S. Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-Fil-A chain restaurants, was honored by President Bush with the President’s Call to Service Award at the White House April 15th, 2008 for his “life-long commitment to volunteer service.”

The President’s Call to Service Award is presented to recipients who have accumulated over 4,000 hours of volunteer community service. Mr. Cathy has dedicated well over that to numerous endeavors throughout his lifetime. He has actively participated in the health of the community by helping young people achieve their potential, as well as helping couples strengthen their marriages.

He has taught Sunday school to 13-year-old young men for almost 50 years. He also founded the Winshape Foundation in 1984 which reaches out to people to nurture and encourage them to be successful parts of the community. The Winshape Foundation offers annual summer camps for boys and girls, and marriage and corporate retreats for adults. Winshape has also added foster homes, and a challeng/ropes course to their grounds at Berry College. Recently Winshape began sponsoring domestic and international missions trips to reach young people in the worldwide community.

S. Truett Cathy is much more than just the successful owner of the “nation’s second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant”, he is a light and blessing to the non-profit community through his lifelong dedication to volunteer service. He has taken his business and service skills to a whole new level that reaches beyond the excellent service Chick-Fil-A offers to its patrons.

“He is a great example of a wealthy, successful business man who has been blessed by God and uses those blessings as opportunties to bless the community in so many ways,” said Ashley Watkins, a Non-profit Major at Southeastern University. “He is an inspiration to people who want to be successful even though they are going into the non-profit sector.”

Below is a video interview of S. Truett Cathy from CNN as he talks about combining business skills and faith:

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The 2007-2008 Academic Year marked the beginning of a new club on Southeastern University’s expanding campus: S.I.F.E. This club has recently returned from their regional competition where they were awarded “Rookie of the Year” and “1st Runner Up” in this region for the incredible projects they implemented within our community.

S.I.F.E. is the acronym for “Students In Free Enterprise.” It “is an international organization that mobilizes university students around the world to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders” according to their website www.sife.org.

Although S.I.F.E. has just recently been added to Southeastern’s list of clubs, their impact on the school and the community of Lakeland can already be seen. This year alone they taught the elderly how to work with computers and the internet, taught third graders about the importance of the orange to Florida’s agriculture and hosted a 5K race to raise money for future projects.

“Next year we really want to expand on what we have done, do bigger projects and expand membership into other majors,” said Michael Hanlin, a Junior completing his business degree at Southeastern, who presented at the regional competition in Orlando this semester.

Annually S.I.F.E. clubs from colleges across the world come together to compete in regional, national, and world competitions. A team from each school presents their club’s projects from the year in front of a panel of business leaders who serve as judges for the competition. Teams are rewarded based upon the success of their projects and the professionalism of their presentation. In this way they are motivated to constantly improve their projects by competing with other schools.

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Girl Scouts do more than just sell those delicious cookies. They are building and shaping young ladies into important parts of society.

I met with Troop #592 from Lakeland, Florida to get an inside look at exactly how Girl Scouts is impacting the ladies in this particular troop. Their troop leader, Lisa Yutzy, invited me to a local seminar on making your own rain barrel where part of her troop was attending in order to learn information for their Environmental Fair.

These seven fifth, and sixth, grade girls are planning and putting together their own Environmental Fair on May 17th, 2008 at Lake Parker Park. They have gathered their resources, gained support from various donors, planned and are preparing to implement their fair in order to earn the Bronze Award.

“The Bronze Award is the highest merit a Junior Girl Scout can earn,” said Mrs. Yutzy. For those who are unfamiliar with Girl Scouts of America, there are merit badges they earn for the various service projects and fun activities they do throughout their time as a Girl Scout. However, these girls are earning much more than just another patch for their vests, they are gaining valuable life experience.

They have learned the value of health and exercise through several camps where they learned how to water ski, knee board, sled, kayak, and much more. They have also traveled to St. Augustine, Florida and Savannah, Georgia where they learned about the history of the Girl Scouts organization, the history of the two states, how people lived in colonial Florida, and visited Marine Land to learn about ocean life.

