Growing up I played volleyball. I was a setter. My job was to thoughtfully and skillfully place the ball in the air so the hitter could spike it and score. If I did my job well then hitters shined.
Setters don't get much glory, though. It is hitters, like Jennifer Gavin, who get the glory. Jennifer stood at 5'11'' and could spike balls with near straight trajectory downward. That is, providing my set was a good one.
The Yellow Envelope Project sets people up to shine. And, as we have learned through your nominations over the past eleven months, star hitters aren't too hard to find.
Heather, Cheryl, and I decided a long time ago, that while we wanted to make a difference in the world, we did not want to get in line behind the other 1.5 million non-profit organizations in the United States. Rather than create more noise by beating our drum longer and louder, in an effort to raise money for hunger, education, the environment, or world health issues, we opted to work quietly and diligently at filling a different niche.
The Yellow Envelope Project is a team of setters.
We scour the globe for first, second, third, and fourth string players who are making a difference in their corners of the world and then... we tell them they shine. We send notes in yellow envelopes, cheery postcards, a copy of our Shine Manifesto, and occasionally a check to support their work.
We want to send a Shine t-shirt too. In fact, we have a goal. Put a Shine t-shirt in the hands of 1,000,000 people who shine by the year 2013. Free, to the recipient.
A Shine t-shirt, plus packaging and shipping costs $20.00.
If you agree the world benefits from a small, but committed group of setters whose job is to thoughtfully and skillfully help others shine, then consider using our Paypal account to make a donation. Every dime goes directly toward telling one more person he or she shines.
One more thing. We don't mind if you beat our drum longer and louder. Consider sharing our post on Facebook, Tweeting, or forwarding today's post to someone via email. We think the world is ready for a little more shine.