If you've ever read a book to a child, you know how captivating a story can be for their young mind. Wide eyes, listening ears -- it's a wonderful sight to watch a child hear a new story, or one they want to hear over and over. Children love stories because they help explain concepts much easier than a complicated formula with numbers or charts and graphs, and quite frankly, stories are simply more entertaining. The Bible is full of stories!
But children aren't the only ones who connect with stories. Adults love them too. Whether you prefer to read a book, magazine, or blog, or perhaps watch stories through TV or movies, learning about someone's journey and specific season of life can have a profound impact on your own empathy and compassion for others. Learning through storytelling can also make us more aware of injustices in the world and important causes that could use our voices or energy to help improve some aspect of life for others.
Buckner International's blog publishes a variety of content, but mostly this platform is used to share stories of hope. Many people know that Buckner has served vulnerable children, families, and seniors since 1879, but those are broad categories of people. We want our audience to know real faces, names, struggles, victories, plans, priorities, and next steps. On Buckner's blog, you can read stories about a child who finally found a permanent family after hundreds of days in foster care, a single mother who graduated with a nursing degree after struggling with financial independence and caring for her children while working, or a family who improved their economic situation by starting a new small business. While Buckner provides services to help individuals in difficult life situations, the real story is the individual who clung to hope and trusted us to walk alongside them on the journey. It is our privilege to be a chapter in their larger life book, and we love helping them celebrate their victories through storytelling that others can understand and embrace.
Recently, I collaborated with other nonprofit leaders through the Forbes Nonprofit Council on an article discussing the value of blogging and what makes nonprofit blogs successful. Based on this post you're reading right now, I already gave the answer away, but here's a link to the Forbes article where you can read what I specifically had to say about the value of storytelling to nonprofit blogs.
If you read my previous blog post, you also know that I am a proponent of higher learning. And you can't pursue higher learning without being a reader. In fact, you've probably heard the saying from Harry Truman, "Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers." I agree with this statement and encourage you to read stories of hope and find a nonprofit organization that aligns with what is important to you. A great place to start is the blog of a nonprofit.