Podcast episodes
Suzanne Tucker with Georgia Symphony Orchestra
Kat Reynolds with Veritiv
"Veritiv Corporation (NYSE: VRTV), headquartered in Atlanta and a Fortune 500® company, is a full-service provider of packaging, JanSan and hygiene products, services and solutions. Additionally, Veritiv provides print and publishing products, and logistics and supply chain management solutions. Serving customers in a wide range of industries both in North America and globally, Veritiv has distribution centers throughout the U.S. and Mexico, and team members around the world helping shape the success of its customers."
Kay Reynolds is the Manager of Community Relations for Veritiv focusing on cooperate social responsibility. This fascinating interview covers a variety of aspects of mission focus, sustainability, cultural inclusiveness, social issues awareness, their carbon foot print, data pieces, capacity building.Thanks, Kat Reynolds, for your service to our community!
Thank you to our sponsor, The Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta.
Sydney Langdon with Warner Brothers Discovery

Jai Rogers and Delta Community Credit Union

- It’s no coincidence that “community is in our name!”
- “We are actively involved with local chambers of commerce, schools and charitable organizations to this end and embrace the opportunity to give back to the communities where we live, work and serve.”
- “If our communities thrive, our members thrive and thus we thrive.”
- Delta Community Credit Union has 16 branches that actively work in communities both at the[...]
David Eady, Senior Manager, Industry Engagement with the Georgia Institute of Technology Scheller College of Business and the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business

- “...business-driven solutions to sustainability challenges ...”
- Sustainability is a "mission multiplier" and maximize the value of our mission
- Drawdown Georgia Business Compact is Georgia's initiative to do our part in helping to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This is based on the book, Drawdown, a comprehensive document of 100 solutions reduce of greenhouse gas emissions -[...]
Jamaal Greer and The Posse Foundation


Kayla Altland and Park Pride
"For over 30 years, Park Pride has engaged communities to activate the power of parks. Parks have the power to increase quality of life. They promote community engagement, health, safety, and revitalization. They make citizens happy, communities strong, and cities sustainable. Park Pride’s programs, leadership, and funding helps communities unlock these benefits in parks across Atlanta.
The formation of Friends of the Park group is the first step in creating positive changes in a neighborhood park."
We had the honor of speaking to Kayla Altland, Park Pride's program director, who is in charge of their Grand Making Program.- Park Pride believes great parks have the power to improve our quality of life and strengthen the fabric of our cities. When parks meet the needs and reflect the unique character of the communities they serve, they are welcoming[...]
Lauren Koontz of YMCA of Metro Atlanta
We visited with Ms. Lauren Koontz, the President & CEO of YMCA of Metro Atlanta, and discussed a myriad of this organization's incredible contributions:
- The goal of the Y is transformational change in the community benefiting all.
- YMCA of Metro Atlanta is the largest provider of early childhood education and care in the state of Georgia - birth to Pre-K.
- 90% of children the Y serves are at the poverty level. The Y equips them for kindergarten.
- Financial assistance is available based on need.[...]
Yunice Patrick of JJ’s Playhouse Children’s Museum & Gym

- Exposing children to career passions in a hands-on, face-to-face learning environment
- Children are born ON purpose-FOR purpose
- Proving an environment & tools to discover what they like and learn on their own
- Paying attention to what kids are interested in helps them develop their natural gifts and talents
- JJs Playhouse Children’s Museum & Gym has been designed and provides programming to introduce kids to what their purpose might[...]
Marlene Russell of Thyme 4 Friends

- What’s the backstory regarding the spelling of “Thyme?”
- What’s Thyme for Friends all about?
- Exercise, jokes, music and working the brain
- The 175 ways to breathe
- The most creative use of Zoom I’ve ever heard!
- Scoaializaton, stimulation and support for seniors
- Not so much a class as engaging in life
- Mentoring for in-home care providers
Thank you, Marlene Russell,[...]
Kristi Porter of Signify

