More on Haiti

Over $125,000 has been contributed through TCF to various organizations doing relief work in Haiti... Lenovo employees have donated more than $14,000, Golden Corral staff, over $32,000. These numbers sound good to us, but we know there's more to come.

Our internal Haiti team met today to continue to push ourselves and ensure that we're keeping up with the ongoing news coming from so many directions. Who's doing what. What the needs are.

Back in 2005, the Foundation embarked in Project Life Boat in response to the Tsunami in India. Over $209,000 was raised by local business leaders which translated into 52 fishing boats helping hundreds of families in India. I had just started at the Foundation then and remember being so very inspired by this philanthropy.

The Tsunami was devastating. And one should be careful in comparing disasters- how can one say which is one is 'better' or 'worse'? But Haiti? The numbers alone tell a completely different story. An entire nation has been affected, not a region, but a nation. I think everyone has been compelled to try to do something to respond.

And so we are hard at work here, glad to see corporate partners like Lenovo and Golden Corral who have set up Funds at TCF so that their employees can donate and we can get needed funds there quickly. Last week, we sent $54,000 plus down to Haiti and we'll do another round of grants this week.

But we also have to think long-term. Sustainability. That's what philanthropy's contribution to this can and should be. And so we are exploring a couple of options that we can embark on..

Give us your ideas if you have them. Otherwise, stay tuned.

And thank you to everyone who has donated already.

Visit our website for more: www.trianglecf.org

Disaster in Haiti

Heartbreaking. As the week ends, it's hard to stop thinking about Haiti. Devastating.

I keep remembering Katrina. Hurricane Fran, Floyd. So many others. Natural disasters have a way of making us stop and face reality. It can also bring philanthropy together and respond.

We are gauging short- and long-term assistance as funds have begun to come in from generous fundholders. Over 35,000 in two days. Probably more by now.

The emails are coming fast with recommendations of nonprofits doing relief work. Project Hope. Doctors without Borders. American Red Cross. Conference Calls. Surveys. The Foundation has set up a Disaster Relief Fund for donors that want to contribute collectively, and also put links to other organizations so they can donate directly to them.

Lenovo has established a fund for their employees to give to.

More to come...

Give Back Giveway Stories Coming In: THANK YOU!

At The Foundation's Annual Holiday Party a few weeks ago, we decided to challenge guests as the night ended. Credit Robyn, Kayla, some of my friends, and Jim Goodmon (who actually didn't like the idea at first, and made me rethink it) for helping us craft this challenge: the Give Back Giveway Challenge, part of our Triangle Gives Back project.

Those who took part got an envelope with $10 and had to agree to 3 rules:
1) Match the $10 with at least $10 of your own, or someone else's
2) Go out and give the money to someone you do not know or an organization doing good in the region; and
3) Tell us what you did on Triangle Gives Back's Facebook page or by emailing us

2009 had been a tough year. We thought this reflected the spirit of Triangle Gives Back perfectly.

And it has so far. I am happy to share some of the stories coming in, below. For more, check out http://www.trianglegivesback.org/

And let's keep this going! THANK YOU ALL.

Babs Wagner, Friends of the Wake Co Guardian Ad Litem Special Projects Director, Made a Difference in One Teenager's Life

"Although my story is not nearly a dramatic as most of them, I know my efforts made a huge difference to one teenager. I began by adding $20 to the $10 that I received. I then told everybody that I ran into that day about the $10.00 challenge. By the end of the day I had about $140.00. I took the $140.00 and bought holiday gifts for a teenage girl living in a life that revolves around the sadness and despair of poverty. She had not been chosen from our Angel Tree project. The child received an MP3 player, a comforter (which was on her wish list) jewelry, books, an outfit, shoes,socks, underwear, and the feeling that she was valued and cared about her.

I loved being part of the $10.00 give away and am extremely impressed with the impact that the "pay it Forward" idea achieved. Thank you for the wonderful work you do for our community."

Susan Duncan from Loaves and Fishes, Inc Turned her $10 into Over $1,000 Through a Benefit Concert

"Just prior to attending the TCF Holiday Party, I heard about a friend's young son, who I had never met, who is scheduled for a bone marrow transplant in Minnesota because he suffers from a very rare genetic disease, Fanconi anemia. The disease is so rare that there are only 300 cases in the entire United States. After I received the $10, I shared the story of Carter Pepper with the other two staff members from Loaves and Fishes who were at the party. They wanted to help Carter as well. The next day a friend, Vaughan Penn of the Christian music duo Chynna & Vaughan, saw the Give Back Giveaway envelope at my house and I told her I was going to give the money to Carter. She also knows Carter's dad, Josh, and she said, "Let's have a benefit so we can raise more money." So, on January 3, 2010 Vaughan Penn and Josh Pepper did a concert at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Willow Spring and we raised over $1,000 for Carter's Fight Against Fanconi Anemia! Thank you Triangle Community Foundation so much for planting this seed of giving."

Laura Treat Harvey Director of Development at The Emily Krzyzewski Center Gave 32 Pounds of Food

"The evening after the TCF party at Marbles, I was agonizing about how to best use the $10 -- for example, should I get lots of other friends to match it with me and create a much larger circle of givers with a bigger impact? The plan sounded good, but I realized my regular job as a fundraiser would not allow me to put in the time to follow up with another project, so I decided to keep it simple. Since the TCF party itself was a contribution point for the Food Bank, I decided I'd put the TCF's and my $10 together and buy food for the Food Bank in Durham. I sent my best bargain shopper (that is, my partner, Regina, who truly knows how to stretch a dollar!) out to Aldi's in Raleigh where you can buy a lot of food for $20. She came back with 32 pounds of items that are on the Food Bank's "needed items" list. We delivered it on Friday 12/11.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to give to a worthy cause. On days when I eat a bit too much in celebrating the holidays I am certainly aware of the blessings I've been given. And the times I feel hunger pangs I count my blessings that I have the resources to fulfill my needs. Your gift to us was more than just the $10 bill -- it created a powerful impetus to get out and DO something!"

Pretty amazing stuff.