Archive for May 2010 | Monthly archive page
There are a lot of changes going on at Giving Children Hope: Programs are growing, staff is changing; and through it all, God is faithful.
As a small staff, friendships are easily built here. So when a staff member moves on it is a bittersweet time. As some of the staff members are moving onto marriage, to graduate school or onto the private sector, we wish them well. We pray they will continue to stay in God’s will and be blessed. They are leaving the organization stronger than it was before. In fact, every person who has been a part of the GCHope family has been integral to the building of this organization.
And of course the most important part of this organization: You. We thank you for being faithful to Giving Children Hope. We know God has great plans to use this organization to complete His work here.
You will see new blog postings here from various staff and community members. We will continue to keep it current with the happenings of GCHope and its partners, keeping an open dialogue with the community.
Keep checking the web site for new changes that are coming and see how God is growing this place!
Giving Children Hope has been a part of my life for almost 3 ½ years now. I remember my first day coming in the door. I didn’t want to live in Orange County so I was certain I wouldn’t take the job – I was just simply practicing my interview skills since it had been many years since my last interview. I decided I’d try working here – but just for three months. I had no idea that I’d stay so long – I had no idea how cool of a place GCHope is!
In truth, this place can be addicting. If you like to be involved in serving others this is a good place to work. __And if you want to be involved locally AND internationally, it’s a great place to be.__ So it’s not been an easy decision after so long to take on a new challenge.
But there comes a point when it’s time to pass the baton to others. Growth often happens in organizations when new people come in with new ideas and that’s what I believe is going to happen after I’m gone. As for me, I’m making a move back to the private sector to work as the Giving Account Manager for “TOMS Shoes”:http://www.toms.com/ – you know that shoe company that gives away a pair for every pair they sell. So I’m still going to be involved in helping projects all over the world, but just from a different angle this time.
Thanks for being a great audience for my many blogs and videos over the years. Thanks for inspiring me to do more to change the world! I know you’ll continue to inspire me as I now read the blogs instead of writing them. GCHope can’t change the world without YOU – so thanks for all you do to change the world!
Many blessings,
Jenise
Last week I watched a video produced by “Socialnomics”:http://socialnomics.net/, a social media blog designed to cover the latest trends in social media.
Granted that the blog is trying to sell a product, the statistics are still impressive. The shift in social media is significant enough- a gross understatement- to make you take a look at not only how people will do business differently, but how nonprofits will operate differently.
Soon enough, nonprofits won’t have a choice in whether they want to participate in social media. They will need it to cultivate the next generation of donors and volunteers. The donor will no longer come to you. We are ushering a generation that wants the information now and tailor the news they receive. We must now find them.
At Giving Children Hope we use “Facebook”:http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=864220017#!/pages/Buena-Park-CA/giving-children-hope/10766937189?ref=ts, “Twitter”:http://twitter.com/gchope and “YouTube”:http://www.youtube.com/user/GivingChildrenHope. Communicating through social media has forced us to hone our message, do a better job of branding, and learn how to effectively tell our partners’ stories. We’ve created a nonprofit that values transparency. We believe this is important especially in a world where someone can make a statement by simply clicking “Like” or “Unlike”.
If nonprofits are going to use these avenues to reach a new generation, they will have to start viewing their web site as an important marketing tool as well. More nonprofits will need to start to care about search engine optimization (SEO) and content. This content is what is posted on social media avenues, “retweeted” and shared by users. Two of our last big donors found us because entered key words into Google that matched the content and titles we were generating from our web site. Those are unique experiences. We made it easy for them to find us by our SEO and the transparency we presented on our web site. But interesting content kills two proverbial birds with one stone: it helps with SEO, but also generates something to be tweeted or shared on YouTube by users. This isn’t rocket science, but many are still resisting.