- From where does a title like “Chief Do-Gooder” come?
- What’s a “Social Impact” company?
- Baking your social impact purpose into your business model
- The case for making your purchases from “Social Impact” businesses
- The importance of clear communication between a “Social Impact” business and a non-profit
- “Free” things a business can “donate:” An Introduction, Office Space, consultation (that may someday lead to a contract)...
- The garage sale metaphor... Somebody desperately wants the stuff you have but don’t really want
Thank you, Kristi Porter, for your service to our community!
Brought[...]
Enrique Alvarez of Vector Global Logistics


- “We set out to change the world”
- “The more you give, the more you get”
- The simple beginning - Donate some portion of every transaction
- Getting customers and suppliers involved
- “You have to be socially responsible to have a great company”
- There are many simple, easy, inexpensive things we can do that have an outsized impact
- Hire people that are purpose-driven. Given that, the business itself cannot help but become purpose-driven also
Thank you, Enrique Alvarez, for your service to[...]
Marcus Blackwell & Make Music Count

- Using math to play music? Yes! Hear about the “lightbulb” moment!
- Learn to play a song in literally minutes
- Marcus’ conversion” from music major to math major
- From idea to actually teaching music with math and math with music
- The connection between volunteering and entrepreneurship
- Let’s throw in some life and career mentoring while we’re at it
- The kids don’t want to stop! They want to learn more math!
Thank you,[...]
Ashley Jones of Love Not Lost

"After losing our daughter, Skylar, to a terminal condition, grief and depression hit me hard. The pictures we had of our family created a safe space for me to grieve and gave me permission to be whatever I needed to be in that moment. The tangible prints provided comfort, a way to carry on a relationship with my daughter, and allowed me to hold Skylar when she wasn't here to hold."
Hers is a truly powerful & compelling story. Join us as we discuss:- The powerful back-story of Love Not Lost
- Dealing with grief
- The power of an intentional photography session
- Helping others deal with grief and pain
- Photography & grief
- The Love Not Lost process [...]
Maury Wolfe of Cox Enterprises

- Actual CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in place more than a century ago!
- Sustainability & “Cox Conserves”
- A multi-billion dollar clean technology division in the works
- The Cox Social Goal: Empower 34 million people to lead more prosperous live by 2034
- Being a good corporate citizen is good for business
- Impact Measurement - a “Holy Grail?”
- The Cox Enterprises Scholarship Fund
- The Cox Impact[...]
Stuart Brown of Inspire Brands

- Helping the next generation pursue their dreams
- Why would a business invest so much money into operating a foundation?
- “People want to be part of a powerful story of doing good.”
- Involving both customers and suppliers in the community service ecosystem
- You can pursue success and pursue significance!
- Turing “if” kids into “when” kids
- How Inspire Brands evaluates requests for support
- Measuring impact - a challenge...
- 300 Million meals served to help end childhood hunger
- Why support and work with the Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta?
- Competitors working together to better the community - What can we[...]
Yvonne Whitaker of the NCR Foundation

- Her “both sides” perspective as a fundraiser and as a foundation executive
- Choosing causes and geographies to serve - a set of strategic, business decisions
- Impact - What’s the measurable outcome produced by the nonprofit? )This is the key factor in writing a grant request.)
- It’s an investment decision. Reinvest NCR revenue back into the communities that produced it.
- The grant process... (Some excellent hints and tips!)
- Why so[...]
Julie Teer & The Wellstar Foundation

- How a political background fits so for a nonprofit leader working to solve the problems we face as a nation
- “She believed she could so she did.”
- The opportunity to create fund and awareness raising events like 75,000 people “running for the cure” around the pyramids of Giza
- A fascinating perspective on work/life balance
- The collective impact and power of partnerships
- The "Six Pillars" of the Wellstar Foundation's vision
Carley Stephens of Gas South