Recently the troop went to C.S.I. Camp at Camp Wildwood and learned about DNA, fingerprinting, chemistry, and how to map out dominant and recessive genes. Almost subconsciously these young ladies are learning history, science and other skills in ways that are innovative and fun.

At their weekly meetings, the girls take turns leading the others in various activities to teach them how to be responsible leaders. They have taught one another how to cook and have even spent their meeting time providing food to Lighthouse Ministries in Lakeland.

During another meeting, the girls cut an apple in half, rubbed their unwashed hands on the fleshy inside of it, and left it out till their next meeting, one half untouched and the other defiled by their dirty hands. By the next week the dirty half was significantly different from the clean half.

“We could see how many germs we have on our hands,” said Stephanie Yutzy, Mrs. Lisa Yutzy’s step-daughter who is also one of the girl scouts. This simple science project taught the young ladies much about cleanliness and hygiene.

“This week we’re going to make box ovens,” said Hayley, one of the girl scouts of troop #592. This will prepare them for their next camping trip so they can actually make one and cook with it out in the woods!

Clearly these girls’ lives are being impacted by their involvement with Girl Scouts of America and they are being taught how to positively impact their own community of Lakeland through Girl Scouts. The experiences, life-skills and social skills they have accumulated through this nonprofit organization are priceless.

After the girls learned about water conservation and the use of rain barrels at the seminar I previously mentioned, I sat down to talk to them about the impact of Girl Scouts on their lives and this is what they said:

To see more examples of activities Girl Scouts participate in see the youtube.com video below:

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The next feature story may be about Girl Scouts of America, and the impact this organization is having on young ladies in our communities. The United Way does extensive research on the organizations that they choose to support to validate the programs that ask for their financial aid. If the United Way supports Girl Scouts, it must be an honest and worthy non-profit.

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Join Hands.
Open Your Heart.
Lend Your Muscle.
Find Your Voice.
GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER.
LIVE UNITED.

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That’s the new slogan for United Way…you know, that nonprofit organization that does …good stuff.
What exactly does the United Way do? I interviewed Susan Black, director of marketing and communications at the local Central Florida branch, who said that their new LIVE UNITED campaign should introduce us all to the community changing impact United Way has Nationwide.

Every community has issues that wreak havoc on the lives of children, families and disabled persons. Living United means being part of changing these issues in communities by working toward three initiatives: helping children through education, helping families through training and helping the disabled or elderly through wellness.

United Way is essential to any community because they financially support the various nonprofit organizations that provide the services to help such people. They also track the success of the programs to produce quantifiable results.

Mrs. Black pointed out that the organization’s main focus is not to simply temporarily relieve problems but to support programs that help people get their lives back on track. “It’s not enough to just feed someone who is hungry, we want to find out the root of the problem and help them fix that,” said Mrs. Black.

The United Way of Central Florida’s Community Impact Cabinet just did a huge research project studying the root causes of grade school dropouts. After speaking to professionals, studying statistics and bringing in analysts they discovered that a strong education began in preschool. So, they concluded, when a child is held back or not educated well enough in those first five years of life they have a significant likelihood to drop out of high school before graduating. A lack of an education then can lead to going to jail, teen pregnancy and/or dependency on government support for help. To prevent this issue United Way supports and refers people to nonprofit organizations who can help parents prepare their children for grade school.
A few examples of the local organizations who deal with childhood education that United Way supports are the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Salvation Army and Achievement Academy, Inc.

(This is a basic video about what United Way does to positively impact local communities across the nation.)

As one of the largest and most successful nonprofit organizations in the country, United Way knows how to create a unified community by supporting other nonprofits such as those previously mentioned. The Central Florida branch has 5 people on staff whose main purpose is to raise funds. They are the middle men and women between United Way and donors who prepare presentations, train volunteers and lead the loaned executives program.

The loaned executives program brings in business executives from big companies, trains them about the United Way and prepares them to give presentations to other companies to help raise funds. The majority of United Way’s funding comes from corporate businesses, their employees and individual donors. Then all of the collected funds are allocated to the various nonprofit organizations the United Way supports.

