Golfing and raising money for children’s charities — what could be better on a sunny afternoon? On September 18 the Triad BNI chapters did just that.
The recent Winston Lake golf tournament was a successful fundraiser for local kids’ memberships to the Salvation Army’s Boy’s and Girl’s Club of America. This program helps kids in need receive the mentoring and great learning activities to grow through after school programs. BNI has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of America in the past, but this is a first for the version of the club run by the Salvation Army.
Kayla Selman began recruiting help with Antonio McCoy, Bobby Rouse, and Mark Thorn. Reginald from Maximus Enterprises volunteered to help run the golf event at Winston Lake. In total, they gathered 23-25 volunteers to organize and facilitate the golf tournament’s fundraising.
The golfers formed 11 teams, each representing businesses from around the Triad. Each golfing slot involved a donation, including a separate 50/50 raffle that raised $1000. Lucky raffle winners took home $300 gift certificates from Ray’s Pest Control.
All told the golfing tournament raised just under $6000, which is enough to provide Boys and Girls Club memberships for almost 40 kids.
Building Momentum with the Business Voices Movement
Glen Coleman recently returned from doing some traveling through Georgia to spread the word about the Business Voices movement. Using the Peck Elementary story as a basis, Glen went chapter by chapter to inspire BNI members. In a lot of cases of course people are willing to help, but aren’t sure where to begin. The stories of Business Voices are testament to the synergy of people combining their efforts — that donating time to an organized effort with a clear system can change lives more easily than one might think.
The Shelby and Atlanta chapters had a lot of volunteers for upcoming projects, and the northeast Georgia area is going to adopt a school. Stay tuned on that.
As far as a system that works for Business Voices, Beth Misner’s 3+1 system is essentially this:
1. Identify a school that needs help
2. Get a referral to the school’s principal
3. Meet with the school’s leaders and identify their specific challenges
4. Tell stories
As more chapters join in the stories will compound. The ultimate goal is to get all of BNI involved worldwide, and it’s coming! Thanks to everyone who has been involved thus far for paving the way for kids to enjoy a brighter and more productive future!