This past Thursday, Trio Solutions Inc. launched our latest service to the nonprofit world at the 11th annual SCANPO conference - The Nonprofit Nook. We signed up an enthusiastic group of nonprofit professionals to help serve as our launch focus group. We look forward to receiving their feedback and making this site the best resource it can be. Our goal is that The Nonprofit Nook will offer a special section on the World Wide Web for nonprofits to gather free information, resources and support for their marketing needs. A place for nonprofits to make the most of their marketing, event and Web efforts. We have lofty plans for The Nonprofit Nook and look forward to providing quality, useful and innovative services for our nonprofit members. Check it out!

A little over a year ago, Trio began discussing the importance of nonprofits communicating and sharing with one another. Specifically, we felt that the three areas of Web, marketing and event planning are all important topics for nonprofits to share their successes, concerns and questions. From our discussions was born the Nonprofit Nook. Although the Web site is still in development, we have begun hosting monthly workshops at our office. The workshops are being lead by our incredibly talented VPs, Krista, Jen and Brian, and they have been a huge success! I can’t say enough good things about the presenters or tell them enough how proud I am of them. It takes a lot to speak in front of an audience. Especially one of eager nonprofits wanting you to share all your wisdom! But their hardwork has been worth it. This is just another way that Trio continues to give back to nonprofits. We truly do live out our mission- Work hard. Enjoy life. Make a Difference.

Jen and I are at “The Special Event” in Atlanta, Georgia, the event industry’s largest trade show and conference. More than 9000 professionals within the event industry from around the world are here sharing ideas and trends. It’s been a great experience so far. I actually presented on planning events for nonprofits on Tuesday morning. There were close to 200 people in my session. Pretty amazing. The coolest thing that we have gotten out of the conference so far is the committment to create a green office at Trio Solutions and to start creating green events for our clients. Our first step is to develop a sustainable plan for our office. This isn’t going to happen overnight but there is no reason why we shouldn’t put our best foot forward now and there are countless reasons why we shouldn’t do anything at all. I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

In the current edition of U.S. News & World Report their staff shared 50 ways to improve your life. These are quick tips and advice that can improve your body, mind, money, world, and play. I highly recommend picking up this issue. I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the quick picks was to “purchase a health care gift card.”

Our team at Trio Solutions Inc. has been working with our client, MedExpress in Augusta, Georgia to develop gift cards that give the gift of better health. In a country where health insurance premiums are soaring and small, medium and large businesses are struggling with providing affordable health benefits to their employees we have all been very excited about this new concept. Our thought is that employers can now provide their employees with gift cards in increments of $25 to $1000. The article in U.S. News & World Report just valided that we are on to something and it makes us proud to help our clients be on the cutting-edge. We are very excited about offering this to businesses in the Augusta area.

Some of the other tips that I enjoyed and hope to do in the new year include:

• Stop drinking bottled water. There is nothing wrong with our tap water
• Say good-bye to baseball legends. Go see a baseball game at Shea or Yankee stadium
• Teach your children how to vote
• Take time to listen

If you can’t get the current issue, check out this video of the staffers at U.S. News & World Report sharing the different ways to improve your life in 2008.

Me and Jessica Kersey at the 2007 Race for the Cure

This past Saturday we enjoyed a beautiful day on Daniel Island for the 2007 Komen Lowcountry Race for the Cure. Trio Solutions Inc. is a proud sponsor of our local Komen affiliate and are honored to provide pro-bono marketing services throughout the year. Our entire team goes above and beyond every year to put our best foot forward for this organization and a very worthy cause. There are two folks on our team that deserve a special recognition for all their hard work on the race committee, Jessica Kersey and Krista Robertson. These two served as co-PR chairs for the race and because of their hard work and commitment, this year’s race exceeded all years past with 5521 participants. They donated countless hours of their personal time to ensure that the race received the best promotion possible. As a board member of Komen, it makes me proud to work with such talented and committed people. Our team was “Trio’s Solution” (cleverly thought of by Jessica Kersey) and I do hope that all of our hard work and dedication to this cause will allow us to one day see a solution to breast cancer and ultimately all cancers. What a joyous and triumphant time that will be.

