‘Peace House Community Journal’ Archives
A Penguin Walks Through the Door …
Peace House Community journal by Marti Maltby A few years ago I came across a list of questions employers could ask potential employees to test their creativity and their ability to adjust quickly to unexpected circumstances. My favorite question was “A penguin walks through the door wearing a sombrero. What’s the first thing it says?” I actually used this during a few interviews, and I got to see a wonderful array of responses. One man broke into laughter at the ridiculous nature of the question. That turned out to be a benefit to him, as he had been nervous up to that point in the interview. The question helped him relax, and he showed a friendly demeanor from that point on. Another applicant responded immediately, “I don’t know. I don’t speak penguin”, and then waited for the next question. I learned that he wasn’t easily thrown off by unexpected developments and could think quickly when needed. Someone else told me the penguin would say “I’ve [...]
You May Know More Than You Know
Peace House Community Journal by Marti Maltby I’ve learned a few things in the last year about fundraising, like, “You can never say thank-you enough,” and, “Tell donors what you are doing with their money, because it isn’t your money that you are spending.” I’ve also learned that I need to ask Peace House Community’s donors a lot of questions, like, “How did you hear about us? Why did you decide to support us?”, and, “Do you want to receive our newsletters?” Saying thank-you seems pretty self-explanatory, but it took me longer to wrap my head around the asking of questions. I know that most people receive more emails than they want, so getting another message from me seemed like it would be more of an inconvenience than a blessing. However, I’ve come to understand that our donors know how Peace House Community looks from the outside looking in, and the best way I can show them that I recognize their expertise is to ask them for it. In this [...]
Do Whatever You Want
Peace House Community By MARTI MALTBY When people find out that I have worked with the homeless, they sometimes ask me if they should give money to panhandlers. I used to give the standard social work answer: “If you give them money, it could be used for drugs or alcohol. It’s better to give them a snack, or to donate money to agencies that help the homeless.” Eventually I realized how insulting and hypocritical that answer was. It’s insulting because it reinforces the stereotype that people are homeless because they use drugs and alcohol, or that all the homeless use drugs and alcohol. It also implies that they don’t know any better than to blow their money on things that won’t improve their situation. And this coming from social workers who say we’re trying to reduce the stigma of homelessness, and that we care for the people we “serve”. It’s also hypocritical because it implies that the homeless shouldn’t drink, even though it’s okay for [...]
