Wednesday, May 12, 2010

All Tree Sponsorships Sold!

As of today, all of our trees sponsorships are sold!  This is great news and just in time for the tree dedication ceremony this Saturday.  Thank you to everyone who sponsored a tree, and we look forward to seeing you this weekend!!!

Press Release - Leadership Warner Robins Class of 2010 to Hold Tree Dedication Ceremony

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Warner Robins, GA- The Leadership Warner Robins Class of 2010 has designed a community project with multiple beneficiaries. First, the class will enhance the green space in the Warner Robins community by assisting the Little League International Southeastern Division Headquarters, currently under construction, with their landscaping. Second, the class will aid the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation with the renovation of their new office facilities located in the downtown Warner Robins area, also contributing to the revitalization efforts currently underway downtown.

Over the past few weeks, the class provided both businesses and families in the community the opportunity to sponsor trees to landscape the Little League International Southeastern Division Headquarters and stadium. The sponsorship includes a tree and an accompanying 6” x 8” plaque, which will read “donated by”, “in memory of”, or “in honor of”. Tree sponsorships were $100, $300, and $500 based on low, moderate, and high traffic areas around the headquarters building and stadium. Only a few sponsorships remain; interested parties may inquire with Lindsay at (478) 224-7070 or send an email to leadershipwr2010@gmail.com.

The sponsored trees will be planted at the new Little League Southeastern Division Headquarters on May 14th and 15th so they can be in place for the June 12, 2010 dedication ceremony for the new Little League facility. Planting assistance will be provided by Paulk Landscaping and T. Lake Environmental Designs.

On Saturday, May 15, 2010 (May 22 in the case of inclement weather) at 10:00 am, the class will hold a tree dedication ceremony at the Little League Southeastern Division Complex located on Snellgrove Drive in Warner Robins. During the ceremony, the class will acknowledge the numerous tree sponsors as well as the local companies and organizations that have made this project possible. After the ceremony, tree sponsors may visit their trees and are welcome to take photos.

The LWR Class of 2010 invites all members of the community to join us to celebrate this occasion and give thanks to all of the generous families, organizations, and companies in the middle Georgia area that have contributed to the success of this project. The members of the LWR class are grateful and proud to be a part of a community with such a charitable spirit!

Confirmed dignitaries that will be attending are Ned Sanders, Chairman of the Houston County Board of Commissioners; Chuck Shaheen, Mayor of Warner Robins; and Ed Rodriguez, President of the Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, you can visit the Leadership Warner Robins Class of 2010 blog at www.lwr2010.blogspot.com, email a class representative at leadershipwr2010@gmail.com, or call the Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce at (478) 922-8585 and ask for Katie or Donna.

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The Warner Robins Area Chamber is a volunteer-driven, member-supported organization working full-time to preserve, enhance and expand the opportunities for orderly growth of business, industrial and professional communities throughout the Robins Region of Middle Georgia. Our objectives are to preserve and increase jobs, capital investment and opportunities for economic growth. The business of the Chamber is business.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Tree Dedication Ceremony

The following invitation will be emailed to all of our wonderful tree sponsors in the next couple of days.  We would also like to welcome the local community to attend.
You are cordially invited to attend the Leadership Warner Robins Class of 2010 Dedication Day. The Leadership Warner Robins (LWR) Class of 2010 invites you, along with your family and friends, to attend a special event to dedicate newly planted trees sponsored by local families, organizations, and companies. These trees will be planted at the new Little League Southeastern Division Headquarters on May 14th and 15th in honor of and memory of many special people.

The Tree Dedication Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010, at 10:00 am at the Little League Southeastern Division Complex located on Snellgrove Drive in Warner Robins. During the ceremony, we would like to acknowledge the numerous tree sponsors as well as the companies that have made this project possible. After the ceremony, tree sponsors may visit their trees and are welcome to take photos.

The sponsorship of these trees benefits two organizations located in Warner Robins. First, the trees are being donated to the Little League International Southeastern Division Headquarters scheduled to open summer of 2010. Second, the net proceeds from tree sales will be donated by LWR to the Joanna McAfee Building Renovation Fund.

Press Release - Leadership Warner Robins Class of 2010 Selects Class Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WARNER ROBINS, GA- The Leadership Warner Robins program exists to help prepare and encourage emerging leaders to seek leadership positions within the community. Along with attending monthly leadership classes from January to September, the class is required to work together to select, plan, and complete a class project. This project must meet a community need that is not currently being addressed by any community agency and leave a lasting and visible impact. The project should be completed by graduation in October.

The Leadership Warner Robins Class of 2010 has designed a project with multiple beneficiaries. First, the class will enhance the green space in our community by assisting the Little League International Southeastern Division Headquarters, currently under construction in Warner Robins, with their landscaping. Second, the class will aid the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation with the renovation of their new office facilities located in the downtown Warner Robins area. As a result of this renovation, the class is also contributing to the revitalization efforts in downtown Warner Robins.