- Gas South’s “above & beyond” commitment to community service, and how it developed
- Be A Fuel For Good
- 5% of Profits???!!!
- “Infiltrating” every role and every department
- Why corporate philanthropy is important to employees
- Corporate philanthropy IS good for business!
- Put people first. Do what’s right. Strive to win.
- Gas South’s philanthropic focus areas
- Making corporate philanthropy more effective
Thank you, Carley Stephens, for your service to our community!
Brought to you by the
Jai Rogers of the Delta Community Credit Union

- A lifetime of “urban planning” with one foot each in business and community
- The Delta Community Credit Union commitment to community service
- The focus on Education, Financial Education, health and well being of children and families
- A day-in-the-life of Jai
- “Circles of Influence”
- Community Service is good for business!
- The importance of[...]
Maurice Baker of Georgia Natural Gas

- The need for businesses to be a real part of the community
- Define your focus areas!
- Why GNG is such a strong supporter of the Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta and their 24th annual IMPACT Awards
- How to implement a community service process in your own business
- The TrueBlue Community Awards
- One piece of advice...
Thank you, Moe Baker, for your service to our community!
Brought to you by the Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta.
CVC's mission is to support member[...]
Jeri Hadaway & The Acworth Cultural Arts Center

- Getting people in Acworth to talk about the arts
- Building coalitions with other local arts orgs
- Art as the connective tissue that builds community
- The upcoming 11/6 Tour of Historic Homes
- Watch for the mystery theatre performance in March!
- Meet us in the jail!
- Jeir's long term goal of building an arts complex in Acworth
Thank you, Jeri Hadaway, for your service to our community!
Michele Blondheim of Aprio

- The company name derived from "Head & Heart"
- Definition of Corporate Citizenship
- Corporate Social Responsibility is now expected by stakeholders
- The Operation Hope/Aprio partnership
- Top-down AND bottom-up
- Board service as a professional development necessity
Thank you, Michele Blondheim, for your service to our community!
Christopher Kunney of DSS

- Caring Meds & n the ground healthcare delivery in West Africa
- The potential of telemedicine in serving economically challenged communities
- Leadership from the Morehouse School of Medicine with Healthcare Informatics
- Remote Robotic Surgery augmented by Virtual Reality - Seriously!!!
Thank you, Christopher Kunney, for your service to our community!
Todd Brown of Equifax

- The "3Ts" of community service
- The ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) of Equifax
- Todd's personal story of getting involved with community service
- Serving on a nonprofit board - The Red Cross of Atlanta in this case
- Donating your talent - For Todd it's to serve the Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta
- Making time for community service
- Adapting nonprofit services to the digital world
Thank you, Todd Brown, for your service to our community!
The Georgia Symphony Orchestra & GSO Music Works

- Students perform better academically in a broad range of measurements including IQ, working memory, creativity, grades, graduation rates and SAT scores.
- Veterans with serious wounds and/or PTSD demonstrate reduced stress, improved communication, better and faster cognitive rehabilitation, fewer social and emotional problems and enhanced recovery of coordination and physical skills.
- Seniors experience alleviation of symptoms of depression, improvement and recovery of memory, increased cognitive processing speed and better overall mental and physical health.

Doug Hooker and the Atlanta Regional Commission

- The sheer magnitude of the area's growth - from less than 2 million in 1986 to 6 million today to 9 million by 2050
- Why 70-75% of the area's college graduates opt to stay[...]
Marjy Stagmeier & Star-C

- Transiency and its devastating impact
- How Star-C has become a national role model for successful management of affordable housing (Better quality of life AND more profitable!)
- Star-C's organization strategy & how it works
- Landlord as[...]
Taylor Rambo & the Georgia Symphony Orchestra

- Why the Executive Director job is perfect fit
- Strengths of the organization that Taylor will levergae
- The communities served by the GSO now and in the future
- Key[...]
Cheryl Kortemeier and The Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta

