End of the Month News

The Last Friday of every month, our post here will be a short update of what has been happening with Elphos.org.

This month, we have a few exciting announcements. The first being the addition of a spot on our website where you can view all of these posts. This will allow people to be able to both view the posts right from our website, as well as subscribe to the RSL feed (so you can get an e-mail to your inbox with the text of the post).

The second exciting thing is that we have updated a few of the pages to make them more clear and precise and what our purpose at Elphos.org is. With the help of a copywriter, we were able to go through some of our pages and clean them up a little bit.

The last exciting news, is that we are going to remove all advertisements from the site. After some thought and consideration, I've decided that the original intent of this organization is not to make money, but to spread hope. Instead of using advertising, we will ask for a dollar donation from those that appreciate the site, and want to see it continue. I figure that there has been over two hundred visitors to the site, if everyone pitched in a dollar, the site would have been paid for all ready. And if that doesn't work, well, $200 is worth the expense to me to keep this thing going in the future.

The last bit of news is that this forum for posting is actually being used by people. I've already received some positive feedback, as well as comments on the posts. I encourage you to make comments about shared experiences, or positive things that have happened to you during the week. It is always fun to read a story, and see who else has had similar experiences.

Just a Simple Thing. . .

As I was walking to the door, I caught just the slightest glimpse of someone walking behind me. So I opened the door, and held it open for the other person to enter. Nothing great about this, I've done it hundreds of times before, no big deal.

The different this time, is that the person looked me in the eye, said thank you, and smiled like what I had done was a miracle. I got more appreciation from that single smile today, than anything else this week.

Reminded me that the small things is what makes life great.

Unexpected Praise

How Much it Made My Day. . .

The job that I work in, well, lets just say that it isn't one that gets a whole lot of praise or recognition from the rest of the company. But. . . if we don't do our job - we sure get noticed from a whole lot of people.

The entirety of this week has been crazy for me. I had worked some 40 hours already when I sat down from lunch today (Friday). All week long I've been putting out small fires and getting our department prepared for the upcoming weeks - normal business stuff!

When I got back to my desk, my phone started to ring. I answered with my usual greeting spiel - trying to sound refreshed and happy to be working on a Friday. On the other end was a customer. Oh course the first thought was - so how many hours is it going to take me to solve this issue?

To my surprise, the lady just wanted to say thank you. She thanked me for the my hard work that I had put in, and how much my work allowed her to feel less anxiety about the issue she was facing.

The phone call lasted less than a minute - however - it had a huge impact on the rest of my day! I felt reenergized - ready to tackle anything that came my way (but luckily - nothing big did happen after that). Just that simple little phone call made my day - made my week - that much better.

In that spirit, I would like to take the time to thank all those people out there that do thankless jobs - like getting our paychecks out on time, processing our driver's licenses, ringing up our groceries, and picking up our garbage. Thank you! With out these people, and many other people in jobs that I haven't mentioned, we'd all have a little grouchier day.

This week, it is going to be my goal to Thank the people I encounter who are in these types of Jobs.

Our Recent Move. . .

So you have probably noticed that our News Posting Page has moved - sorry - the other one just wasn't working out so hot (I was getting tons of spam - and I just didn't like the feel). But on the good side - I found this great website that is user friendly and really accessible - which is good!!

That is the big news this week - us moving our news site.

We are also rewording our main page and moving things around a bit just to make it more user friendly and stuff. Kendy from Creative Quill has helped us with some copywriting and has suggested a few things that we are taking into consideration (she had some great ideas).

Have a great rest of the week!! If this is your first time reading the Elphos post, check out some of our other postings (they are a little more exciting than this one!!)

Jon

Thank You Thank you!!

Its funny how goodness spreads so quickly, and to so many.

As some of you know, this site, this realization of an idea, has only been around for a little over a month now. When I first started this site, I expected that I would be on my own. That people would think I was crazy for trying to set up an organization to facilitate postive letter writings (and trust many - many friends and family still have puzzled looks on their faces when I try to explain why I am doing this).
Over the last week or so, however, I have had the opportunity to talk to a few people who are as excited as I am about this idea - and who are willing to help out in making this website better. People who want to share their ideas about how to use Elphos in the Classroom, who want to help writing a "catcher" index page, and others who want to help in making the site more interactive.
I am looking forward to the improvements that these people are helping to accomplish - while at the same time overwelmed with their openess and kindness is helping out.

So thank you to everyone who has lent a hand - given stamps to me - helped me write more concisely - and added content to this site.

Thank you!!

And, of course Thanks for visiting our site!

