The fightback starts here
Oli Hiscoe | 9 January 2020 | Blogs
On the second day of January this year I visited Oscar Schindler’s Enamel Factory. I was in Krakow and was unable to visit the better known Auschwitz so it felt like the most appropriate place to visit to understand this aspect of the city’s infamous history.
Unsurprisingly I found the experience upsetting and inspirational. Story after story I learned of heroes during a time of villains, of humanity in an age of inhumanity and of kindness amongst the utter cruelty.
Afterwards I took a break for a coffee and contemplation. As a fundraiser I feel my life’s work is to produce social change. I rarely feel I am changing enough though. One story from my trip to Krakow was that of Anna Feuerstein, and Dawid Kurzmann. They were directors of the children’s orphanage in the Krakow Ghetto.
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As a reward for their service to the mechanisms of the ghetto they were given a reprieve from the death camps that the children were being sent to. Instead of choosing to survive, they voluntarily joined the children in their final journey, so they didn’t feel alone.
The thought of this kindness, was utterly overwhelming at the time and still is as I write this a week later. Many will know Oscar Schindler’s more famous story, from the Spielberg film ‘Schindler’s List’ (the best £3.50 you’ll spend on Amazon if you haven’t seen it) and standing in his office was also inspiring. You can’t help but try and picture what his efforts would have looked like day to day.
At the end of my contemplation coffee I did what we all do before standing up and getting on with our day: I checked my phone. I read about the fires in Australia and I could see the amazing response on Facebook: to raise millions of pounds in aid. The common thread that was emerging was that in the face of adversity the best of us pool together our resources and strive for social good.
My reaction to this made me want to do something. The key activities I wanted to do were to help victims of genocide and environmental disaster. I can (and did) donate, but that didn’t feel enough. From there my thoughts strayed to my day job. I couldn’t care about the cause I work for more currently and I need to do my best for my cause.
So herein lies my rallying cry to all of us fundraisers. We are agents of social change. We can save the world. We can take an area of injustice and improve that.
I know I rely on a host of fundraisers at other causes that I care about to fight for a better world and in turn, there are probably quite a few expecting me to do the same.
So let’s not make 2020 a year for hindsight, let’s fight back together. We are an incredibly supportive industry so let’s lift each other up. Let’s combat whatever drives us to despair in the wider world with our own outstanding work. Let’s rely on each other.
What will your #FundraisingResolution be?
About Oli Hiscoe