- Why "Deliver business results" is fundamental to the CVC's mission
- CSR = Employee Skill Developemnt
- Why aren't all employers formally and more fully embracing volunteerism and civic engagement?
- What's a "Community Facing Professional" and why is this role vital?
- COVID 19's silver lining. (Yes, there IS a silver lining!!!)
Thank you, Cheryl Kortemeier, for your service to our community!
Laurie Wong & Reflections of Trinity

"I've got you!"
If there's one phrase that captures Laurie Wong's vision for Reflections of Trinity, it's, "I've got you!" As Founder and CEO of this 18 year old organization, that's the phrase she works hard to ensure a family in crisis hears from her team.
Tune in to hear this inspiring story of how this remarkable organization serves its community, including:- How when COVID hit their food pantry went from serving 500 families per week up to 1,200
- How the Reflections of Trinity eBay store extended their Powder Springs based thrift store to enable this amazing leap in service
- Guess who was the 2016 eBay Small[...]
Andy Gaines & The Strand Theatre

- The history of The Strand
- Is it an arts venue? An economic driver? Both?
- The power of collaboration with businesses AND nonprofits
- Don't just think about the Strand. Think "Marietta Arts District"
- The Strand's creative response to the pandemic
Thank you, Andy Gaines, for your service to our community!
...and thank you[...]
Debbie McKinley, Veterans & Home Depot

- Her own transition from the Marine Corps to civilian life
- TAPS - The Transition Assistance Program - Is it enough??? Sadly... not in all cases
- How we all can help veterans build their own communities
- How business can help veterans (They make great employees and a good job is critical!)
- Debbie's story about assuming board leadership (Never miss a board meeting!)
- What's coming[...]
Malaika Rivers, CIDs & Lexicon Strategies

- Why various businesses will link up to voluntarily raise their own taxes!
- CIDs obviously work - there are now 34 of them in Metro ATL
- The power of the public/private partnership
- Yes, there's loads of value to the host government too
- $1 invested in a CID, on average, returns $5 (...speaking of good deals...)
- How CIDs can "Future-Proof"
Kim Ellet, The Growth Coach of Metro Atlanta

- Her experience with Leadership Cobb and her own class, "The Change Makers"
- Her work with Basic Diversity and Cultural Mastery
- How to expand your perspective and make changes
- How clarity about your values helps define the work that "lights you up!"
- Is Community Service good for business?
Thank you, Kim Ellet, for your service to[...]
Irene Barton, Executive Director of the Cobb Collaborative

- Irene's focus on ensuring that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
- The importance of making data-driven decisions
- How the Cobb Collaborative addresses underlying issues, not just the obivous
- The challenges of coordinating the deployment of resource to achieve optimal efficiency and effectiveness
- The "Two Generation" program at Kennesaw State that addresses the unique challenges[...]
Tony Kimbrough, CEO of Veterans Empowerment Organization

- The tragedy of homeless veterans - especially right here in metro Atlanta
- VEO's holistic approach to setting veterans on the road to self-sustenance
- The dual challenge of vets from active duty and reservists
- The scourge of PTSD
- We invest heavily to train our warriors to "react normally to abnormal situations," but invest next to nothing to help them return to actual normal life
- What it's like to go from war zone to everyday job in two weeks[...]
Nigel Zelcer of Jabian Consulting

- Unlike most management consultants, those at Jabian are home every night!
- The continual focus on "Making People Famous"
- 60% of Jabian employees are in leadership positions with local nonprofits and literally 100% are involved
- How the Jabian corporate culture "spills" into their clients and other stakeholders
- Think Work/Life Integration vs. Work/Life Balance
- Jabian Cares - an internal non-profit delivered $630K of pro bono services, matched $27K of[...]
Michael Barrett & The Southeast Association of Facilitators

