I believe that we all owe it to our world to give back in whatever ways work for us. Below, I’ve listed the places where I help out–not just to show that I put my money (and time) where my mouth is, but also, the links here are good for those organizations’ websites’ rankings too:
- Rotary: I joined the Portland Rotary club in 2003, and in January 2016, after moving to Bend, OR, I joined the Rotary Club of Greater Bend, where he’s serving as a board member. I was Rotarian of the Year for my club in 2020-2021.
- My real estate services company, Realty Remotely, sponsored the Mountain View High School football team with on-field signage.
- Peninsula K-8 public school, where my son attended K thru grade 3 – I organized sponsorship of their basketball teams, printing of their visitors’ badges, and personally sponsored a set of printed banners.
- SEMpdx, a Portland-area not-for-profit that puts on monthly educational events and the annual SearchFest conference – I was on the board of directors there for a number of years, before moving to Bend.
- I sponsored 4 children (Liliane, Mediane, Herve, and Shaminah) in Rwanda through my friend Vicky Trabosh‘s Itafari charity organization, since 2009. All four of them have now graduated from college!
- I was an Ambassador Board member for the Children’s Cancer Association from 2009-2013. I regularly donate a week at my timeshare at Otter Crest (Oregon coast) to families with a kiddo with cancer.
- I was on the Youth Exchange Committee, and a host family counselor, with the downtown Portland Rotary Club for about 12 years.
- I have done apheresis (platelets donation) a few dozen times with the Red Cross, as well as donating something like 70 pints of whole blood over the years.