Because of everything we’ve been fortunate enough to have available to us, we set up an initiative called Incept Gives to give back hope. Jeff White, our Founder/Chief Listening Officer, has worked for years to be able to give hope to those who have none. In the process, he built a strong relationship with Cross International, an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty in some of the poorest places in the world.
On Friday, May 7th, Cross International hosted an event that changed my life: The 3rd Annual Hope Gala (Hope For Children). The event was a resounding success. I think Jeff put it best in a post he made on the Incept fan page on Facebook:
Jeff White: I wanted to let everyone know that the Haiti fundraising Gala held this past Friday night was a complete success. Along with matching funds from a large foundation, the event raised a total of $217,000! Incept Gives was one of the event’s primary sponsors. This means that hundreds if not thousands… of children, who live in the poorest country in the western hemisphere, will have hope for a better life because of you. Simply put, your hard work puts us in the position to provide the funds that change lives.
Words really can’t describe how proud I am of all of you.
The primary goal of the gala was to raise enough money to reopen ten schools that closed when the people/organizations that funded them walked away, leaving them without the flow of support and care vital to their survival. The result of that single night will feed and educate thousands of children in the year to come. More importantly, during one night in northeast Ohio a group of complete strangers came together for people they will never meet, resulting in those children having hope. Hope that they can have a better life. Hope that there is someone out there who cares about them. Hope that they can accomplish things beyond their wildest dreams. Hope that proves their lives have value!
As Incept Gives continues to grow and find new ways to touch the lives of others, both locally and across the world, I have found hope where I least expected it. I never realized how much of an impact I could have with such a small amount of generosity. The gala caused me to feel things I have never felt before. It moved me so much I even wrote about it on my personal blog, explaining how touched I was. But it changed my life in a more fundamental way: I’ve now got the bug… the “charity bug.” At every turn, I see new ways to help others, and I love the way that makes me feel! And I owe it all to Jeff for allowing us to get involved and transform Incept Gives into something amazing. Who knows where we will turn up next. You’ll just have to stay posted, wait and see.
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