In the midst of beach vacation photos, quizzes about what kind of mineral you are, and invitations to play Candy Crush, sometimes Facebook offers something of  — well, greater value. This week, I was issued a challenge by a friend of mine. 

I will pause here and tell you that my friend, Laurie, and I met when we both worked at summer camp in sweltering South Carolina during our college days. We have cooked over campfires together, canoed together and sung many a camp song together. We never dreamed then that we would end up living and working in the same area, much less the same field. We enjoy running into one another at seminars about Latino student access to scholarships and ways to improve services to the homeless. In fact, we’re getting together soon to talk about early childhood programs.

Now, back to this week – Laurie issued me a challenge to post three good things on my Facebook page every day for seven consecutive days.  I accepted the challenge, and here’s what I noticed:  Every day so far, my list of good things has included something I’ve done at NCCF. 

• Day One:  Spent the majority of the day in a meeting to fund workforce development training programs through community colleges in NC. That means jobs, people and economic growth!
• Day Two: Several grant cycles closed at work today, which means that funding will be on the way to some deserving organizations in our North Carolina communities.
• Day Three: When I sign the letters that accompany our scholarship checks, sometimes I pause for a second and appreciate this little tiny part I play in supporting students’ educations.
• Day Four: Started my day with a meeting of inspiring and generous community leaders from across the state (our NCCF grants committee), who give their time to support philanthropy in NC.

How lucky I am to work at a place that gives me at least one good thing every day and sometimes more!  I’m already looking forward to seeing what good things five, six and seven will be!

Oh!  And as part of the challenge, I have to invite someone else to accept the challenge every day. Will you? Three good things every day for seven days.  Ready?  GO!