Volunteers can get involved at this point in many ways. Some volunteers from the business community help analyze the programs implemented by each organization and determine whether the program is worthy of funding. Other volunteers may be the ones who actually go into the community to test a program or help an organization develop a quantifiable way of evaluating a program.

Staff members from the United Way, such as Mrs. Black, also reach out to other nonprofit organizations to help them develop better public relations and marketing skills so that they can raise their own funds as well.

“I feel like I am involved and more a part of the community when I am actually doing something that changes people’s lives,” said Black. Other nonprofit employees also say the wonder of working for a nonprofit organization that helps people is that you know that your hours of hard work are not in vain.

Mrs. Black says the pay is the only downfall to working for a nonprofit. Many nonprofits cannot even afford to have any paid staff, but the United Way is one of only a few that actually can offer paid positions to their employees. Yet, like the majority of nonprofits, most of the staff is made up of unpaid volunteers who sacrifice their time to help their communities.

The United Way connects businesses and individuals to the nonprofits. The nonprofits connect to the poor, needy, helpless, elderly, disabled and uneducated. Then, as those people and their situations improve, they give back to the community, society and economy which feed the American businesses. It unites all of the pieces of a community together to make our little pieces of the world a better place.

Hence the slogan LIVE UNITED is an excellent way to explain to donors just exactly what the United Way accomplishes for the good of community, which includes you!

So LIVE UNITED, get out in your community and make a difference. Use your gifts and talents to help someone less fortunate than you. A great place to start is the United Way.

To volunteer, ask questions about referrals, donate or get more information, the Central Florida chapter (located at 5605 U.S. Highway 98 South in Highlands City just outside of Lakeland) can be reached via telephone at 863-648-1515. The local website is www.uwcf.org and the national website is www.unitedway.org. Also, the United Way has a facebook group named LIVE UNITED. To hear from other volunteers about their experiences with the United Way see the volunteer blog by clicking on the logo below. By the way, if you don’t have anything to do for Spring Break the United Way has many opportunities for you to serve in your community no matter what state you’re in. For alternative spring break plans click on the logo to see what other students are saying about United Way’s spring break initiatives. Also to see videos about alternative spring breaks done in the past see the think mtv link. Check out all of these resources to see how you can join the campaign and help others.

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Two women with vision and passion, two ill children, two dreams granted, and many more to be fulfilled!

Madonna Abruzzese (on the left) and Julie Duncan accept a $500 money card for the Dream Factory Florida chapter at the grand opening of the Office Depot on Highway 60 in Brandon, FL

Aubrey Moore and Chris Goff were the first two children in Florida whose dreams came true this last year through the help of the Dream Factory.

The Dream Factory’s purpose is to grant dreams for children ages three to 18 who have critical or chronic illnesses and have not had a dream previously granted by another organization such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Two examples of a critical or chronic illness would be cerebral palsy or hydrocephalus. These children are the heartbeat of the Dream Factory and granting their dreams is the desire of this organization with the help of funds and volunteers.

The Dream Factory sent Aubrey to Myrtle Beach with her family for the first family vacation they have ever been on. Her dream: to visit T.I.G.E.R.S. (the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species) in Myrtle Beach, SC where they raise baby “ligers” and train rare animals to act in TV commercials and movies. Then they sent Chris to Atlanta, GA where he witnessed a NASCAR race. His dream: to attend a NASCAR race with “unfettered access” to the cars and drivers (Dream Factory of Florida).

“If anyone is serious about nonprofit as a career and expect a salary, they need to expect that money will almost always be minimal,” Madonna commented. As she said before, “it will be the hardest job you ever love” because you get to pour out your energy, passion, inspiration and vision all for the sake of the good of others.

