Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/the-higher-path/5025444/
In every crisis, doubt or confusion, take the higher path—the path of compassion, courage, understanding and love.”
— Amit Ray
In the midst of the last recession, back in 2008, the board of directors of Small Wonders, a large nonprofit child care center in a major Midwestern city, was on the verge of closing its doors. With rising unemployment, enrollment had dropped by over 50 percent and the prospects of meeting payroll, covering the mortgage, and even paying the electric bill were very dim. It felt hopeless.
The center’s director, Cheryl, was the sole dissenter to this plan. She argued with logic and emotion and finally succeeded in convincing her board to give her two more months to turn the situation around.
Here is what she did:
- She negotiated with the bank to give Small Wonders a bit of a grace period on the mortgage (in and of itself a small wonder).
- She reviewed the remaining enrollment and, finding an uneven mix of age groups, decided to shift the program to a mixed age group format.
- She met with licensing officials to request an exception for this new format.
- She met with staff individually. To ...