "ugly purple ribbons" around town, to how their ex-wife is a cancer survivor and already gets all their money, to how they just don't care about cancer. There's also the dirty looks, swear words, and the flat out ignoring that we get. I have to admit, it's a little discouraging.

Well these are perfect strangers right, so you figure those that know us and know our dedication would be kinder right? Sadly, that's not always so. I've experienced people that have nearly expected me to be at their beck and call for information, and expect me to get it done just minutes after they send an email. As I was coming back from Washington, at a hotel room in Oregon, I had someone expect me to get info to them right then and there, ummm...sorry, I'm a little busy?

There's the hostility I've experienced if I have to remind them of a deadline or a policy, or even the demand that I set an exact time for a contest to end. Perhaps next time I post a contest I should set the deadline and post the Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern times, just to prevent any confusion.

So all of this is a little disheartening, and it leaves me wondering if our work is appreciated at all. And then I'll get an email from someone thanking me, a hug from another Relay member, or a stranger enthusiastically pushing a ten dollar bill into our donation jar while telling us about how his mom, wife, sister, etc was a survivor. 

Yeah, those are the moments that make our hard work totally worth it.

Thanks for baring with us today on this post, and if you're interested in donating to our Relay For Life team click here. Or if you would like information on how you can prevent cancer or become involved you can visit the American Cancer Society's website. Have a great day everyone!