Katherine’s wish was to swim with dolphins

Mark’s wish was to meet the President of the United States, which was George W. Bush at the time

If you want to get involved with a nonprofit that raises money for critically and chronically ill children the Dream Factory is a great place to investigate. At all 37 existing chapters 100% of their funds goes to granting dreams for such children and raising awareness. They have chapters in 19 states, so look up the closest chapter to you and give them a call to see how you can volunteer. The contact for the Florida chapter is Madonna Abruzzese. She can be reached by phone at 1-813-480-6313 or via email at ladyabruzz@aol.com. For further information on the Florida chapter visit dreamfactoryflorida.com and for national information visit the national website at dreamfactoryinc.com. If you have a critically or chronically ill child who has a dream visit the national website previously mentioned and get in contact with the chapter closest to your home. They are always looking for more children with dreams in their heads to be granted!

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Overland Missions may have only started eight years ago as a Christian missionary non-profit organization, but they have grown immensely because of their divine backing

Overland Missions began back in 1999 by Philip Smethurst and now this missionary organization deploys expeditions to countries all over the world. Overland is actively working in 17 countries dispersed among Africa, Indonesia, South America and Latin America. This non-profit organization is living proof that God supports those who devote themselves to fulfilling the Great Commission. Overland Missions has a full time staff that raises all of their own support through personal fund raising. They come on board understanding that they must rely on God to provide for their material needs. Apparently he has.

Dave Philips, director of operations, sitting in the Overland Missions office at Destiny Christian Church on Merritt Island

“There is a different dynamic involved when raising money for the Lord…we raise money by faith,” said Dave Philips, Overland’s director of operations. Dave has worked with Overland Missions since the early days as a recon man and expedition leader. He knows first hand what it’s like to rely on God through faith for financial support. Overland Missions is funded completely by public and private donors through their employees. They do not do any organizational fund raisers to raise support.

The employees act as public relations person’s who speak in public forums about Overland Missions and tell the audience about what God is doing in these foreign countries through the help of Overland. The difference between these employees and those of other secular non-profits is that they have a divine backing. These guys know what they have been called to do and they are passionate about it, which makes fund raising that much easier.

According to Dave, each person must know what their vision is, how that connects to Overland Missions, be able to communicate that vision effectively and act in complete integrity with the funds one is blessed with. Those who want to work for a non-profit must be aware of the fact that they must be skilled communicators who possess high moral standards if their organization is to succeed. As a vital piece of the non-profit’s framework, each person should understand the weight they carry.

Dave also spoke about other hardships of working for a non-profit organization. As a non-profit employee, particularly for a Christian missionary organization, you have two full time jobs: to put in 40+ office hours a week and to raise money so you can eat! Some people coming into a position at a non-profit have worked in the business world and earned enough money to support them while they work for the Lord. Others come right out of school into this field and must find a way to support themsleves. Dave was one of those kids who joined Overland Missions when he was fresh out of college and the organization was in its infancy.

He talked much about the “frustrations of the twenties” when he first became a recon man for Overland. In your twenties, Dave said, one gets frustrated because they know God has placed dreams and visions in their hearts that they long to see come to fruition, but they have to wait. They have to realize that God is shaping them for their destiny, and until God brings it to pass, patience is the key. The greatest joy for Dave Philips came out of the “frustration of the twenties” when he realized that God would take care of everything else as long as he kept his focus on following God’s plan for his life.

Dave Killough, Expedition Operator, putting in hours at the Overland Missions office on Merritt Island

I also spoke to another Dave on staff, Dave Killough, who is the expedition operator. He says the most difficult part of working for a non-profit such as Overland is managing and motivating volunteer staff. He believes that although employees are not paid by the organization, each should work knowing that it is “unto the Lord and not unto men.” Dave Killough would probably agree with me that it takes highly motivated, focused and goal-oriented people to effectively operate a Christian, missionary non-profit organization. But he also said he finds great joy in his job at Overland because he gets to do something that isn’t “typical” and has a “higher purpose” than anything else he could be doing.

For those looking to do an internship with a non-profit, Overland offers internship and full time career missionary opportunities. Both positions begin with three months at their Africa base near Victoria Falls doing Missions work. They are also currently accepting applicants for their Advanced Missionary Training that will occur May 8 through July 31 and September 1 through November 23 of this year. For more information visit overlandmissions.com.

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