Many stories and perspectives will emerge from the 10th Anniversary Story Initiative. Most will focus on participants and parents served. As much as we like mission-centric stories, it is also important to offer the world the opportunity to view Kate’s Club through 360-degree lenses. There is value in knowing the story of the infrastructure, or how Kate’s Club has grown into a professional organization, that provided the foundation on which Kate’s Club was built. Oftentimes, we only see the finished product and miss the lessons learned, the joy in the journey.
Dave Williams was an early member of the Advisory Board and Board of Directors. He met Kate when they worked at a sports marketing group together prior to her leaving that job to start Kate’s Club. He was so impressed by her taking the leap to devote her time fully to Kate’s Club that he offered to help in any way.
As new board members, together they learned how to build an effective board and be productive board members on the job. In the early years, a turning point came when it was decided that Kate’s Club needed a home base. Kate personally signed the lease. Dave remembered thinking how strong Kate’s commitment was to making sure Kate’s Club was a success. It was that moment that underscored to Dave the board was invested in Kate’s Club, but for Kate, this was her life.
Dave is very proud of the organization and thinks Kate deserves all the attention she has received and more. It is a testament to the organization that it survived the tough early years and emerged as a stronger and better organization. Although he looks back with some regret about the challenges the board would face in the early years, he is glad he didn’t know how hard it would be. However, if given the opportunity, he would do it all again.
There is an old parable about a man who found a butterfly in a cocoon struggling to force its body out through a little hole in the cocoon. The butterfly appeared to be stalled in its efforts. The man decided to help the butterfly and snipped open the cocoon. The butterfly did emerge with ease but with a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man watched waiting for the butterfly to spread it wings and fly, but it never did. Although the process to emerge from the cocoon was a struggle for the butterfly, the restriction forces the fluid from the butterfly’s body into its wings allowing them to inflate and become ready for flight. Sometimes in life, we need struggle in order to truly reach our potential. Out of struggle comes strength and courage. Out of struggle comes wisdom and greatness. Out of struggle, we become survivors… survivors ready to soar to new heights.
Would you like to share your story? Please get in touch with Kate's Club! KC has free grief support with grief resources, grief counseling resources, grief training, and volunteer work in Atlanta and surrounding places in Georgia. Kate's Club is a growing nonprofit in Atlanta with grief specialists for kids and young adults going through bereavement. Our goal is to make a world where it is okay to grieve.