Thread: This is a minor vent

but I am really having to fight to not get upset about it. So tell me how you think and tell me how you would feel.

My church is having a fund raiser tonight- a down home type fish and shrimp fry with all the sides. A few of the men from the mens ministry is paying for everything, donations to be accepted for a specific need. I signed for my dh and i to be there and 2 friends and my dd and her husband the friend nor my dd is able to go. That is fine I will still donate the money to the cause.


Now for what bothers me. The men asked for a few of us women to make some dessert. I volunteered to make a pineapple cake. I called yesterday to find out how many people were expected
in case I needed to make something els. He told me NOONE else was making a dessert. I immeiately said I would make the pineapple cake, 2 batches of brownies, and a lemon delight cake.

Still this morning no one has volunteered. There are 67 men and women signed up. I know there will be a few that arive that were invited but did not have their name on the list. That is fine.

Sosme one say something so I can quit feeling bad about this.

I should say it is not because I am doing this and I feel used.

I feel bad cause they asked and noone voluteered to help. That just don't seem right.

There are always a few families at our church that can be counted on to do things like that, and others, well you know how that goes.

In our church it's always the same people who volunteer for helping out with things. It's gotten to the point that if I'm in charge of getting volunteers for something I only ask the ones I know I can count on to do what they say they will. I'd rather have someone to not volunteer to help at all than to tell me they would and then not follow through.

I have seen the same thing in a organization that I belong to. Some people can be counted on to do whatever is necessary from the time the doors open until they turn off the lights. Then there are others that will show up late and not lift a finger to help but feel they contributed just as much by just being there and buying a ticket. Sorry hon that is just the way it is. I also have found that to get the "non-participants" involved is to ask them for a certain item. For instance I will call and say - can you stop by Publix (grocery store with a killer bakery) and pick up a coconut cake for the event? By giving them a single item and telling them where to get it (and I check the sales pages to see what is on sale that week) I have been able to get many more people to "participate" without having to nag them. Sometimes it just takes a little push to get extra help. In our society people just don't volunteer as much as they did in the years past. So instead of asking for home baked stuff - find a good bakery and ask someone to pick up a item or two - it is much easier than getting upset over people not volunteering. And I must admit I have even gotten away from baking - just don't have the time and it is much easier and cheaper to just pick something up on the way.

Hope you do have a good turn out for your fund raiser. And just enjoy yourself - if they run out of deserts they run out - not a big deal. As a friend of mine would tell you - "will it make a difference in 100 years from now if they ran out" NO so go and enjoy yourself and don't sweat the small stuff.

Well, I am not that great in the Kitchen myself. However, if I were going and knew there were so few bringing deserts I could at least go buy Publlix or something and pick something up to bring. I could probably make brownies or cookies but as far as cakes, pies, etc., I would really rather buy something.

God bless you for stepping up when no one else did.

When my son was in school and they had parties the teacher always sent home a slip to all the kids parents. It was a slip that said please let us know what you would like to send for the party so we can make sure there is enough to go around of everything.

Sometimes there would be a check sheet, and you could check as many items as you would like to bring.
Like the list would go something like this:
Cokes, ice
napkins, cups, paper plates
dessert
bag of candy
ect...

Your list could be something like that with main dishes, desserts, salads, vegie dishes, etc..

Maybe at the next event your church has like this, they should pass out slips to the congregation during church and ask them to jot down what they would like to contribute for the event. You can say that it's not necessary to bring anything, but it would be greatly appreciated and it would make it easier on the ones that always do help out.

In the mean time, I would call some of the other church ladies and tell them that you found out that you were the only one that was bringing a dessert, and ask them that you know it's short notice, but could they stop by the grocery store and maybe pick up something at the bakery so there will be enough for everyone tonight. Also you might ask them to call some of the other ladies to see if they could bring something as well, if it's not to late that is.