Reflections from our Chair

Dan Rogers, Board Chair

As we near the end of 2014 we once again asked Dan Rogers to reflect on some of his recent experiences as the Compassionate Eye Foundation board chair:

One of my roles with Compassionate Eye Foundation is to prepare the deposits as we receive cheques in the mail. The deposit book for Canadian dollars is almost finished, so I took a quick look back to August of 2006 when the first deposit was recorded. As I started to flip forward, I was astonished by the people who are recorded in this ledger. Each name reflects someone who has been inspired to give to CEF over the years. It is one (and only one) record of our history of giving and compassion over the past 10 years, but it speaks volumes.

I emphasize “only one” because CEF doesn’t ask for donations in line with the traditional fundraising paradigm. We are different in our fundraising model because we almost exclusively generate “new” revenue. We get donations because people are inspired to give them and we are always grateful. But I’m certain that there are just as many people who have contributed to CEF through time and energy as those that have donated money.

I experienced a great example of that on September 13 when the wonderful photographic artists from Hero Images in Calgary descended on the fabulous office space donated for the day by our own Board member Ryan Bragg. Six board members visited during the day to watch the wizardry spun by these talented and fun loving folks. Hero Images had set aside a full day from their busy schedule to help out CEF and this was all made possible with the expert assistance of Amy Jones, our local producer who just makes magic happen. We on the board talked to the models, the makeup artists, and the assistants about CEF. They wanted to talk about where the money goes and what projects we support; everyone appeared to have a great time.

Later that weekend, several board members firmed up plans to visit one of our great partners, Kids International, in Cambodia in January of 2015. Board members pay their own way to go on these trips, but the reward is incredible. It reinforces why we do what we do and allows us to talk to others about the work that CEF funds, and to tell the story of the connection between the deposit book and the fabulously intricate shoots that are produced across the world.

CEF is both complicated and simple. There are a lot of moving pieces that I (and others) try to keep track of. But really CEF is just about compassion and giving and helping to make lives better in parts of the world where “better” is so modest for some but so huge for others. I love that so many people believe in that simple vision.