(From left to right: Me, John, Brettley, Andy, Brandon, Tim)

I first met Brandon in 2002 when he was a spindly 15 year-old camper at Camp Kemo. At the time he was receiving treatment for a brain tumor. He was a quiet kid, but he was very athletic and good at basketball. One of my favorite memories of Brandon was when the University of South Carolina basketball team came out to Camp Kemo one afternoon, and they went up to the basketball court at the camp to play around with the kids. Brandon, never one to shy away from competition, challenged one of the USC players to a little one-on-one. When Brandon got the ball, he gave a nasty cross-over dribble, pulled up for a fade away jumper over the outstretched arm of the defender and nailed the shot. The crowd gathered around went crazy and Brandon was an instant hero.

Today, Brandon is not doing so well. His brain tumors have relapsed for the second time, and at this point treatment and surgery cannot help him. He is still in good spirits, but the tumors have begun to affect his speech, sight, and balance. His prognosis is not good, and barring a miracle, we don’t know how much longer he will be with us.

A few weeks back, a couple of my co-counselors with the teenage boys were talking, and wanted to do something special for Brandon. They had the idea to take him to an NBA game. Given Brandon’s condition, we all felt we needed to do something for him soon, before he couldn’t travel or be comfortable enough to enjoy the game. So they settled on going to a preseason game for the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night, October 15. Luckily, I was in a position where I was able to take some time off and go with them.

So, the four Wolfpack (that’s the name of the teenage group at Camp Kemo) counselors piled into John’s Expedition with Brandon and Brettley, a friend of Brandon’s from Camp Kemo who is also a cancer survivor, and we headed up to Charlotte. Tim, who is probably the most connected person I know, knew someone with the Bobcats, so he was able to get the hookup for the boys to get the VIP treatment at the game.

When we arrived at the coliseum, we entered through the executive entrance and were greeted by two of the Bobcat dancers and a representative from the team. The team rep whisked the guys off and took them down court side to watch the players warm up. They also received autographed game jerseys from Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace and a bag of other team swag. Brandon and Brettley were also made honorary captains for the game, so they were able to go out to center court before the tip-off, and Brandon had the opportunity to say a few words to Vince Carter. He told him that he used to be able to dunk, but couldn’t anymore, and asked him to throw down a dunk for him in the game. In true storybook fashion, in the first minute of the game, Vince drove the lane and threw down a one-handed dunk.

(Brandon talking to Vince Carter before the game)

The guys said their favorite memory of the night was not even basketball related. Before the game, John was selected to be in a dance competition on the court at the end of the third quarter. He was miserably nervous about it the whole game, but when his time came, he shined. He busted out all the classics: the sprinkler, shopping cart, and even a breakdancing spin. It was grade ‘A’ entertainment, and I’m sure that video will end up on YouTube soon enough

Brandon and Brettley had a really good time getting the royal treatment all night. You never know what kind of effect these types of experiences will have on people, but I know that the memories of that trip will be with all of us for a very long time. I just pray that it will give Brandon some hope and comfort to continue fighting and to enjoy his time here, no matter how much of it he has left. For me, I just consider myself fortunate to know people like Brandon and Brettley. As the cliche goes, they help me much more than I help them. You receive so much more than you give, and Monday night was a perfect example.

