Using my superhero powers for good
Like most business owners, my business is an extension of me, my personality, my natural talents, and my values. I'm a jump-right-in-to-help kind of person. So it seemed only natural that I structured my business model to include giving back.
Each year I select a single charity, and use my marketing skills, knowledge, passion and connections to help them in their mission. It's my way of saying thank you to the universe for all I've learned. This year I'd like to introduce you to Brighton Main Streets, a local nonprofit that is near and dear to my heart, not to mention right around the corner from my house, serving the neighborhood I live in.
Brighton Main Streets improves the local neighborhood business district and in turn the quality of life in the community surrounding it. This partnership is a no-brainer for me, since my business is centered around helping small businesses and nonprofits grow through marketing. My worlds collide with BMS.
BMS helps small businesses by connecting them to the community in meaningful ways. It's what I love about them the most. BMS hosts concerts in otherwise empty parks, making the neighborhood a destination. It commissions art projects on empty walls to keep the streets a friendly place to work, play and shop. BMS provides free business resources to small mom and pop shops who have needs bigger than their shoe-string budgets.
The best part is that this organization is powered by volunteers, with only an Executive Director officially on staff, who's responsibility it is to wrangle the entire organization. Brighton Main Streets pulls together small business owners, residents, institutions and government offices. I've seen first hand how we can do so much more together than any one can do alone, and this, to me, is their special sauce. I'm proud to stand along side these local superheroes and use our powers for good.
Brighton Main Streets has been my charity of choice each year for the past 5 years. I haven't quite felt like my work is done. I remember when the organization was ecstatic to start up on social media, and now in 2020 they're fast approaching 6,000 Facebook followers and are one of the social media accounts to watch in the area. I was honored to have been recognized as Volunteer of the Year by Boston's Mayor, Marty Walsh, at the end of my first year of Giving Back. And I've never had as much fun spearheading a fundraiser Gala as I did when we pulled off the Roaring 20th Anniversary Gala in 2018.
Year after year I've met wonderful people in Brighton, better understood the challenges local businesses face, and learned about so many more organizations who are unsung heroes. This partnership with Brighton Main Streets has been one of the most rewarding parts of running my own business. I fills me with pride. B.RIGHT.ON.