- What is "Facilitation" and how can it provide value to nonprofits?
- Why time - and not wasting it - is so vital for your volunteers
- A better way to increase and enhance the engagement of your board members
- Metrics for performance monitoring and improvement
- Passion - the necessary, but not sufficient ingredient
- The Impact Chain and why it's important
Betsy Armentrout & Georgia Voting Works

- Every vote counts and every voter deserves to be counted
- Employers can play a pivotal role in engaging their employees in Georgia's elections
- Peer-company sharing of ideas and best practices is powerful
- Employees want to engage and are open to options
- How the messy June primary provided inspiration
- Recruiting people and corporations to actively particiapte
- The ideas - and the work to implement them - all came from the participants (...including a[...]
Chris Hooper & Conscious Capitalism

- How a self-describe "marketing guy" get fascinated by companies that succeed without doing[...]
Karen Hunter of Whetstone Strategies

- Board service is an excellent vehicle for meeting like-minded people
- How to identify & define your Big 3 - Your Personal Brand, Your Passion, Your Skills & Abilities
- "Positive and humble service to others"
- A nonprofit board is a working[...]
Sharon Mason of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce

- The role of the Cobb Chamber in the communiuty
- The "Select Cobb" program which has played a key role in attracting 34,000 jobs and $3.1 Billion in investment in the county
- How the chamber effectively administered $50 Billion in CARES Act aid
- The impact of the Economic Recovery Task Force
- The extensive Community Service involvement of Chamber employees
Thank you Sharon Mason, for your[...]
Karen Beavor of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits

- Management, Leadership & Governance of nonprofits
- Questions an Executive Director should be asking
- The role of the nonprofit board
- The "Big 3" for nonprofit success: Strategy, Leadership and $$$
- Think revenue, not just fundraising!
- What's next for the nonprofit world
Thank you, Karen Beavor, for your service to our community!
liveSAFE Resources & Tracey Atwater

- How depressingly pervasive these ugly issues really are
- The journey from victim to thriving survivor
- 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men are victims of physical and/or emotional violence
- 80% of these victims are below the poverty line
- How to be aware of when a relative, friend or colleague might be a victim
- The many programs provided by liveSAFE
Thank you, Tracey Atwater for[...]
Kim Cooper & Children Helping Children

- How it's the kids - not the parents - making decisions about who to serve and how
- The soon-to-be-mobile Compassion Curriculum
- What's your light? How will you share it?
- The Light & Love Loft at the King Plow Arts Center
- The CHC "Junior Board" and how it provides valuable life-lessons
- How to become a Village Volunteer
Thank you, Kim Cooper, for your service to our community!
Jillian Youngblood & Common Ground Solutions

Barry Coates of SCORE

- How the SCORE mentoring process works
- It's mentoring, not consulting!
- The amazingly broad range of skills, knowledge and insight available from SCORE
- Barry's personal business journey and how it relates to SCORE
- A really cool success story!
- Other tools and resources available
- Getting started
Stuart Winborne of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

- The over 43,000 Americans who take their own lives annually
- The impact of COVID-19
- Suicide Warning Signs & what to watch out for:
- The work of AFSP: Education, Public Policy, Funding Research, Support for Survivors
- Trust your gut and say something!!! Don't wait for someone else to intervene.
- Project 2025
- Sign up for and[...]
Seth Hopkins & The Booth Western Art Museum

- Yes, Cartersville!
- The focus on student and adult education
- The focus on living artists (which adds a decidedly non-traditional spin to Western Art)
- Andy Warhol in a Western Art Museum???
- 80% of the collection is Western, but don't miss out on the Civil War and Presidential galleries!
- Sagebrush Ranch - Don't tell the kids it's more about the learning than the fun!
- The extensive "Virtual Booth Museum"
Holly Quinlan & Cobb County – “Atlanta’s Sweet Spot”
- Holly and her team's role as catalysts and connectors
- The critical role of Community Improvement Districts
- How success with the Cobb Sports Alliance led to more success with Cobb Arts Vibe
- Pandemic? How about Hello, Again? (See video below...)
- Place-making (Very cool concept!)
- Cobb is "Camera Ready" for the film industry!
Thank you, Holly Quinlan,[...]
Kim Gresh of S. A. White

