MATRIX #HelpGiveBack Contest: Who won?
Last month, MATRIX challenged everyone to #HelpGiveBack by sharing stories of how they choose to donate their time and resources to good causes. To help spread awareness and encourage people to share, we promised to donate $500 to one of the nominated charities. Here are a couple of the stories we received…
Leah M. nominated Lincoln Park Community Shelter (LPCS) in Chicago. Leah spends time at LPCS cooking dinner for homeless people in the area. She added that LPCS “does amazing work to provide resources, tools and confidence to move from homelessness to steady jobs/housing”.
Don O. nominated Integrated Community Ministries (ICM), a 16-year-old non-profit mission located in the poorest county in the nation (McCreary County, Kentucky). “ICM supports the western half of the county where over 90% of the people living there make less than the Federal poverty level. I collect donations of used clothing, furniture, appliances, toys, computers, etc. – whatever still has a useful life.”
Dorothy G. shared Emma Ann’s Gifts, a charity business started by her 10-year-old daughter. “Her most recent charity was Toys for Tots, which she donated 1,066 toys with an estimated value of over $7,500. She has been in business for about two years and to date has donated over $22,900! She creates crafts and sells them over her Facebook page and 100% of what she makes goes to her chosen charity.”
We would like to thank the people above and everyone else who sent in a nomination – too many great charities to list here! When it came down to choosing a winner, we made our decision based off creativity and ingenuity.
Congratulations to John Ramos and his charity, Gift of Adoption Fund Texas, for being selected for our $500 donation!
John is an IT Project Manager in Dallas who has found a way to use his tech skills for the greater good. He became a board member of a nonprofit called Gift of Adoption Fund (Texas Chapter) around a year ago. This charity raises the much needed funds for families that are wanting to adopt but are facing a budgeting shortfall for this very costly process. On average, most adoptions cost $30,000 or more, and it can be extremely time consuming. Gift of Adoption saw a problem and built this organization to make the process work better. Here’s what John had to say:
“My contribution to this charity was raising money in the form of buying damaged iPhones, repairing them, and reselling them on eBay or other places. From the time I started in the early part of 2015, I was able to raise enough funds to supply the grant to fund the adoption of the child in the story pictured below. It just warms my heart that I was able help this couple in Midlothian, TX adopt their little boy Nicholas and save his life in the process. If I were granted one wish by your team it would be to win the $500 to help another family adopt a child in distress such as Nicholas to a loving family.”
Although our contest is over, we hope you feel encouraged to use your own skills and resources to give back somewhere in your community this year! Follow us on Facebook to see which charities our offices will partner with in 2016.