On the agenda this evening is to finalize an hour-long presentation that I will be giving at a conference this weekend put on by Oregon State’s Veterinary school and the International Veterinary Student Association.

The title of the talk is “The Road to Compassion”. I’ve been asked to speak about how CWOB formed, how we developed, obstacles we’ve encountered, experience or qualities that have helped me as a veterinarian to found and guide the organization….basically to give an overview of our history and the inside scoop on starting and running an international non-profit.

I will be speaking to a wide-eyed group of veterinary students with a keen interest in international work.

I’ve decided the most engaging angle is a candid narrative about how I started in this work, how the organization evolved, and to highlight key junctures in our progression. It is a very personal presentation and I hope it will be of interest and, most importantly, inspirational to the group.

I do think when veterinary students {and, lots of folks, really} think of our international efforts there is sometime a slightly over romanticized view of the work that we do — sweeping into remote third world villages and saving lives by the thousands in a makeshift veterinary hospital with sweat dripping off our brow and mariachi music playing in the background; rescuing starving animals by the dozen off the streets where they were languishing in the unrelenting heat; performing life saving surgeries by the light of a candle in a dirt floored shack….

Okay, okay, I admit to having done all of the above.

But, truth be told, running and operating an international non-profit goes far beyond the on the ground work with the animals. Administrative duties pile up faster than you can imagine and soon you find yourself buried in accounting, fundraising, donor cultivation, donor acknowledgement, program development, daily correspondences with any and everyone involved in your work, developing a board, making budgets, recruiting and managing volunteers….the list goes on and on.

The truth is, it is hard, hard work. Tedious work. I am thankful that my passion and commitment have been able to sustain me and give me the wherewithal to get it done, but it isn’t all saving animals and the hands-on gratification of our work in action – there is a lot of office work and organizational management that simply must be done.

That said, I’ve decided not to really highlight the administrative portion of the organization…I don’t want to sugarcoat things, but  I don’t really think that should be the focus of the talk..after all, my hope is to inspire, not dampen enthusiasm for someone who wants to make a difference.

I plan to speak openly about what we’ve done and what can be done and how anyone can make a difference if their heart and passion are aligned toward a cause.

Here’s to hoping it goes well.