- A lifelong, deep immersion in one's own community
- Before you ask for money, you need to being giving money yourself!
- Balancing time invested in business and community
- Kim's fascinating view of why The Arts are so vital ("All the lights came on in my brain!")
- The "Community Service Ecosystem"
- Corporate Social Responsibility
Randy Yeomans – Your Retirement Coach

- The "Venn Diagram" of retirement planning
- How Yeomans supports the Community Service of all of its employees
- MUST Ministries (Randy's passion)
- Money, Time & Voice
- "Bunch Giving" - If you hear nothing else, HEAR THIS!!!
- Guiding $100 Million of client portfolios into worthy causes
Ellen McCarty of McCarty & Co.

- Morphing from the corporate world to the nonprofit world
- Key differences of the board member role in a large vs. small nonprofit
- Board Recruitment hints and tips (Great stuff here!!!)
- The 3 Ts - Time, Treasure, Talent
- The growing significance of Corporate Social Responsibility
- Know your strategic plan!
- Celebrate Successes
Thank you, Ellen McCarty, for your service to our community!
Susan Norris of Rescuing Hope

- The average age of a sex trafficking victim is 12-14 years
- Buy the book! Rescuing Hope: A Story of Sex Trafficking in America
United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Indiana

- Lifelong dedication shown by Lee's 30 years on the board and Mike's 15+ years
- The perception of "can't do" and why it's just wrong
- Cerebral palsy affects muscle control, so Mike gets a black belt? Seriously?
- Key challenges they face and what they're doing about it
- PANDACADEMY[...]
Shari Martin & The Cobb Community Foundation
- What exactly is a community foundation?
- How CCF functions as a "community catalyst
- How and why CCF is different
- The unique power of Cobb Community Connection (You owe it to yourself to check this out!)
- Food Fleet - A shining example of coordinating all manner of resources to address COVID-related issues
- And - believe it or not with all CCF has on its plate - Shari's[...]
Randy Thompson – “Cheerful Giver”

- How "getting run out of town" was the best thing that ever happened to him
- There's nothing difficult or complicated about combining business and philanthropy
- His transformation from "Obligatory Giver" to "Cheerful Giver"
- Why "Give your first dollar" is important
Thank you, Randy Thompson, for your service to our community!
Dikembe Mutombo – Global Community Servant

- How the aspiring physician chose a different path, but[...]
Craig Lesser – Community Service and Economic Development
- Community Service is the first step toward overall Economic Devleopment
- Who must set the basic priorities?
- "Silos" are the enemy!
- The danger of being too internally focused
- The 4 Legged Stool: Government, Business, Education, Culture
Thank you, Craig Lesser, for your service to our community!
Sam Olens, Former GA Attorney General

- The importance of involvement with Community Service starting in childhood
- The "Bike Story" - Combining value from place of worship and fire-fighters to get bikes to kids
- The trend of businesses encouraging employees to donate their time
- How Community Service time can also be Family Time
- Why focusing on local issues is the most effective form of Community Service
Thank you, Sam Olens, for your service to our community!
Charlie Yates & A Lifetime of Service
- The importance of establishing roots in your community
- Why business-people need to get way beyond "mercenary" goals for community service
- A fascinating backstory about real estate development for the '96 Atlanta Olympics
- The need for a long term perspective
- Some great advice for young people
Thank you, Charlie Yates, for your service to our community!
David Bottoms and the WellStar Foundation

- Disparities in availability of health care services across the state
- The unique challenges presented by the COVID pandemic
- Dealing with the large amount of "unreimbursed care" delivered by the WellStar[...]
Ashish Thakur & Atlanta CEO Council

