There are so many great, worthwhile causes to support. There is so much need in the world. As a marketer I have worked with non-profits for years, yet I can only afford to donate my time and energy to a few.
Here are a few causes that I lend my time and talents to:
Celiac Disease Awareness
Spreading the word about celiac disease and educating people about celiac disease has been a passion of mine for the past 10 years. Currently 1 in 100 people in the U.S. have celiac disease, but most of them don’t know it! I have seen the damage to people’s health, and lives from going undiagnosed. The average time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis is still seven years. My goal is to help spread the word with the goals of awareness and diagnosis.
I have worked to raise awareness though a support group, blogging, publishing articles on the web, social media, public speaking, newspapers and television news outlets.
Through the Greensboro Gluten Free Support Group I have also founded the annual Greensboro Gluten Free Food Drive which gets gluten free food donations for the Greensboro Urban Ministry Food Bank.
TEDxGreensboro
TEDxGreensboro is an independent TEDx event. The organization is a think tank of individuals familiar with TED and who are broad big thinkers. We all came together to develop the event which will focus on Greensboro and its future. I’m proud to be in my seventh year of doing strategic digital marketing for this organization. I’m also on the planning committee.
Visit TEDXGreensboro.com for more information.
Women Walking with Hope
This organization is founded and run by my wife Lynley SanGeorge and is for immigrant and refugee women. The women come from many different countries and their stories are unique and their own. However, leaving your home, friends and family, and moving to a new country with different customs, language, sights and sounds, inevitably brings similar struggles and feelings of isolation. Women Walking With Hope holds weekly walks to bring women together to build relationships and practice English.
They also hold baby showers and virtual baby showers for women with little or no family and support system here.
Visit WomenWalkingwithHope.org for more information.
Grace Community Church – Missions Team
As a volunteer for the Missions team at Grace Community Church, I help support missionaries locally and internationally. We work with the resources that we have on hand to best support these missionaries as they help people in all walks of life and teach them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Extreme Nonprofit Makeover
In it’s 14th year, the Extreme Nonprofit Makeover is made up of a group of local “companies who care”. Each year we pick one local Greensboro, NC non-profit, and give them an “extreme technology makeover”, which includes anything from computers, televisions, a new website, branding, strategy, PR, digital marketing and much more. My company, Magnetic Ideas is now in our 5th year of sponsorship for this annual event.
Visit the Extreme Non-Profit Makeover Website for more information.
ConvergeSouth
ConvergeSouth is a annual non profit web conference. It began as a blogger conference over 10 years ago. Now it’s evolved into a web conference where creativity, technology and business all converge. As someone who is enthusiastic about all three of these topics I’m always excited to help plan, execute and speak at this event.
Visit ConvergeSouth.com for more information.
La Luz de Cristi Ministries
La Luz de Cristo translates as “ The Light of Christ” is a non-profit mission organization, established in 2007 that supports the people of Empalme de Boaco and surrounding communities in Nicaragua. This is done through a variety of programs and ministries that focus on health maintenance, community development, leadership training and children ministries.
Visit nicaraguaclinic.org for more information
Glenwood Family Ministries
Glenwood Family Ministries is a 501(c)3 organization based in Greensboro, NC. The organization seeks to empower youth in the Glenwood neighborhood of Greensboro grow intellectually, spiritually and socially.
Glenwood Family Ministries maintains close partnerships with several churches, schools and other organizations in Greensboro in an effort to provide a holistic experience to students in our programs. Currently, program offerings include after-school tutoring, K-12 girls dance classes, middle & high school summer camp, and an elementary & middle school summer reading program.
Glenwood Family Ministries newest endeavor is Hope Academy, a non-denominational Christ-centered school for kids in the greater Glenwood neighborhood of Greensboro, NC. Hope Academy successfully opened in August, 2012.
Visit glenwoodfamilyministries.org for more information about Glenwood Family Ministries.
Visit hopeacademygso.org for more information about Hope Academy.