Selling Hope in Uptown MN

All about my trip to Calhoun Square - Uptown Minneapolis

"What do you want?"

Tonight, Saturday, I figured that I would head over to Calhoun square with 25 pre-stamped envelopes and distribute them around to random people that I saw.

After the first 10 people that I talked to, I learned to start out the spiel with "I don't want to sell you anything, have you donate money, or convert you." I can't blame people for being skeptical of this project. To tell the truth, I would respond in the same exact way. How many times are we really approached by someone else who doesn't want our money, time, or our soul to be saved :-). And isn't this example as good as any other of why we need some extra hope and happiness in our lives.

I started this project because I wanted to give something to someone else that they could hold in their hand and refer back to on their bad days - and say, "Yes, I really do have a great smile/laugh/am a kind person/ect."

In all, I think (or hope), the trip was successful. I am fairly confident that I found 25 people who will send their letters, and hopefully this project will spread. I just think that this trip may be repeated in the future.

Inadvertent Letter

About how I received a hope letter. . . that I wrote

When I first came up with this idea, I wrote 20 letters. Some to friends and family, and some to total random strangers that I picked out of the phone book. The joy of writing these letters was immense. For some of the people, this was the first time that I had told them how much they mean to me. For others, I knew their letter would bring them a smile to their face.

I figured that I better get the website up and running before sending the letters, so over the past few weeks, most of my free time has been dedicated to building this site.

This is the first time I have ever programed in HTML, or used databases or promoted a website. To tell the truth, it has been fairly overwhelming. Both the amount of time spent, and the frustration involved while I struggle to learn HTML, has been draining.

At the height of my frustration, I decided to go to the post office to check the P.O. box. As I opened the mail box, I saw the edge of a letter. I was excited, it was my first letter that someone had sent to the P.O. Box. I was like a little kid in a candy store.

When I pulled the letter out - my excitement dissipated. Right there on the front, in big mocking letters, was the words "Return to Sender - No Such Addressee."

It was one of the letters that I had randomly sent to someone I found in the phone book - and it was returned.

When I opened the letter (I'm not going to lie, I was going to send the letter to another random address) - I read it. The quote contained inside - well - lets say it gave me the hope I needed after these last few weeks of frustration.

The Letter simple said:
"Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other beings" ~Elie Weisel.

After reading this, it renewed my excitement about this site, and the purpose that I originally created the site for. This inadvertent letter brought me renewed hope in the purpose of this organization.

Washing Dishes Watching an Act of Kindness

A random act of kindness I witnessed:

On occasion - I wash my dishes. Now at first read of that last sentence - you might think that my sink is filled with dishes - reeking of last weeks parmesian chicken dinner. Well, what I failed to mention is that I am the dishwasher. I can show you my winkeled, smelling of Joy soap hands. (and if anything starts to stink - I make sure to make that dishwasher night)

The thing about my kitchen is that there is a window that overlooks (underlooks?) the street - at street level. So my view of people is that of a five year old kid - my head at the height of their knees. This advantage point is interesting to me for a number of reasons. First, people hardly realize that I can see them (insert evil laugh here). Second - I am not used to looking up when talking to people - and there is just something different about it.

Today, while slaving away at my dishes - a rag over my shoulder and elbow deep in soapy water - I noticed a young couple standing outside my window. Now I didn't mean to watch - but there was just something different going on. Maybe it was my first look at their expressions - or the fact they both were not wearing jackets (it has to be about -5 outside right now without the windchill). What they were doing really isn't important - but what I saw filled me hope for humanity.

Walking the past the couple was an obviously homeless man. One look at the guy - and you could tell he had just spent a night outside. His whole being looked cold.

As the man walked past the couple, I saw that the young man said something to the homeless man. Immediatly followed by the young woman offering her scarf - and the man offering his gloves.

Here are two young people - offering their only real protection from the cold to another person. The act was so kind, and so rare. I'd just like to say thank you to that couple on 32nd st Street.

What is Elphos? And Why Do they have a Blog?

About the Creation of the Elphos.org Blog:

I have decided to create the elphos blog as a place to allow people to view updates about the site, how other organizations are using elphos, and a place to write about the acts of kindness, hope, and appreciation around me in my community. However, I am up to suggestions about what you want to see - and would love it if you have an article about Elphos which you'd like to post here.

If you have any stories that you would like to submit, please send them to Submit@elphos.org with a header of "Elphos Blog." If you have suggestions, please e-mail suggestions@elphos.org

Every Friday, new articles will be submitted to these pages. I hope you enjoy reading, and come back often.

Jon