Widening the Circle | Day of Service Journal Part 9

1. Last week, I wrote that September 25 was beginning to feel less like a date and more like an address. 
   This week was a reminder that we aren’t quite there yet.

Ryan with The 516 Project still believes the veteran family he identified could be a very good fit for what we’re trying to accomplish. He completed the initial site survey, understands some of the needs at the property, and sees an opportunity where the people and resources we’re bringing together could make a meaningful difference. The challenge this week was simple: he hasn’t been able to connect with the family.

There isn’t much we can, or should do about that except give the process some room. September 25 is getting closer, but the goal was never to find a house simply because we needed somewhere to send volunteers that morning. We need the right family, the right project, and ultimately a family that wants us there.

While that part of the work waits, another part keeps moving.

Taking the Story to Richmond

This Saturday, Real Property Management Regions will be at the Virginia Black Business Expo in Richmond.

The Expo is different from the communities we normally work in every day. It’s being held in the capital of the Commonwealth and brings together entrepreneurs, business owners, professionals, organizations, and people from across Virginia.

We’ll be there doing what businesses do at an event like this: talking with people, learning what others are building, sharing what we do, and hopefully leaving Richmond with relationships we didn’t have when we arrived. We’ll also have our Day of Service flyers at the booth. If somebody wants to know what we’re doing on September 25, volunteer, sponsor the project, contribute materials, or simply learn more, we’ll be ready to have that conversation.

But I don’t see those as two separate reasons for being there.

One thing I appreciate about a Commonwealth-wide event is that not everyone we meet will live or own property in an area served by Real Property Management Regions. If someone needs property management elsewhere in Virginia, we’ll connect them with the Real Property Management office that serves their part of the state. Not every interaction has to result in business for our office to be worthwhile.

Somebody we meet Saturday may eventually become a client. Someone else may know a contractor, nonprofit, veteran organization, or business that should hear about September 25. Another person may pick up a Day of Service flyer and decide they want to help. And plenty of people may simply stop by, talk with us for a few minutes, and continue on with their day. That’s okay too.

The point of showing up at an event like this can’t simply be asking what everybody in the room can do for us. We’re going to Richmond to participate, listen, support other businesses, meet people from across the Commonwealth, and share a little of what we’re building too.

The Circle Around the Address

Last week, this project started feeling more tangible because Ryan had physically stood at a home that may become the place where all of us gather on September 25. This week has me thinking about everything that may eventually surround that address.

The work itself may happen at one home. One veteran family will be at the center of it. One group of volunteers may pull into one driveway that morning. But the relationships, resources, businesses, organizations, and people that make the day possible don’t necessarily have to come from the same county—or even the same part of Virginia.

That’s already been true in different ways throughout this journey. Some people have offered time. Others have offered financial support. Some have introduced us to someone else. Some simply asked what we needed and stayed connected. That kind of support doesn’t always develop because somebody sent a sponsorship request at exactly the right moment. A lot of it comes from people knowing each other, seeing each other show up, and understanding what matters to the other person before there is ever an ask.

That’s why Saturday feels connected to September 25 even though we’ll be several weeks away from the work itself and several miles away from wherever that work ultimately happens.

We’re still waiting to connect with the potential family, and that part of the timeline can’t be forced. If this is the right family, we’ll move forward when the right conversations happen. If it isn’t, we’ll keep looking. What we can do in the meantime is keep strengthening everything around that eventual moment.

Saturday gives us an opportunity to widen that circle. Maybe we’ll meet our next sponsor, another volunteer, or somebody with a connection we haven’t thought about yet. Maybe we’ll simply meet a few good people doing good work somewhere else in Virginia. All of those outcomes have value.

The work may eventually happen at one address, but the circle around that work can be much bigger.

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