As has become a bit of a tradition, here is my annual Christmas message.
I don’t know if you’re like me, but right now I’m feeling quite tired and quite stressed. Everything feels a little bit too much and I was wondering why that was. I watched a video by Helen Calvert recently and she was talking about how we’ve not properly processed the trauma of the last two years yet. That got me thinking that she’s right.
We haven’t processed it yet. We’ve just kind of kept going and kept going and kept pushing through it. We’re coming to that place now where a lot of us are just hitting that brick wall and our bodies are going, “actually we’re exhausted, please take a break and take care of yourself.” That’s one of the things I’m planning to do over the Christmas period, to take better care of myself. In terms of next year, well, what can I say?
I know I’ve said the last two years have been a challenging time. We’ve all come through it, and I want to be saying it again this year. Here we are at the backend of 2022, inflation is very high and utility bill costs have gone up. Everyone’s struggling and what this means for many charities is that there’s going to be an increased demand for their services. It’s also a time when a lot of funding has decreased and that’s really challenging. There is a need now more than ever for charities, so what do we do?
I wish I had a magic wand and I wish I could give you the answer. One of the things I would say is to concentrate on what you’re there to do and what you’re there to deliver for your beneficiaries. Let that be your focus and let that be your guide. Here are a few ideas for the new year:
- If you can, apply for funding to help you; funding is extremely tough, but it is out there.
- Raise your profile with people who might be potential donors.
- What about collaborating with charities that operate in a similar area as you? You might be able to work together to both of your benefits and not be applying for the same grant funder by collaborating.
Those are just a few ideas for next year. I’m hopeful that things are going to get easier. I’m hopeful that the world will get better. There’s so much going on right now, it’s impossible to say where we’re going to be, but I’m hopeful and I think you’ve got to have hope, haven’t you? You’ve got to have hope that things are going to get better because otherwise where would we be?
So, a few things I want you to take away from this message:
- You’re not alone.
- A lot of us are feeling the same way; exhausted and tired.
- We’ve got to have hope that things are going to get better. It’s that hope that will pull us through and see us through in these tough times.
That’s me signing off for 2022. I’m wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Let’s see what 2023 brings. Let’s face it, it can’t be much worse than the last few years.
