Rolling for Heroes

On Saturday, September 7, 2013, bikers came out to support Healing 4 Heroes in their 3rd annual "Rollin' for Heroes" Remembrance Ride in Newnan, GA. 

We happened along at the end for the fun side of the event.  Listening to the great band and participating in the raffle for the prizes was a treat for all the participants and their families.

Mike Quinn, a local Newnan Vietnam Vet, urges others to get involved with Healing 4 Heroes as the veterans with PTSD need our help and support.

Shanon Clay of Williamson, GA, commented she is proud to support Healing 4 Heroes in their mission to help wounded veterans through training and supplying of service dogs for all their individual needs.  In addition, she encourages others to support our troops, support their families as our heroes are important to us.

Healing 4 Heroes is a nonprofit group based in Peachtree City whose mission is to train and place psychiatric service dogs to veterans with PTSD.  What makes this group so special is they train shelter dogs to become companions to the vets.  The dogs are trained to assist the veterans with up to seven tasks.

 What can we say?  Saving two lives just touches our heart.

To learn more how you can help, follow Healing 4 Heroes on Facebook or send an email to healing4heroes@aol.com .  Or better yet, pick up the phone.  Call 678-364-9993 and ask Piper how you can become involved.

'Do Good Get Rewards' Rewards Volunteers on MLK Day

/PRNewswire/ -- Do Good Get Rewards is supporting the 25th Anniversary of King Holiday by rewarding volunteers on January 17th, the National Day of Service. Volunteers earn points for the hours they work and redeem them for rewards such as vacations, hotel, restaurant certificates and more. It is the goal of the nation's first online volunteer rewards program, to increase and sustain volunteering all year round. At Do Good Get Rewards, Non-Profit organizations validate volunteer hours as quickly as accepting friends on Facebook. There is no cost for Non-Profits or volunteers to become members of the rewards program.

"We want to support the efforts of the incredibly hardworking organizations that make a difference in our communities in every way we can," states Founder of Do Good Get Rewards Tammy Allen. The volunteer rewards program and social networking site provides a simple system for non-profit organizations to post volunteer opportunities, track volunteers and their hours.

Non-profits rely heavily on volunteers, but more than one-third of those who volunteer one year do not donate their time the next year. That adds up to an estimated $38 billion in lost labor according to the 2009 Stanford Social Innovation review. Do Good Get Rewards, an online volunteer rewards program, wants to be part of the solution. The program was designed to give non-profit organizations a simple, free way to demonstrate appreciation to their volunteers and provide incentives to grow their volunteer base.

Volunteers for MLK Day can submit their hours for rewards points at www.DoGoodGetRewards.com. To locate volunteer opportunities in your area you visit, www.VolunteerMatch.org. We invite all Non-Profit organizations to sign up to reward their volunteers year round. The goal of Do Good Get Rewards program is to express appreciation to those millions of Americans who make a difference everyday and encourage even greater numbers to donate their time and talents.

For more information, please visit www.DoGoodGetRewards.com, info@DoGoodGetRewards.com or call 678.344.603.

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia Associates Volunteer to Help Georgia Organizations During Third Annual Community Service Day

/PRNewswire/ -- More than 300 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGA) associates and their friends and families joined forces, despite thunderstorms and inclement weather conditions, to participate in the parent company's national Community Service Day. These efforts helped dozens of organizations across the state.

"At BCBSGA we work every day to improve the health of our communities," said Monye Connolly, president of BCBSGA. "Coming together on Community Service Day allows each of us to bring that commitment to life in an everyday way. For the past three years, we have worked with community organizations to collaborate on projects and services that impact each of our communities and we are proud to continue that effort this year."

BCBSGA partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Metropolitan Atlanta (BGCMA) to make the John Harland Boys & Girls Club cleaner, safer and more functional for its members. BGCMA works to provide young people with a safe place to learn and grow, and life-enhancing programs that develop character and offer hope and opportunity. The Club serves young people between the ages of six and 18 years, inspiring them to realize their full potential as healthy, productive and responsible citizens.

Volunteer tasks included:
- planting spring flowers in existing planter benches and butterfly garden

- refreshing large flower beds around the Club with shrubs and spring flowers

- installing landscape timbers around the Club to prevent mulch from washing away

- painting the teen clubhouse and installing new blinds

Coinciding with Points of Light & Hands On Network's National Volunteer Week, BCBSGA's associates participated in many activities, including:

-- Medshare
-- Camp Twin Lakes - Will-a-Way
-- March of Dimes Georgia Chapter - March for Babies (Columbus and
Savannah)
-- A.J. McClung YMCA
-- Twin Cedars Anne Elizabeth Shepherd Home
-- Food Bank of Northeast Georgia
-- Golden Harvest Food Bank
-- Rebuilding Macon
-- And many others.

In 2009, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia Foundation also granted nearly $364,000 to community organizations in Georgia. In addition, BCBSGA gifted more than $270,000 to civic and charitable organizations through its community relations support.

And through BCBSGA's associate giving campaign, which was matched at 50 percent by the parent company's foundation, BCBSGA associates pledged more than $226,002 to help non profit organizations throughout the state in 2009.

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'Emory Cares' During International Day of Service

More than 1,200 volunteers, from Atlanta to Hong Kong and multiple points in between, are set to take part in Emory Cares International Service Day 2009 this Saturday, Nov. 14. Members of the Emory University community will lead dozens of service projects in 40 cities in nine countries across five continents.

