Thirteen Letters. Chapter Ten.

The songs that Maxine had chosen for me to sing, all went Platinum, songs that had previously been unknown to the world at large, was now sung around the world. They loved the beat, rhythms, and above all the videos of me singing in them.

So, we all became wealthy, My team and Maxine’s. Maxine had suggested to us all, this didn’t include the twelve who worked in our home and garden for they were separate to the Team; they were, I had been informed later on by Maxine, that they were before they worked for me, “Had been good with their money,” Maxine wanted each of us to choose a charity, so that we could all give to them.

She wanted us to look on the internet, and search for small, unknown charities, to do our research and privately pick one, then donate money to them. Maxine had suggested one tenth of what we earned, but that was just her guideline, we could give more than that or less, it was entirely up to us. But she had said, “The more we gave, in the scope of things, the more we would get back, when we needed it the most.” Maxine also explained, “The getting back, didn’t just mean financially, but in health and peace of mind, or in any other way, for other things, money couldn’t buy health and peace of mind etc.”

We all had a day, laid aside, that we would all work, at looking for the smallest, and best charity, for there are many out there in the UK and they all had to be in the UK, that was all Maxine asked. To be honest it was exciting.

When it was first suggested to us, I wasn’t bothered, I had thought, why, but once I had started to look, wow there were literally thousands and thousands, none of them government funded, relying on merger funds, and some were about to go under, and some had sadly closed down, for lack of funds.

I chose a hospice; I also know they are dear to Maxine’s heart. She had been to one once, when a friend from work was ill in there, a small group of them had gone, she was very impressed, she had told me, “The doctors and nurses wore their own clothes, and in her bedroom, there was a real fire, it looked like she was in her own home, it looked homely with a sofa, table, chairs and a bed, there was also a lamp and other lovely things, the walls and pictures were beautifully decorated.” It was many years ago, and she had never forgotten it, she had also told me, “I wish I had the courage to sit with a dying person, just to be there for them, to visit them once a week, to just chat if they wanted to chat or just to be there whenever they opened their eyes, knowing they were not alone, to be with them, if their family wasn’t there, or if they had no family.” She had also said, “And now it’s too late.” I felt her deep sadness, and said, “It’s not too late.”

Maxine has said, “All donations was to be anonymous, and to include a P.O. Box number for them to write back to say, “Thank You.” If any of them didn’t reply with a thank you, within a month, then no more money was to be sent to them again, so it was very important that included in the money was the prepaid envelope for them to write back within the month, no stamp was needed, even the paper was included, all they had to do was write on it, if English wasn’t their first language, then it would be in theirs.

It was really nice to think of others, in our busy lives, I must admit I had been guilty of looking at some people and thinking, everything is OK with them, but looks can be deceiving, once we are alive, we all have different needs.

So, twenty-four charities would be chosen, and blessed, there was always a buzz in the air on this day. None of us was ever to discuss the charity we had given to, for it was private and personal to us. This fabulous, gesture was to be done once a year.

Maxine was always full of ideas, and she also encouraged us to give our ideas too in the six-monthly staff meetings, and this did include the staff that worked at our home. A lovely spread was always there, but usually Maxine would book a private room, at a small restaurant, giving them the business, and each time one of us would suggest the place for us to eat, and whoever got the most votes, then that’s where it would be held.    

Lisa had a one to one with Maxine, each month or with anyone else she wanted to, it was her choice, I on the other hand, didn’t have a one to one with Maxine, in the room with me, there was some of my friends and some of the males from her team and Maxine. That seemed a bit unfair, but that’s how Maxine wanted it.