What’s in the name Futprints
Where did the name come from? Why is the foundation called is Futprints? Why is it spelt with a U? Is it about ecology? Is it Foodprints or Footprints? These are many of the questions I’ve received regarding the Foundation so hopefully below you’ll be able to find the answer to these questions and any others you may have. If there is anything else that you’d like to know please feel free to contact us.
Where the name came from?
So to start with thinking of a name for a foundation isn’t the easiest thing in fact it’s surprisingly pretty difficult. To make things easier for myself I brainstormed what was important in a name and for me the important things were that it’s easy to pronounce and spell by Polish and English speakers, an unique word that will easy to find on the net, and not too corny.
After a few weeks of struggling to think of something or anything that vaguely fit the criteria above, so I decided to run a competition on Facebook for who could come up with a name for my foundation. I gave everyone 10 days to think and however good the suggestions were, none of them were quite what I was looking for. After 9 days I was still none the wiser of what to call the foundation, however the last suggestion (by my sister) just a few hours before the end of the competition was the name ‘footsteps’. She wrote that this reminded her of a poem we had on the wall in the bathroom whilst growing up.
Something about this name and poem got me thinking. The actually name of the Poem is ‘Footprints in the sand’ and although I knew this poem quite well I reread it a few times and for a few other reasons I knew that this would be the name.
Why Foundation Futprints.
The Poem Footprints (at the bottom of the page) for me is a great reminder that through the good and bad times God is there. This concept of being there no matter what encapsulated my idea for the core value for the foundation. To be full of people who are there for people of various backgrounds, walking alongside them in the good times, and ‘carrying’ and supporting them in their times of trouble; and to do this even if they don’t recognise that it is at these times they are being ‘carried’.
The song Footprints by Leona Lewis based on the poem underlines this concept.
Also the idea of footprints reminded me of an English saying “You can’t understand a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes,” or “Don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes”. These saying originated from the book ‘To Kill a Mocking bird,’ with the original quote being: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” The idea of footprints for me is that it can be so easy to judge people who have had a problematic life by having a look at where they have been or what they have done and making a judgement. It is so easy to blame or judge them without getting to know them or trying to see things from their point of view. And actually it’s impossible to completely understand someone else walk in life.
One of the key aspects of Foundation Futprints is to try to breakdown these pre-judgements of people from everyone’s view point, from that of the wealthy and those not so well off. And together we can support each other through the good and bad times.
So why is it spelt Futprints and not Footprints.
First reason was that I wanted it to be something that Polish people could spell and as Polish is a phonetic language where oo would be pronounced as two o’s I knew this could be confusing; in Poland they spell football – futbal. The second reason was that in order that people could find out about the Foundation and the work we were doing I wanted a name unique enough that when you searched for it on google you got less than a million results. When I typed Futprints in to Google I just got 2043 search results and for me that was the icing on cake.
Is it about ecology?
In short no, Foundation Futprints isn’t specifically about your environmental footprints and how to reduce it. However for me it is a very important aspect of living and that we should be environmentally conscious in reducing our environmental footprint in order to conserve the finite resources we have. The conservation of our environment should be a concern for all as it can affect the health and wellbeing of our friends, family and those we don’t know, for now and generations to come.
Is it Foodprints or Footprints?
It’s Footprints (in Polish ślady stóp). This question sounds a strange to English speakers but I have been asked I’ve had this question a few times it’s mainly because they can sound pretty similar. But thinking about it if there was some way I could print food I definitely would : ) .
| Poem: Footprints in the Sand |
| One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there were one set of footprints. This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints. So I said to the Lord, “You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?” The Lord replied, “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you.” Copyright © 1984 Mary Stevenson, from original 1936 text, All rights reserved Mary Stevenson http://www.footprints-inthe-sand.com/index.php?page=Poem/Poem.php |