March 2013, TNKR was born. September 2013, I was ready to bury it. Many organizations like to mark the date they started, their growth and achievements, their success stories. What many don't discuss is the times they almost died as an organization. Six months after starting, the informal matching of volunteers with North Korean refugees almost died. * The students weren't contacting us. * The tutors were avoiding us. * We were hearing rumors about possible socializing and dating. * It seemed to be sliding into the worst form of "volunteerism," in which some volunteers were more concerned about their own experiences rather than the people they were supposedly helping. Without a change, the project's reputation would be ruined and it wouldn't be worth continuing. * The two organizers were battling about everything and couldn't agree about the basic approach. * My co-founder was working at a different job and could only focus on this on weekends and evenin
"No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work."--Mother Teresa (attributed)