Check out our STATUS REPORT

A special thank you to the Createathon team:
Krista Robertson
Jeanine Szczesniak
Jennifer Cherock
Jessica Munday
Jessica Kersey
Brian Cendrowski
Nicole Cendrowski
Roxanne Hicks
Brian Dadin
Cultigraphic girls

Trio Solutions was selected as the official CreateAthon® agency for the Lowcountry. Although CreateAthon is in its tenth year nationally, this will be the first year this event has been available to Lowcountry nonprofits. For 24 hours, from 8 a.m. on Thursday, September 13 until 8 a.m. on Friday, September 14, every member of our staff will work on pro-bono projects for several nonprofit organizations in our area. During that time, we will complete 15 projects for five organizations. All of our time will be donated.

Congratulations to this year’s CreateAthon recipients:

LOVE Inc.
My Sister’s House
Teacher’s Supply Closet
Lowcountry Earth Force
Berkeley County Foundation of Volunteers for the SC Guardian Ad Litem Program

Inspiring. Amazing. Funny. Strong. This chick, Kris Carr, is all of those things and so much more. If you haven’t heard about Kris and her story, please check out the trailer on her Web site (www.crazysexycancer.com) and be sure to tune in later this month to watch her documentary. Whether or not you’ve been personally affected by cancer – her message is sure to leave a lasting impression on viewers, survivors, and fighters. Educate yourself, laugh a little, shed a tear or two…and take part in one woman’s journey to fight the good fight and to live life to the absolute fullest!

Take care,
Jennifer

Msg from Kris:

Sexy Cancer will be airing on The Learning Channel (TLC) this August 29th at 9 pm! Amen! Yahoo! Yeehaw! Please tune in and spread the word like wild fire. Help us headbutt the ratings and show that cancer really does have an audience - it should! We all know and love someone affected by it. Oh, but the good news doesn’t end there, no, no, no mon cherie, on August 27th my advice from the trenches girlfriends guide to cancer, Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips published by skirt books! hits the stands like a hurricane! Every golden tool you need for the journey is in this book! Finding the right doctor, navigating insurance companies, stylish hospital gowns, dating, sex, changing appearances, nutrition, spirituality, fertility etc, etc darlin’. Grab a copy for yourself or pass it onto someone you love. It’s a nitty gritty manual for facing cancer head on, and if i do say so myself, it’s hilarious!

Working on the fund-raising event for Carolina Autism was so rewarding. I had the opportunity to help with everything from hand delivering invitations to setting up the evening of. This was definitely the highlight of my internship with Trio. Here are some pictures from the event.

Last month, Jessica Munday (or Jessica Sr. as we refer to her) and I had the opportunity to participate in the Komen Community Challenge. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is taking this tour to 24 cities across the United States and Columbia, South Carolina just happened to be one of them. The Community Challenge is Komen’s grassroots effort to “close the gap”. When we arrived at the Governor’s Mansion, the sea of pink certainly made an impression. There was definitely unity and we were all there to “close the gap.” But I found myself wondering what that gap was and walking onto the grounds of the Governor’s mansion, this phrase meant very little to me. As I left there that day, I understood just how powerful those three words are and why so much needs to be done.

I won’t even begin to comment on our health care system. That would be a never ending entry! And I am a firm believer that talk is cheap. That’s why this event left such an impressions on me. I was educated on an issue that is difficult for all of us to understand, health insurance. Through my involvement with Komen, I have had the privilege of meeting many survivors. The one thing that I am constantly reminded of is that cancer doesn’t care who you are, what you do, or how much money you have. That is why I am proud to be a part of Komen’s efforts to “close the gap” in access to quality health care, research and information. We should all feel empowered by Komen’s efforts. They are going directly to the source, our elected leaders, to tell them that it’s wrong for a 25-year-old woman to be denied mammogram coverage. It’s wrong to deny life-saving care to a woman, or anyone, because of their financial situation. And from my participation in this event it’s clear to me they aren’t just talking about it, they’re doing something.

It was a privilege to be among so many dedicated and out-spoken women (and gentlemen). I look forward to continuing my involvement with Komen and helping to close the gap. And like Komen said, this wasn’t no tea party. Great job Komen!