John has much experience working in the philanthropic world, and takes great interest in charitable goings on today.

ALEX and ANI Introduce New Bracelet for Charity

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

bangleA new bangle by ALEX AND ANI is being rolled out benefiting the American Stroke Association. It will be available on April 20th. The new bangle will be called Wings of Change and every bracelet will donate 20% of the purchase price with a minimum donation of $25,000 to the American Stroke Association between April and December, 2016.

As Mary Ann Bauman, M.D. and chair of the American Stroke Association Advisory Committee said, “One in six of us will have a stroke in our lifetime. This generous gift will help us educate our communities and equip our healthcare professionals so fewer lives are negatively impacted by this disease.”

ALEX AND ANI is known for its amazing corporate responsibility as much as it is for its jewelry. This new charm bangle is the company’s first that directly supports the American Stroke Association. To date, however, ALEX AND ANI have raised almost $3 million for the American Heart Association since 2012.

As Nicki Maher, the senior vice president of ALEX AND ANI, CHARITY BY DESIGN said, “Having witnessed the effects of stroke first hand, we are honored to support the much needed awareness surrounding the doctors, patients, and family members who rely on funding to create life-saving changes in stroke and heart health. Through the Wings of Change bangle, ALEX AND ANI hopes to remind supporters of the resiliency that can be found in life’s beautiful transformations.”

Seventh Annual All American Air Table Tennis Classic

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

tennis-1141703_960_720The seventh annual All American Air Table Tennis Classic took place on Saturday at the River House in St. Augustine, Florida. It was hosted by the All American Air Charitable Foundation, the community out-reach arm of Steve Chapman’s All American Air business. They announced that they managed to raise $80,000 to benefit their charities. They had almost 400 guests, over 40 sponsors and 72 players.

As Christine Chapman, the foundation’s board president said, “We are grateful for the trust our community has placed in us by helping us raise over $300,000 during the past seven years, which we have donated to more than 70 charities in our area. After [Saturday’s] event, we are proud to say we have raised $80,000 more to distribute to worthy causes in St. Augustine this year. We love giving back and we want to do more!”

There were five tables with simultaneous table tennis play in three divisions. There was a silent auction, cocktails, dinner and a live band.

As Chapman said, “Seven years ago when Steve and I discussed having the first AAATTC with Derek [May], we assumed it would be a one-time event, but the community loves it, and we are continually committed to making it better, this year adding the Youth Championship as part of the weekend’s festivities.”

AO Foundation Receives Contribution

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: EducationTagged: , , , ,

The following individuals made a meaningful contribution to the AOTrauma Education Commission: Jesse Jupiter, Fiesky Nunez and Renato Fricker. They did this in their capacity of editors of the latest book released by AOTrauma entitled, ‘Manual of Fracture Management-Hand.’

Professor R. Geoff Richards became Director of Research and Development at AO Foundation in September 2009. Since then he has been boosting collaborative efforts between the AO surgeon network and its clinical divisions, while making more tenacious academic connections to universities and societies throughout the world. Further, he has been instrumental in augmenting the AO Foundation’s academic noteworthiness by continuing to enhance its quality of publications such as the one mentioned above.

Of this publication, Kodi Kojima, AOTrauma Education Commission’s Chairman profusely thanked the authors but “not just for the development of this fine publication but also for their ongoing commitment towards AO education.” He added that it was his “honor to congratulate them and all those involved and [he] look[s] forward to their continued contribution in the future.”

Thereafter, the editors went up to the stage with Kojima to cut the ribbon from the first book and it was then launched for sale.

Helping Those in Poverty One Bowl at a Time

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

potter-622708_960_720In Springfield, Ohio, one school is using its hands to help those in need. Matthew Johnson has taught his students in his Art II class how to use a pottery wheel and how to make bowls. Each student is keeping one bowl – and turning out hundreds more to be given away during their “Empty Bowls” fundraising dinners in Urbana and Bellefontaine.

The Empty Bowls project first started in 1990 when a high school art teacher in Michigan had this idea. Now, for the Empty Bowls evening, attendees will pay $15 for a meal of soup and bread and will have a hand-crafted bowl to take home. The money raised during the evenings will help the food banks, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign and Logan Counties, to collect, store and distribute over 526,000 pounds of food each year.

Last year, Johnson’s students made 435 bowls for the events and this year they have already finished 85 and have another 100 they are working on now.

Springfield University is also going to host a dinner to benefit Second Harvest on March 31 from 4:30pm until 7pm at the Student Union Center. Art students from Wittenberg made the bowls for that event. The Champaign County event with the student bowls from Springfield will be on February 25th at Urbana University from 5-7pm at hte Student Union Center. The Logan County event, also featuring the student bowls, will be on April 28th from 5-7 at the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center.
 

