According to Love In Motion Director Pollo Corral,
What you appreciate appreciates.
- It’s true in our money culture, where a desirable house in a desirable neighborhood appreciates in dollar value over time.
- It’s true in our personal relationships, our appreciation of someone’s special qualities can make them bloom before our very eyes.
- It’s true in business, where a company’s commitment to its employees fosters pride and excellence in their work.
- It can be true in the lives of our community’s most dedicated servants, enabling them to excel at their jobs.
Love in Motion is a volunteer-led nonprofit that is dedicated to providing appreciation designed to honor, motivate and retain area teachers, police and firefighters.
Experts have concluded that practicing appreciation has the power to rewire brains and make us happier, healthier and more prosocial. Furthermore, Harvard Business Review established that the single-highest driver for employee engagement is appreciation. So if our teachers, police and firefighters excel – everybody wins!
Educators and First Responders are the real “heroes” of our community – yet their contributions are generally underappreciated and habitually ignored. While no one goes into a helping profession for the recognition (or money), appreciation goes a long way!
Most of us understand the critical importance of these professionals and value their contributions. But other than thanking our own children’s teachers and perhaps thanking a first responder if we happen to need one, there is no established vehicle to help us express gratitude.
That’s where Love in Motion comes into play. We give the community (families, companies, clubs, etc.) a structure to be able to thank those considered to be community heroes. More than 37,500 appreciation gifts have been distributed since 2012. It’s a simple but incredibly impactful strategy!
Beyond uplifting morale, these appreciation efforts are also focused on evaluating the long-term impact of their work. Our community heroes have some of the toughest jobs and burnout is an ongoing challenge and that is why the turnover rate in said professions is high. Love In Motion’s evaluation indicates that when teachers feel appreciated and encouraged, they do a better job – a little appreciation and Love makes a pronounced impact.
Every dollar donated to Love in Motion goes towards planting seeds of appreciation. It’s both our experience and hope those seeds will produce beautiful fruit that not only improve our communities but transform them into life-giving movements for every citizen.
Unlike food, water and air, appreciation is unnecessary for us to survive. It is like friendship, music or ice cream. It has no survival value; yet it adds value to survival. We invite you to get involved in this important initiative. You’re invited to donate your time plus money. You may also host an appreciation packing event with your company, club or organization. You may also become a sustaining sponsor enabling LOVE in Motion to expand beyond the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
* Graphic/photo provided by Love in Motion ** Photo credit: Daveed Corral *** Photo provided by Communities Foundation of Texas **** Photo credit: Ayleen Corral
In ten years, Communities Foundation of Texas’ North Texas Giving Day has pumped more than $240 million into the North Texas community. In 2018, more than $48 million was raised through more than 157,000 gifts benefiting over 2,700 area nonprofits.
On Thursday, September 19, support Love in Motion by linking here and spreading the word. #NTxGivingDay