First Quarter

I was taking my daughter to school this morning when she told me that this was her favorite time of the year.

• Me: "Really.  This is your favorite time of the year?  How come?"
• Her: "It is lighter out.  It is warmer so that I can play outside but still not be overheated by my puffy coat.  And it is not summer so there are no bugs.  Perfect."

My 10 year old daughter hates bugs.  She is not scared of them, she just loathes them on a very deep and personal level.  Anyway, we talked about the time of year and how much warmer 0 degrees felt after -40 and how amazing it was that the sun was rising before 9am.  She went into school, whistling at her perfect day.  Parenting win!

The first three months of the year are a unique time for Joel's Place.  January, February and March are the months where we:

• Have our highest attendance throughout the year.
• Have our lowest amount of donations throughout the year.

The youth of Interior Alaska (my daughter being the exception) are getting a little Cabin Fevery.  They are tired of winter.  They are tired of school.  They are tired of being cooped up indoors and asked to sit still for the duration of their days.  This past week was parent teacher conferences on Monday and Tuesday.  We were receiving calls from parents starting at 8am to ask if we were open yet or not.  The kids just exploded when they got here: jumping, yelling, running and lots and lots of falling.  They left sweaty and sore and grinning...six hours of hard work without getting into trouble.  Programming win!

The other side of that coin is that adults are still fully aware that winter is hanging around for several more weeks and they are still trying to catch up from end of the year spending and tax returns are not in yet and oil prices are way down which is threatening the economy.  It is always the lowest time of the year for donations and this year is no different.  Over the past three years we have averaged around $17,000 per month in donations.  January's number was $6,500.  Fundraising fail!

Now this does not take us completely by surprise.  As I said, the first quarter of the year is usually the leanest so we have been using the surplus from 2014 to carry us through.  It will get better, sooner or later...this post is simply written in the hopes of encouraging the "sooner" option.  If you have been thinking to yourself, "I should really send in a donation to Joel's Place sometime," this would be the time to do that.  There is a "Give Now" link towards the top of this page that works very nicely, also.  If you know someone who is passionate about building up young people, please share our information with them.  I always love to meet new people who share our vision.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, concerns or even great ideas.  Thanks for your support!

James