good2gether

Kimpton love.

I've blogged about my great experiences at various Kimpton hotels in the past:

• The Hotel Palomar in Dallas ROCKS!
• Hotel Palomar - a Kimpton hotel - how do I love thee?
• Why I love Kimpton Hotels. Part II.
• I love.

Consistently, Kimpton delivers a great, great experience. So it wasn't completely surprising to be asked to comment on hotel chains and their loyalty programs. The article appeared in The New York Times yesterday – Hotel Chains Try New Ways to Earn Loyalty.

Here's the money quote:

"The level of personal attention really blows me away," said Mr. McHale, founder and chief executive of Good2gether, which connects nonprofit organizations with donors and volunteers. "So if there's a Kimpton in town, that's where I'll stay."

And before you ask, nope, not compensated by Kimpton…just digging a great brand experience.

USA Today - reach millions with your do good messages.

USA Today and Good2gether

View more documents from Greg McHale.

I love Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It's the best. No presents to give, just great times with food and family. And speaking of food – food insecurity, that's hunger to you and I, is a huge issue in this country. And in Boston, you can help. Check out "Thanksgiving Help Needed" from the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley in Do Good Boston.

It's a great way to help make a difference.

The Big Apple baby!

Take a look - Do Good New York is lining up for launch.  New York will be our 21^st 'local' market to go live with a Do Good channel and, by far, the largest.

We spent quite a bit of time mulling over who we should go with as a launch partner.  New York is one of the last markets that supports multiple daily newspapers and we looked at all of them.  But in talking it over with a variety of folks what we heard consistently was that NY1 is the go-to place for really local information on politics, events, and social and nonprofit stories so they were the natural launch partner for us. 

They have a great platform that crosses from their broadcast (cablecast) property to the web.  There's much that we can do together to help nonprofits in New York.  

The channel is live and 'discoverable' but won't be linked from their site for another week or two - we're working with them right now on adding connect2cause widgets

We've actually already done a lot of nonprofit aggregation work in New York so this one will spool up quickly. If you're a nonprofit in New York and would like to be part of Do Good New York, go here and signup. It's fast and it's free!

It'll be terrific to have the Big Apple on board - we're psyched!

Get up. Get out. Do some good!

The best part of my job?  Checking out Do Good channels for cool stuff.  They're filled with tons of great ways to get involved and to make real and important change in communities across America. 

In my travels through Do Good channels this weekend I came across:  

• From Do Good Atlanta - the Atlanta Community Food Bank needs schools supplies for kids in need. 
• From Do Good Boston - on Sunday, November 8^th take part in the 1^st Annual Victoria Mosier Memorial Run in Raynham, MA to benefit Homes for Our Troops.
• From Do Good Chicago - the United Way of Lake County needs volunteer readers and tutors to help elementary school kids.
• From Do Good Hartford - Timothy Memorial School in Norwalk, CT needs used cell phones and ink cartridges (and honestly, who doesn't have this stuff sitting around their house - get rid of it!).
• From Do Good Nashville - see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Dad at the Nashville Children's Theatre. 
• From Do Good Palm Beach - help the YMCA of the Palm Beaches build a heart trail in West Palm Beach, FL.
• From Do Good Rochester - the School of the Holy Childhood is having their annual craft sale on Saturday, November 7^th.
• From Do Good San Antonio - the Volunteer Services Council of San Antonio State Hospital needs gentle used artificial Christmas trees for their patient care areas (I love this one).

 

Helping kids.  Helping the troops.  Helping the hungry.  Helping the disadvantaged.  Helping others. 

You should check out a Do Good channel today and do some good.

Do Good Austin

Do Good Atlanta

Do Good Boston

Do Good Chicago

Do Good Delaware

Do Good Des Moines

Do Good Fort Myers

Do Good Hartford

Do Good Houston

Do Good Indianapolis

Do Good Knoxville

Do Good Nashville

Do Good Palm Beach

Do Good Rochester

Do Good Sarasota

Do Good San Antonio

Do Good San Francisco

Do Good Tampa

Do Good Washington DC

Do Good Westchester County

Do Good USA Today

 

Run! Run! Run!

We're lucky. At good2gether we get to work with thousands of great nonprofits who do amazing things in their local communities.

Here's one that we'd like to bring to your attention. Homes for Our Troops is a great organization doing amazing stuff – building homes for disabled vets. It doesn't get any better than that.

They're having a road race fundraiser on Sunday, November 8^th. If you're in the greater Boston area (the race is in Raynham, MA), please check it out. You'll be helping out some really special people doing important and needed work.

Hollywood in Melrose, MA

Hollywood in Melrose, MA, originally uploaded by Middlesex Fells.

A little non-good2gether blogging today.

Ben Affleck is in Melrose, MA today shooting The Town.  It's based on the book Prince of Thieves.  Hollywood comes to the little town of Melrose, MA.

That’s the way to do it - the Crittenton Women’s Union edition.

Check out the Crittenton Women's Union profile in Do Good Boston. They're really using the Do good channel to their best advantage – they have all sorts of ways to get involved. They've listed:

• programs (7)
• events (1)
• volunteering (8)
• in-kind donation needs (1)
• articles (4)
• jobs (11)

It's terrific to see a nonprofit really 'get it' and take advantage of everything that using a Do Good channel has to offer.

Incidentally, if you or someone you know is looking for a job in the nonprofit space, check them out - they have 11 new jobs listed!

 

Kindness.

The folks at USA Today continue with their commitment to philanthropy and doing good with the launch of Kindness.

In their own words, this is what Kindness is about:

Wish you could find more positive stories in the news -- stories that inspire and uplift you? You've come to the right place.

Kindness is your daily source of inspiration and guide to making a difference in fresh and exciting ways, no matter where you are. Each day, this site will unearth unique stories of giving with exclusive interviews, dives into news stories, plenty of tips, and links to interesting resources.

But we're also building a community, and we look forward to hearing from you.

* What are you doing to make an impact?

* Do you have advice for other readers in the conversation?

* Or maybe you've been looking for new and creative ways to get involved, and just need a little guidance.

* What tools can help?

The Kindness forum lets you start your own conversations threads and connect directly with other readers. I'm going to be participating in the discussions as well, so send your questions and tips or direct message me at any point.

I believe everyone has the power to make a difference. If you're reading this post, you may think the same. Let's get started.

As always, we're thrilled with the inclusion of the connect2cause widget so that readers of Kindness can connect with local nonprofits.

Interested in the transformation of healthcare?

It's a hot topic – the transformation of healthcare in the United States. If you're interested in it, attend the only conference that brings it all together – CIMIT Innovation Congress 2009 in Boston. Check it out here.