'Tis the Season for Charity: AwesomeGov Combines Government 2.0 and Philanthropy
Monday, December 21, 2009
GovLoop members collectively decided that Adventures for the Cure
should receive AwesomeGov donation
Inspired by the success of the CFC, GovLoop emulates this model with the launch of the AwesomeGov Fund, but added a community-driven, government 2.0 twist. GovLoop asked its members to submit and vote on the charity that will receive the AwesomeGov donation. There were nearly 100 charities submitted by members, ranging from Code for America to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans to The Children's Inn.
By securing nearly 3,000 votes from GovLoop members, Adventures for the Cure (AFC) is the winning charity who will receive $1,800 from this innovative campaign. AFC will use the funds to support a diabetes camp for children and Kupenda for the Children, which helps children with disabilities in Kenya.
To kick-off AwesomeGov Fund, GovLoop donated $1.00 for each new government professional who joined the community between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15. During the campaign, more than 1,300 government professionals joined GovLoop. The additional donations funds given to AFC were part of the 12 Days of GovLoop Giving, which began on Dec. 3 as part of the AwesomeGov Fund campaign.
AFC was founded in 2005 by Adam Driscoll and Patrick Blair, recent college graduates who were beginning their careers with the federal government. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, they created a charity to help children with diabetes be active while effectively managing their condition. It was a topic Driscoll could relate to since he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child. Using social media tools to gain awareness, they have biked across country several times to raise thousands of dollars.
"Our goal is the provide children with diabetes the opportunity to maximize their ability to perform at their highest level in all areas of sports, fitness and life activities while maintaining intensive glucose control,” Blair said. “We are thankful to GovLoop for helping us create awareness for the millions of children who live with diabetes everyday who need to understand that while they have diabetes they can still live an active, healthy life."
AFC completely funds Extreme Weekend for Children with Diabetes, a camp designed to empower children with diabetes to achieve optimal athletic performance while learning how to tightly control their diabetes. AFC will give half of the AwesomeGov Funds to the camp and the other half to Kupenda.
"Promoting public service and giving back to the community are core values of the GovLoop community," said Steve Ressler, founder of GovLoop. "GovLoop members have donated more than $10,000 to a variety of charities through the Kiva GovLoop group. The AwesomeGov Fund reinforces the importance government professionals play in philanthropic organizations around the world."
GovLoop will donate at least 5 percent of revenue in 2010 to the AwesomeGov Fund in order to support activities including scholarships, trainings, charity donations and more for individuals and groups that promote public service and give back to the community.
For more information about AwesomeGov Fund, visit www.awesomegov.org. To see an interview with Blair and Driscoll, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/GovDelivery.
About GovLoop
GovLoop is the premier social network connecting the government community; a powerful space where those that work in and around government can collaborate, socialize and support each other in an effort to make government better. GovLoop's mission is to connect government to improve government. It is an active community of over 23,000 members from all levels of government and many countries that share knowledge on topics ranging from social media policy to technology to professional development. Members of the government community can join at www.govloop.com.
About Adventures For The Cure
Adventures For The Cure (AFC), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization and USA Cycling club which exists to raise awareness for diabetes, to show those diagnosed with diabetes and their families how leading a healthy and active lifestyle can move you beyond your perceived limits, and to raise funds for diabetes research. The organization also raises awareness and funds for other causes that the board of directors has selected. For more details, visit http://adventuresforthecure.com/.
To kick-off AwesomeGov Fund, GovLoop donated $1.00 for each new government professional who joined the community between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15. During the campaign, more than 1,300 government professionals joined GovLoop. The additional donations funds given to AFC were part of the 12 Days of GovLoop Giving, which began on Dec. 3 as part of the AwesomeGov Fund campaign.
AFC was founded in 2005 by Adam Driscoll and Patrick Blair, recent college graduates who were beginning their careers with the federal government. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, they created a charity to help children with diabetes be active while effectively managing their condition. It was a topic Driscoll could relate to since he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child. Using social media tools to gain awareness, they have biked across country several times to raise thousands of dollars.
"Our goal is the provide children with diabetes the opportunity to maximize their ability to perform at their highest level in all areas of sports, fitness and life activities while maintaining intensive glucose control,” Blair said. “We are thankful to GovLoop for helping us create awareness for the millions of children who live with diabetes everyday who need to understand that while they have diabetes they can still live an active, healthy life."
AFC completely funds Extreme Weekend for Children with Diabetes, a camp designed to empower children with diabetes to achieve optimal athletic performance while learning how to tightly control their diabetes. AFC will give half of the AwesomeGov Funds to the camp and the other half to Kupenda.
"Promoting public service and giving back to the community are core values of the GovLoop community," said Steve Ressler, founder of GovLoop. "GovLoop members have donated more than $10,000 to a variety of charities through the Kiva GovLoop group. The AwesomeGov Fund reinforces the importance government professionals play in philanthropic organizations around the world."
GovLoop will donate at least 5 percent of revenue in 2010 to the AwesomeGov Fund in order to support activities including scholarships, trainings, charity donations and more for individuals and groups that promote public service and give back to the community.
For more information about AwesomeGov Fund, visit www.awesomegov.org. To see an interview with Blair and Driscoll, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/GovDelivery.
About GovLoop
GovLoop is the premier social network connecting the government community; a powerful space where those that work in and around government can collaborate, socialize and support each other in an effort to make government better. GovLoop's mission is to connect government to improve government. It is an active community of over 23,000 members from all levels of government and many countries that share knowledge on topics ranging from social media policy to technology to professional development. Members of the government community can join at www.govloop.com.
About Adventures For The Cure
Adventures For The Cure (AFC), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization and USA Cycling club which exists to raise awareness for diabetes, to show those diagnosed with diabetes and their families how leading a healthy and active lifestyle can move you beyond your perceived limits, and to raise funds for diabetes research. The organization also raises awareness and funds for other causes that the board of directors has selected. For more details, visit http://adventuresforthecure.com/.
Labels: Adventures For The Cure, adventuresforthecure, awesomegov, govloop, video