Access to these free tools can do great things for your nonprofit: increase donations, increase volunteers, increase awareness. But only if you use these tools correctly and understand how important it is to shift with the new culture of empathy. What donors and their peers think about your nonprofit, your credibility and your effectiveness in the community, matters. So what does this mean for nonprofits? Start caring about social media and the web site you manage. You can’t afford not to.
An estimated 1,000 people lined up on May 8 for Orange County’s first health expo to get free medical care as part of an event to help the uninsured and underinsured. The event offered free exams, including dental and vision, as well assistance to help residents learn their options for public health care.
Giving Children Hope’s mobile medical clinic was present to help facilitate basic care to those in attendance.
Each quarter I attend networking lunches hosted by “Westmont College.”:http://www.westmont.edu/ Our Orange County networking group is growing and today Andrew Cathy, grandson of the founder of “Chick-fil-A,”:http://www.chick-fil-a.com/#home was our speaker.
I have to admit that it hasn’t been that long that I have been aware of Chick-fil-A but I am a fan. Not only is their food fresh, they seek to do good with their business.
If you don’t know much about them, they have 1,500 stores in 38 states. They are credited with inventing the chicken sandwich and for developing the concept of having food available in malls. They did this first in 1967 and they were the only food business outside of Piccadilly Café. They also happened to be the inventor of the chicken nuggets.
Their system-wide sales have reached $3.2 billion!
__Clearly they have a successful business model but what is so impressive is how they have chosen to implement biblical principles even when it might not seem like a smart thing to do.__ For instance, the company has a long-standing policy that they would be closed on Sundays. Now, when you have a business in a mall and you choose to be closed on a Sunday, you are taking a risk. However, from the beginning they wanted to honor the Sabbath and decided that if they needed to be open 7 days a week to sell chicken then they would find something else to do. As it turns out, they sell more chicken in 6 days than most of their competitors can sell in 7.
When asked about their success, Andrew gave three points
First, he said they were built on solid biblical principles
Second, they partnered with others through franchises and provided all of the real estate needed. This provided the relationship and talent that was needed to expand.
Third, their food was always fresh and fast.
**One of the things that struck me was the fact that they seem to genuinely care about each and every customer.** They want their employees to be sensitive that those waiting in line for chicken might have had tragic news so you should treat everyone well. As a matter of fact, the back of their business card has two sentences.
To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.
And
To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.
They are taking the principles of Matthew 5:41 and trying to be a model in providing service to their customers.
So that was my lunch learning more about Chick-fil-A. I’m a fan of businesses who treat their employees well and who give back. Chick-fil-A does both. They also have really good chicken.
Giving Children Hope was a part of the second Los Angeles free health care clinic, its mobile medical clinic serving as pediatric center in the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
Here is the most recent statistics from Remote Area Medical/Los Angeles (RAM/LA:
“Remote Area Medical/Los Angeles (RAM/LA) finished its second Los Angeles free clinic after seven days at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Supported by the Los Angeles medical, dental, and vision professional community, the free clinic provided services to approximately 6,556 patients total as of 2 p.m. Monday, May 3rd, with four hours left to go. Patients received free dental exams, dental cleanings, tooth extractions and root canals; vision exams and prescription glasses; mammograms, Pap smears, podiatry consultations, and more. RAM/LA’s first Los Angeles-based clinic, last year at the Forum in Inglewood, lasted eight days and provided approximately 14,500 services to 6,344 patients. This year, the RAM/LA clinic has provided approximately 16,120 services as of 2 p.m. on Monday, May 3rd over a seven-day clinic. An additional 1,620 services over last year have been provided, with a daily average of 2,300 services this year versus 1,820 last year. “This year’s event is about Los Angeles coming together, as a community, to help our own during this economic downturn,” said Don Manelli, RAM/LA event producer. “Over 60 organizations and community groups, large and small, have contributed all of the medical resources and volunteers to help make this clinic a tremendous success.”
“Read full press release here”:http://www.ramfreeclinic.org/assets/files/pdf/RAM-LA_May_3.pdf
