A Master Philanthropist - Paul Newman Tribute

There are role models in life and then there are people you can follow in their footsteps.  When working as the Director of Development for the Phi Kappa Tau Foundation, one of my most exciting moments was to meet Paul Newman.  I was excited not to meet a world-famous actor, but rather a world-famous philanthropist.

Mr. Newman was a member of Phi Kappa Tau and because of his leadership, Phi Kappa Tau adopted the Hole in the Wall Camps as the national philanthropy.  These remarkable camps provide opportunities for children battling chronic and life-threatening illnesses to attend summer camp and have a normal experience yet still receive state-of-the-art medical care.  I heard yesterday during an interview with Newman's best friend for 50+ years, AE Hotchner, that with the development of Newman's Own, more than $330 million has been contributed to various charities.

I had the privilege of volunteering at Camp Boggy Creek in Florida several times.  I visited the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut and had the honor to attend both the ground breaking and the grand opening of the Victory Junction Gang Camp in North Carolina.  With the support of Phi Kappa Tau's Foundation Board of Directors, I established a scholarship program for brothers who would work or volunteer their time to serve as counselors and activity specialists at one of the camps.  I think the proudest moment of my career was learning that because of PKT's commitment to the camps, it quickly became the number one source of male volunteers, a need that was in great demand.

There were countless precious moments that the camps provided these young men.  To say that it was life changing is not an understatement.  These Phi Tau's went to camp as boys but returned as men, forever impacted by the experiences they had working with children.  To know that I played a role in getting that program firmly established is one of the highlights of my career and certainly a legacy I am indeed proud to have left the Fraternity I loved as if I were a member of it myself.

I met Paul Newman on several occasions.  He was a shy man and not one for special accolades.  He told me how proud he was of the brothers who came to camp and was genuinely touched that Phi Tau was so involved with the camps he founded.

He was an incredible philanthropist.  He gave because it was the right thing to do, not because he was getting anything in return.  He embodied generosity, creativity, dedication and hard work.  He made a difference for thousands of children and equally as many volunteers and staff members.  I am forever grateful to have met him and to have been a part of the Hole in the Wall Camp experience.

This video was made by Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity as a tribute to one of their most distinguished alumni, Paul Newman, upon his death.  I am blessed to have been associated with PKT and treasure the moments that I was part of the staff.  Hoo Rah, my brothers!

2007-2010 Tri Sigma Triennial Achievements

During the 2010 National Convention, I was asked to highlight Tri Sigma's accomplishments during the previous three years.  This is typically a powerpoint presentation where each Council members gets up and shares a long (read: boring) bulleted list of achievements.  I was given some license to present this information in a different format.  I wanted to create something that would wake the crowd up, get them fired up and celebrate what turned out to be a remarkable triennium.

Many thanks to National President, Laura Sweet, and the other members of the Sigma Sigma Sigma Executive Council for giving me just enough rope to not hang myself.

So here it is...the 2007-2010 Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority Triennial Achievements.  This is not your grandma's sorority!

Hospitals Increasingly Turning to Social Media to Communicate

The Dayton Business Journal published an excellent feature on how hospitals are using social media as a way to communicate and build relationships with patients and families.  I am proud that The Children's Medical Center was prominently featured in this article. There is excellent advice from Betsy Woods, public relations and marketing manager at Datyon Children's (not to mention a quick shout-out to yours truly).   Read the article here.  I would love to get your feedback.  Do you follow any health care organizations?  Why or why not?

If you are interested in seeing what Dayton Children's is sharing via social media, follow us at:
www.facebook.com/daytonchildrens
www.facebook.com/Wally.B.Bear
www.twitter.com/daytonchildrens
www.youtube.com/daytonchildrens
http://blog.childrensdayton.org/

Social Media Ninjas' (Bethany Deines and Betsy Woods) Podcast about Social Media in Healthcare

Betsy Woods, Marketing/PR manager for Dayton Children's and I will be one of the featured break-out speakers at the upcoming SummitUp confab on October 19 at Sinclair Community College.  We were recently interviewed by David Bowman, the Great and Powerful Oz behind the SummitUp social media conference, about social media in healthcare and more specifically about our experiences at Dayton Children's. 

Listen to the podcast here and let us know your feedback.  How are you using social media in your own field?  What are your best practices? Pitfalls to avoid? What recommendations can you give us?

Listen Up - Good Social Media Experts to Follow

A colleague and friend of mine, Todd Bolster, at The Basement Design + Motion, were IM'ing each other on Facebook yesterday. I was helping him brainstorm potential prospects and he jokingly referred to me as the Forbes Magazine of our industry.  I think that industry spans some territory: the interfraternal community, nonprofit community, and knowledge about social media.  I took that comment as a huge compliment, because if there is one thing I like to do is network with people and listen to what they have to say.

With that in mind, I thought I would share with you some good people to follow, network with, like, and above all...listen to what they have to say about social media, communication trends, nonprofit technology trends, and other things "tech."  By no means is this an exhaustive list.  This was just my off-the-top of my head list of recommendations to get you started.

On Facebook
NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network
TED
Fortune Magazine
Fast Company

On Twitter
@jeffbullas
@johnhaydon
@kanter
@newssocialmedia
@techcrunch
@dakshinamurti
@mashable
@davidebowman

You can easily go crazy with following people so I picked out my favorites that post the most relevant and useful content.  I would be interested in hearing your recommendations.  And in case you are so inclined, you can follow me on twitter at @bethanydeines.