- The high Return On Investment of "mentoring relationships"
- The value of job creation to the community
- digitalundivided - a social startup that merges data and heart to develop innovative programs and initiatives that catalyzes economic growth in Black and Latinx communities
- How a "C-Level" executive can catalyze Community Service
- Thoughts on measuring impact
Thank[...]
Jeremy Cole & UNICEF

- How his background led him to his life's work
- UNICEF vaccinates 45% of world's children, and that's just scratching the surface
- 6% of U.S. giving goes to international causes
- An example of what the Global Innovations Team does - from plastic trash - to bricks - to schools!
Thank you, Jeremy Cole, for your service to our community!
Marilynn Martinez & PRISM of Georgia

- The importance of celebrating success
- How families can support a loved one with a disability
- The challenge of funding
- The challenge of recruiting staff - It's everything!
- Collaborating with business to fill jobs
Thank you, Marilynn Martinez, for your service to our community!
Jim Rhoden – “Pay your civic rent!”

- Pay your civic rent!
- Business and community service are inextricably intertwined
- "Give everybody that asks you for something, something!"
- Small, steady, quiet, relentless community service over a long span of years has a huge impact
Thank you, Jim Rhoden, for your service to our community!
Bill Bolling & Food Well Alliance

- Sharing a meal as a means to community building
- Community Service - like any business - requires[...]
Dave Ward & The Tommy Nobis Center

- The legacy of "Mr. Falcon," Tommy Nobis
- Partnerships and service across 24 states
- The Big 3: Education - Training - Employment
- A few stirring individual examples
- New initiative for the future
Lisa Mello & The Wellstar Foundation

- Enabling the building of a chapel and adding a full-time chaplain to the staff of one of their hospitals
- The unique challenges presented the pandemic
- The sheer magnitude of managing the demands and getting the right resources to the right place at the right time
- The truly gratifying outpouring of support for the hospital system
- How to lend your hand to the Wellstar Foundation
Rich Cavagnaro & “B2B Community Service”

Aarti Sagahl, Founder of Synergies Work

- "Raise the bar of expectations"
- Several stories of the folks Aarti started on the road to entrepreneurship
- The breakthrough moment
- On becoming a Business Incubator
- Challenges
Bob Bonstein & the Georgia Symphony Orchestra

- The performances of classical masterpieces (of course...)
- GYSO - the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra - the largest of its kind in the Southeast and among the top 10 in the coutry
- The annual "Sensory Friendly" concert specifically designed for autistic children. (...tough to not get choked up a bit about this amazing performance
- The surprising[...]
Rhys Wilson & The Atlanta Opera

Alli Neal, Founder of Revved Up Kids

- It's all starts with awareness
- How to start the conversation, and keep it going...
- Talk to your kids about personal safety as often as you talk to them about brushing their teeth!
- The Family Safety Community
- And the most important bit... The cost of prevention is negligible, the cost of rehabilitation is in excess of $200,000!
Chris Brand of FODAC

Giles Barton & Revved Up Kids

As a parent, what value does that have? How much would you be willing to pay for it?
We were fortunate enough to catch up with Giles Barton this week, to talk about Revved Up Kids and his role on their board. Giles is a dedicated, contributing board member, who also has a day job as CEO of Expeditor Systems. He has lots of interesting thoughts to share in addition to that very[...]Introducing Willful Impact

Simply stated, our goal is to generate a dramatically higher level of voluntary community service.
I trust you will agree that I’m not using the words “genuinely inspiring” lightly. Our world is already over-loaded with hype, and exaggerated claims. None of us wants or needs or maybe can even stand for any more of that. Our plan is to tell stories. Stories about individuals and organizations who generously set out to make the world a better place. Many times the story is short - as straightforward as providing financial support. Obviously, cash donations are critical. Without them, virtually all community[...]