In Atlanta alone, more than 800 members of the Emory community – alumni, students, staff, faculty and parents – are set to fan out across the city for a variety of service projects. Volunteers will participate in a cleanup Oakland Cemetery, help sort donations for refugees and foster children, work on stream cleanups and trail maintenance in local parks, repair homes for senior citizens, and participate in Habitat for Humanity builds, among other projects. Emory President James Wagner will be among the volunteers sorting medical supplies for delivery to developing nations at local nonprofit MedShare.

The growth of Emory Cares, a signature program of the Emory Alumni Association (EAA), has been steady since its founding in 2003 by Emory alumna Renelda Mack, then president of the Board of Governors (now known as the Emory Alumni Board). Following her lead, Emory alumni in cities across the country and around the world stepped up and volunteered to lead service projects.

Outside the United States, alumni and parents in Argentina, Hong Kong, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, South Africa and South Korea are hosting Emory Cares projects. In Barcelona, alumni will host a bowling tournament to fund a nonprofit that assists African children. Volunteers will work an organic farm in Darmstadt, Germany, and in Seoul, alumni and students will volunteer at Peace House, a home for physically and mentally disabled men.

In Atlanta, the EAA expanded its partnerships with Volunteer Emory and other campus organizations, which has brought hundreds of students into the volunteer mix. Several of the EAA's alumni interest groups are planning service projects of their own, including EAA's Atlanta Young Alumni chapter, the Caucus of Emory Black Alumni and Emory Gay and Lesbian Alumni.

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Electric Co-op Employees Volunteer During Hands on Georgia Week

/PRNewswire/ -- Employees of Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) throughout Georgia, Georgia EMC, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp. will join forces during Hands on Georgia Week, September 26-October 2, to benefit a variety of community service projects.

Volunteer efforts this year will range from holding food drives in communities throughout Georgia, sorting perishable goods for area food banks, clearing trees and debris at a local park and other beautification projects.

Hands On Georgia (HOGA) Week is an initiative launched by Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2004. Since 2007, GEMC, OPC, GTC and GSOC have been statewide sponsors, and last year joined ranks with more than 100 EMC employees across Georgia who volunteered during HOGA week.

"EMCs are proud to support Governor Perdue's focus on the importance of volunteerism and community service, since nearly 5,000 EMC employees across the state invest thousands of hours giving back to their communities throughout the year," notes Georgia EMC President/CEO Paul Wood.

"EMCs work hard to cultivate a commitment to our state and her communities, and HOGA week provides us the opportunity to honor that commitment in a concerted effort statewide."

This year, EMCs will cast a wide net during the week and enlist hundreds of volunteers from Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, Young Harris; Canoochee EMC, Reidsville; Carroll EMC, Carrollton; Cobb EMC, Marietta; Colquitt EMC, Moultrie; Diverse Power, LaGrange; Georgia EMC, Georgia Transmission Corp. and Oglethorpe Power Corp., Tucker; GreyStone Power, Douglasville; Jackson EMC, Jefferson; Mitchell EMC, Camilla; North Georgia EMC, Dalton; Ocmulgee EMC, Eastman; Oconee EMC, Dudley; Okefenoke REMC, Nahunta; Slash Pine EMC, Homerville; Snapping Shoals EMC, Covington; Southern Rivers, Barnesville; Tri-County EMC, Gray; and Walton EMC, Monroe.

In addition to individual EMC service projects, GEMC, OPC, GTC and GSOC will encourage participation in a statewide food drive coordinated with the Georgia Food Bank Network which provides assistance through member food banks to Georgians fighting hunger and food insecurity throughout the state.

This year, HOGA Week projects are planned in all 159 counties in the state. Communities will perform Hands On projects to address local needs such as environmental clean ups, building restorations, wheel chair ramp construction, playground builds and tutoring sessions with children, among many other efforts.

For more information, visit www.georgiaemc.com, www.opc.com, www.gatrans.com and www.gasoc.com.

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Usher's New Look Celebrates the Fifth Year of Camp New Look

/PRNewswire/ -- Award Winning Entertainer and Philanthropist Usher Raymond IV on behalf of Usher's New Look will welcome 130 youth from underserved communities across the country at the opening ceremony of Camp New Look. In its fifth year, Camp New Look will offer youth ages 15 to 17 an opportunity to participate in workshops and seminars to enrich their skills in various areas including music, dance, sports, acting and video production. This July 13th, Usher will announce that this year's theme is "Issue, Action. . .Power!" Campers will be taught to identify issues, take action and will leave with the power to change the world through service. Special guests this summer will include Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard, Washington Wizards' Mike James, Chief-of-Staff and Secretary of Commerce Rick Wade, Georgia's Senator Kasim Reed and BET's Jeff Johnson.

"When young people begin to help others, they help themselves. With their talent and energy, they will be powered to serve their communities, and we're going to have more fun than we've ever had," said Usher.

Part of this year's program includes a two-day "Power Summit" to educate youth on how to use the resources they may not have even known they had to change their local and global communities. The summit will introduce youth to current social issues and give them the opportunity to discuss what should be done. They will to tap into their own artistic abilities to design and execute campaigns that bring awareness and action to a global issue back in their hometowns. The youth will lead these campaigns and track their impact during the next year.

"By educating the kids about global issues and by teaching them to combine the resources available to them with their own artistic talents, we hope to ignite a passion within the youth to tackle these issues and create change not only in their communities, but in the world," said Usher's New Look President Shawn Wilson.

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