Ask, and You Shall Recieve

In the world of fundraising, you never get what you want on the first call…or the first time you ask. At least that’s what I thought. Last week, an email came to us at MKAP from our GC, asking the group to source some loam at a very, very, very affordable price (free?). This kind of material sourcing has gone on daily since the ground-breaking a few weeks ago.

We made two calls for loam that day with no luck. The next day we developed a short list of three new suppliers, and I made the first call. The Green Connection Inc. in Scituate was first on my list. As the phone rang, I took a deep breath- I’m not the best at asking for free stuff.

Laura Nielsen, a Marshfield resident, answered the phone and asked how I was. Her voice put me at ease, so I came right out and said, “I’m a little tense because I am about to ask you for a lot of free loam.” We talked, I explained the project, and she asked me how much we would need? We estimated 100 yards of topsoil, but we could mix in a good amount of compost, so I went for 50 yards to start. She responded… “No problem Tony”. I called our GC back to confirm how much we would need, and he suggested 60 yards of loam. When I called Laura back, she responded again, “Sure, no problem, we can do the whole 60. When do you need it?”



Yesterday…less than a week later, we were ready for loam and there it was …being delivered on site, for free, with one phone call to the Green Connection. Now imagine this happening over and over again, behind the scenes, since this project began. Go to Library Plaza and look at all the work that has been achieved with little or no cost for labor, and most materials given at cost or donated. (Stay tuned to this blog for more of these stories.) During these economic times, its amazing to see how our community has come together to support a project for our kids.

Tony Pina, AIA