The Arc Angels

Several years ago, Iris Arc Crystal, a company I co-founded with Francesca Patruno, experienced a lull in business. We had recently hired several new employees and hoped that the slowdown was only temporary. However, in the meantime, we had work enough for only four days of the week. So, instead of letting 20 percent of our work force go or sending them home one day per week, we decided that we would keep everyone on the payroll for the entire week, working from Monday through Thursday, and taking Fridays to do service projects in our hometown of Santa Barbara.

I remember phoning several service agencies to find out what was needed in the community. We divided up into three groups and showed up where the agencies said they most needed us. The first week, the group was involved with went to a very old Ukrainian gentleman's home to do a total cleanup of his house and garden. When we arrived, an elderly woman greeted us at the door. We thought she was the wife, but it turned out she was the daughter. She was 75, and her father was 97! She told us what we needed to do, and we proceeded to clean the house from floor to ceiling and clean up the yard as well. It is amazing how much work a group can get done when everyone is working together and being of service to someone who really needs the help. That gentleman's house went from dirt and dinginess to a sparkling clean palace by the time we finished at the end of the day.

The thing I most remember about that day, however, was not the great cleaning job that we did, but something altogether different. When we first walked into the house, I noticed the wonderful pen-and-ink drawings that adorned the walls in all the rooms of the house. I asked the daughter who had done them. She said that her father had, and that he hadn't taken up art until he was 80 years old! I was dumbfounded: these drawings were works of art that could have easily been hanging in a museum. At the time, I was in my early 30s and wanted to do something that would utilize my creative and artistic capabilities more than being the president of a giftware company would allow. I had been feeling that it would be too difficult to make a change at this "advanced"stage of my life. Boy, did my limited belief system get expanded that afternoon!

We continued to do service projects around town for several more weeks, including completely painting someone's home and setting up a large bleacher for a horseback riding academy for physically challenged children. We had a lot of fun and did a lot of good. We ended up with the nickname The Arc Angels. In addition to the good feelings that came from helping out others, the good feelings we shared as employees of a company that cared for both its employees and the community, went a long way toward creating a work atmosphere that was a joy to be part of.

几年前，我和弗兰西斯卡·帕楚诺共建的爱里斯·亚克水晶公司经历了一个困难期。那时我们刚雇了几名新员工，心里希望这种低迷状态只是暂时的。而同时，我们一周只需工作四天。为了避免流失百分之二十的劳动力或每周给员工放假回家一天，我们决定给每人发放全周薪金，周一至周四工作，周五则在家乡圣巴巴拉服务。

记得为了了解社区的需要，我给好几家服务公司打过电话。我们分为三组，去服务公司说最有需要的地方。第一周，我所在的小组去一位年迈的乌克兰人家，为他的房子和花园做大扫除。我们到的时候，一位老妇人在门口迎接我们。我们以为她是老人的妻子，而结果她却是他的女儿。她75岁，她父亲已是97岁了！她吩咐了需要做什么后，我们就开始由天花板至地板清洁起房子以及打扫起院子来。当众人为帮助真正有需要的人而在一起团结努力时，一个群组能完成的工作量真是惊人！一日下来，我们完工后，老人的房子由满是尘污变为清洁光亮。

然而那天令我印象最深刻的不是我们做的了不起的清洁工作，而是别的事情。我们刚刚走进那座房子的时候，我注意到房子里所有房间的墙上都挂着非常美丽的水墨画。我问老人的女儿是谁画的。她说是她的父亲，而且他到80岁的时候才开始对艺术产生兴趣！我傻眼了∶这些画是完全可以挂在博物馆里展出的艺术品。当时我三十岁刚出头，不甘于只当个礼品公司的老总，很想做点什么可以好好利用上我那艺术创造力的事。可我一直觉得要在生命中这个"高级”阶段的时候做改变太难了。天啊，那天下午，我那点狭隘的想法得到了多大的鼓励！

我们继续在城区一带又服务了几个星期，包括为某人的家做粉刷房屋、为向体能挑战的儿童在赛马会建了一个大看台。我们得到了许多乐趣并做下许多好事，最后还赢得"亚克天使”的称誉。除了通过帮助他人而获得良好的感觉以外，我们还长期分享了身为这家既关心雇员也关心社区的公司中一员的美好感觉，营造出一股欢乐的工作气氛。