Riding Around the Continental US for Charity

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

bike-1080079_960_720Brian D’Apice is making a different one wheel at a time. An American army veteran, he’s decided to bike across the country to raise money for three charities. So far he’s traveled over 8200 miles and has passed through 26 states. As he explains on his website, he’s riding Around the Continental United States, not through it. He’s been on the road since May 4th, 2015.

He has had 10 flat tires and has eaten more than 33 pounds of peanut butter. He’s raised $34,000 for charity and he plans to continue until he gets all the way across the country.

Along the way, in the eight months that he has traveled so far, D’Apice has been speaking at schools and businesses to talk about the importance of education. As he said, “Most of the time it doesn’t seem to me like I’ve covered all those miles. But every time I give a talk, every time I see that blue line grow, it’s just like, wow.”

He’s in Louisiana now  and the charities he’s focusing on include Pencils of Promise, National Military Family Association and Connecting Families.

Find out more about Brian and follow his inspirational ride!

 

Which States Give Most?

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

badge-686325_960_720The US is ranked second overall in the 2015 World Giving Index. 95.4% of American households donated to charities with an average contribution of $2, 974. Of course not all states give evenly, and WalletHub recently examined the different practices within the 50 states.

Which was the most giving state? Utah. Maryland and Idaho came in second and third. Rhode Island was the least giving state, with Louisiana and California following close behind. To come up with these numbers, WalletHub looked at eight factors and gave a value from 1-100 for each factor.

WalletHub found that the red states were more generous than the blue states. They also found that many of the state with the richest areas in the country held back on giving. These included New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California.

American Sniper Charity Event Raises $500,000

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

Chris Kyle would have been proud. His wife, Taya Kyle, defeated the reigning NRA champion Bruce Piatt at the “American Sniper Shootout” charity event that was named for him. Together, they raised $500,000 for her deceased husband’s charity and she ended the competition with a perfect score.

For the competition, the shooters used rifles which were developed with input from Kyle’s husband. This includes the “RapidLok Target Acqusition’ technology that tracks targets while the trigger is being pulled. Kyle used the computer-equipped M600 and M800 rifles to achieve her perfect 100% of her shots.

The company that makes the rifles was so sure that Kyle would defeat Piatt (who competed with the M4A1, M110 and M2010) that they offered to pay him $1 million if he won the contest!

As Taya said about the equipment, “Our first responders and military members regularly face situations most of us cannot imagine. They need every advantage for precision and efficiency to protect and serve while minimizing collateral damage and risk to themselves. [The technology] would have saved lives of friends we have lost and will save life and/or limb of those who put it all on the line for the 99% of us they choose to give their life for.”

Children’s Ball for the Children’s Research Fund

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: Charity ActivityTagged: , , , ,

Each year the Children’s Ball fundraiser takes place to benefit the Children’s Research Fund. Established in 1951, the Fund’s purpose is to raise money to advance medical research. In 1991, they began their affiliation with the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and they are now the principal benefactor of the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute.

Each year, the Children’s Research Fund hosts the Children’s Ball. This year’s ball, on December 5th, 2015, was the 57th Annual Children’s Ball. It was called “Imagine! – Brining Possibilities to Life” and was made possible by the generous contributions of people and organizations who purchased tables. These include: Beazley Group, Conifer Health Solutions, Baker Tilly, Jamie and Marc Pasquale, Tracey and Chaka Patterson and many others.

The celebratory event is the culmination of their campaign which raised more than $2.5 million in support of pediatric medical research. Co-chairs were Brent and Katie Gledhill and Eric and Kim Smith. The evening included cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and a science fair to begin. There was entertainment provided by Ken Arlen Orchestra. Then there was the evening program, dinner, a special presentation and entertainment. Certainly, with the help of so many like Marc Pasquale, the evening was a great success.

Taylor Swift Helps Kids Sing

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

Taylor Swift is known to be incredibly generous with her money, and her most recent actions prove this, once again, to be true. Swift committed to giving the proceeds from her hit single “Welcome to New York” to NY public schools when she first released it in October of 2014.

She is putting the money into the already existing program called SING, which enables high school kids to put on annual musical productions in a competition between schools. Her $50,000 donation will allow ten more schools to join in the program in 2016, bringing the number of schools to 20.

As city Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said, “This is a wonderful program for developing passions in the arts and for building school and community spirit. The SING students are going to gain skills … that they can use in college and throughout their lives.”

12th Annual American Girl Fashion Show

Posted on
By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

It’s always a great thing when you can teach children from a young age about charity and giving back. And that’s just what happened at the 12th annual American Girl Fashion Show that took place at Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Oneida County, New York recently. The event featured a doll salon where you could get your American Girl doll polished and looking pretty. It had a photo booth, a raffle and other activities.

All money raised at the event helped to fund programs and services offered by Upstate Cerebral Palsy.

As Kathy Hartnett, Upstate Cerebral Palsy Community Development Vice President said, “It really is about accepting children with special needs and that no matter how young you are, a lot of young girls are here with us today, you can still do something to help someone else.”