Everyone wants that "personal touch"

So I was at a Board Meeting for Orphan Helpers last Saturday, and one of the group discussions was how we can reach out to donors and give them that "special touch." You know...the phone call, email, handwritten letter, small gift....to show we care for them and appreciate their support of our ministry. As Communications Manager, this is my field and my responsibility. Not only do I send out the mass direct mail and emails to all our donors, but I'm in charge of the personal touches as well. I do this at work, but not enough. It's something I can improve on.

It got me to thinking outside of the work domain. How about my personal relationships? How often do I make the personal touches with my friends and family to let them know I care for them and love them and appreciate them. Do I make that personal phone call instead of just texting a friend? Do I send handwritten snail mail to long distance friends to say hey I miss you instead of just writing on their facebook wall. And now that we are on the topic of facebook and twitter for that matter, they are both good and bad. They definitely provide for a lot of networking and connections for businesses, ministries, and even people. But they have kinda stripped our society of the "personal touch". I mean, following someone's statuses on twitter or on facebook, knowing what they are doing throughout their day, does that really make you feel close and connected to that person? I guess in a way. But not in the way of true, deep relationships with people that we are called to have. I don't think facebook and twitter are like the devil as my mom says, but I do think they have some negative characteristics - (1) being a distraction, and (2) taking away that special, personal touch we need to keep alive in our relationships.

So, next time, before I think about tweeting, facebooking, texting, I'm going to challenge myself to think of better ways that I can do that "special touch." Perhaps next time I want to text, I will just pick up my phone and call the person. Or think of ways to give small gifts to certain people in my life that will just say "hey, you're special, i really care about you." What ways do you think are good ways to give that special touch?