Right after I click “Publish” on this blog entry, I will be loading my brand new Invacare Veranda Wheelchair into my car and driving to the North Berkeley BART station to begin my #whatwouldyougive challenge!
I have to admit, I am a little bit nervous about how this will go. I spent a mere 30 seconds at Johnson Medical Supply on Saturday trying to learn how to maneuver the chair, so I am sure it will take some getting used to. I’m heading out early today to give myself some extra time.
When I arrive in San Francisco, I’ll be meeting my former boss from Blue Shield for coffee. Won’t she be surprised when I roll up to meet her?
Then I’ve got a team meeting at Salesforce. While I gave my team a heads up about using the wheelchair for work for the day, I can imagine they will still be a little taken aback when they see me in it. And of course, most of my other Salesforce colleagues will have no idea why I am in a wheelchair. I’m expecting a lot of “What happened’s?!” and some confused looks.
To mitigate some of the confusion, I’ll be displaying one of my #whatwouldyougive signs on the chair. I’ll also wear one of our Salesforce 1-1-1 foundation shirts for the day.
I have to admit, I am a little bit nervous about how this will go. I spent a mere 30 seconds at Johnson Medical Supply on Saturday trying to learn how to maneuver the chair, so I am sure it will take some getting used to. I’m heading out early today to give myself some extra time.
When I arrive in San Francisco, I’ll be meeting my former boss from Blue Shield for coffee. Won’t she be surprised when I roll up to meet her?
Then I’ve got a team meeting at Salesforce. While I gave my team a heads up about using the wheelchair for work for the day, I can imagine they will still be a little taken aback when they see me in it. And of course, most of my other Salesforce colleagues will have no idea why I am in a wheelchair. I’m expecting a lot of “What happened’s?!” and some confused looks.
To mitigate some of the confusion, I’ll be displaying one of my #whatwouldyougive signs on the chair. I’ll also wear one of our Salesforce 1-1-1 foundation shirts for the day.
For those of you who do not know, Salesforce founded a 1-1-1 philanthropy model where:
One of my four days this year was spent getting my fundraising site and blog set up for this campaign. And today is all about the spirit of 1-1-1 and giving back to those in need.
I am hoping I can spread A LOT more awareness today by demonstrating just a fraction of what someone with ALS has to navigate every single day. I’ll try to post some Facebook updates throughout the day if I can - and share more about this journey on the blog in the next couple of days.
For the bottom of my heart, thank you to all who have supported this effort so far!
- 1% of our employee time is committed to giving back to the community (5 paid days per year to volunteer)
- 1% of our Salesforce products and resources are donated to non-profits and educational institutions
- 1% of our equity is targeted for grants to fund programs that help people all over the world
One of my four days this year was spent getting my fundraising site and blog set up for this campaign. And today is all about the spirit of 1-1-1 and giving back to those in need.
I am hoping I can spread A LOT more awareness today by demonstrating just a fraction of what someone with ALS has to navigate every single day. I’ll try to post some Facebook updates throughout the day if I can - and share more about this journey on the blog in the next couple of days.
For the bottom of my heart, thank you to all who have supported this effort so far!