New Years Resolutions

I am a big fan of resolutions. I am less of a fan of MAINTAINING my lovingly picked goals and aspirations, so this year I am adding maintenance to my list. We will see how it goes. One of my top priorities of the New Year is to devote more time to social media. I seem to be stuck in 2008, as the only social media site I keep up with is Facebook, and that is only because I spent years out of state and like to keep in touch with my friends scattered throughout the world. However, I think 2014 is going to be such an amazing year for The Firehouse, I need some way to communicate all the things we are doing to help the homeless without junking up people's inboxes every week. Hence the birth of this blog.
I am going to try to write daily- one of my personal goals is to write more, and one of my professional goals is to spend at least 30 minutes a day on social media, so this may very well kill two birds with one stone. The Firehouse has over 200 guests a day with a staff of 24. We run 24 hours a day, see hundreds of people walk through our doors, handle terrible crisis situations and bear witness to some of the most beautiful transformations I have ever seen. The Firehouse could not run without all of our partner churches and volunteers. People give time, money, prayers and love. My hope is that this blog will help give people a chance to read about what we do "behind the scenes" and our hopes and dreams for the future. This is a personal blog with a focus on The Firehouse- at this juncture there is a very fine line between personal and professional! No personal opinions are intended to represent the views of The Firehouse... this is simply a forum to let people follow the incredible journey and growth of our organization through my eyes.
In closing, I am inserting my New Years letter to my excellent and dedicated staff.

All-
Just wanted to wish The Firehouse Gang a HAPPY NEW YEAR! I set resolutions every year. Some stick, some don't. For instance, last night I set a resolution to eat healthier. This morning, I had coffee and Cheezits for breakfast/lunch. So I am going to take a wild guess and say that resolution may not last all year. However, another resolution I have is to make sure that The Firehouse grows in a healthy and sustainable manner. 2014 is going to be a BIG year for our organization. I am going to meet this goal by:
A) keeping my office neat by filing and purging. I will not leave the office on Friday until this is done. If your surroundings are messy, your mind will be as well.
B) spreading The Firehouse Shelter message at least once a day, by social media, a phone call, face to face, or, on lazy days, wearing my Firehouse Shelter shirt. We do amazing and needed work in the community- it is up to US to let people know that they can be a part of it as well!
C)Greet every guest with a smile. Positivity spreads. A smile is a simple way to increase self esteem, build rapport, and make both parties feel good. People remember smiling faces.

I am so excited to what the future holds for this organization, our community, our guests, and YOU! The Firehouse is a family. Each person in this family deserves happiness and peace. Thank you for everything you do.
Kindest regards,
Anne