The Heart Behind Match Day

The marketing team at GMCF has been taking turns attending our affiliate Match Days. It has been a great opportunity to visit surrounding communities and see firsthand all the hard work and planning that goes into these events while sharing in the excitement alongside them.

Most recently, I attended Wamego and Greater Geary Match Days with our Director of Communications and Engagement, Jayna Ukrazhenko. While there, we helped capture content for their Facebook pages by visiting the nonprofits that were tabling and asking if they wanted to film a short video or take a picture that we could share on behalf of the community foundation.

While attending Greater Geary Match Day, one conversation stood out to me. Dirk, who was representing First United Methodist Church, shared a message in a short video that has stuck with me ever since.

Dirk said, “Give where your heart says to give.” He followed that with, “It's all good, just thank you for being here.” I really loved this message because it showed how grateful he was to see people coming together to support their community. To me, his words were a reminder that the real impact of Match Day goes beyond the dollars raised and comes from seeing how much people genuinely care about the community they call home.

His words reminded me why this work is so meaningful. Everyone has something different they can give, and I think that's what makes philanthropy so special. There is no right or wrong way to give, and no dollar amount is too small. Every person who chooses to be involved is contributing to something bigger than themselves.

Getting to experience these Match Days has shown me how much heart goes into each of these communities. It's easy to focus on the numbers at the end of the day, but moments like our conversation with Dirk remind me that the impact of Match Day can't always be measured by the amount raised.