The class is providing both businesses and families in the community the opportunity to sponsor trees to landscape the Little League International Southeastern Division Headquarters and stadium. The sponsorship will include a tree and an accompanying 6” x 8” plaque, which may read “donated by”, “in memory of”, or “in honor of”. Tree sponsorships are $100, $300, and $500 based on low, moderate, and high traffic areas around the headquarters building and stadium. Planting assistance will be provided by Paulk Landscaping and T. Lake Environmental Designs, and a tree dedication day will be held on May 15, 2010 (with May 22, 2010 as the backup date for inclement weather or scheduling delays in construction). The landscaping and plaques will be in place for the June 12, 2010 dedication ceremony for the new Little League facility.

All proceeds from the tree sponsorships will be donated to the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation, Inc for the renovation of their new permanent office space on Commercial Circle on Watson Boulevard in downtown Warner Robins. The Foundation has been operating out of a temporary facility that is no longer sufficient for their growing needs. The new location will allow them to expand and support more middle Georgia families battling childhood cancer.

In addition to the tree sponsorships, the class is holding a raffle to raise funds to assist the Foundation’s renovation efforts. Raffle prizes include a 37” flat-panel television, weekend accommodations at Lake Blackshear, a Bluetooth headset, and a $50 savings bond. Raffle tickets can be purchased for $5 each or 5 for $20. The drawing for prize winners will be held June 30, 2010. Winners do not have to be present at the drawing to win.

For more information and to participate, you can visit the Leadership Warner Robins Class of 2010 blog at http://www.lwr2010.blogspot.com/, email a class representative at leadershipwr2010@gmail.com, or call the Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce at (478) 922-8585 and ask for Katie or Donna.

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The Warner Robins Area Chamber is a volunteer-driven, member-supported organization working full-time to preserve, enhance and expand the opportunities for orderly growth of business, industrial and professional communities throughout the Robins Region of Middle Georgia. Our objectives are to preserve and increase jobs, capital investment and opportunities for economic growth. The business of the Chamber is business.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Featured on 13WMAZ Eyewitness News

Our community project was featured on 13WMAZ Eyewitness news at 5 pm today.  The story has also been posted on the 13WMAZ web site.  We are excited to get the word out to the local community!

There are three prices for trees - $100, $300, or $500, and a tree marker is included in this cost.  We will ONLY be selling 90 trees.

If you are interested in purchasing a tree, please call (478) 224-7070 or send an email to leadershipwr2010@gmail.com.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

More about our community project...

The following flyer provides a little bit of information about how we plan to help out two local organizations:
For more information about this project, watch 13WMAZ Eyewitness News at 11:00 pm on Monday, April 5, 2010.

Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation

The 2010 Leadership Warner Robins Class has chosen the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation to benefit from our community impact project. For more information, please read the following letter from the McAfee family:





March 13, 2010

Dear Prospective Sponsor of the Leadership Warner Robins Community Impact Project:

On behalf of our family and the directors of the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation, we would like to thank for your past support. We would also like to inform you that the Leadership Warner Robins (LWR) Class of 2010 has selected our foundation to benefit from their year-long Community Impact Project.

LWR volunteers will be conducting a series of fundraisers and will be asking for cash and non-cash donations to help us meet a key milestone in the life of our foundation; to move into our own facility! We are a 501(c)(3) organization, so your financial contributions are tax deductible as allowable by the IRS. Our foundation believes in transparency so our tax returns are available on our website, along with our 501 (c)(3) IRS letter of determination.

Our foundation was started after losing our 6-year-old daughter and sister, Joanna Rae McAfee, to Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma on December 22, 2005 (you can read Joanna’s story on our website). Our mission is to raise awareness, provide support and fund research for childhood cancer. Although our foundation was started with literally no money in the bank, our personal experience left us with a great desire to help other families while memorializing our precious Joanna; she simply fought too hard to ever be forgotten! We are so proud of the success you helped to make possible and we feel it is appropriate to share some of the successes:
  • More than $340k has been spent in direct support of mission objectives.
    • Awareness has been raised all over the state of Georgia and beyond.
    • Support has been provided to 45 families, including nearly 200 recurring gifts.
    • Research grants (11) have been provided to six (6) childhood cancer research initiatives.
  • Low overhead and a volunteer-based staff have allowed low overhead (less than 9%).
What does all this mean? Together, we have created a foundation that is really making a difference in the lives of children with cancer. Mission demands, however, have outgrown resources, staff and office space to the point that is limiting our ability to grow. It is now time to leverage our mission, the success we’ve experienced, and the energy of our volunteers into a plan for growth and expansion of our mission scope.

Key to our growth is the ability to relocate to a larger facility. Our current foundation office is a modest one-room office that is only large enough for two employees/volunteers and equipment. We have identified an affordable space for lease but it is in great need of repair. We are excited about the facility, however, because it has two distinct advantages to the community:
  • The larger facility (and infrastructure) will allow the foundation to stretch out and to utilize the many volunteers who want to help.
  • The facility identified is in the Downtown Warner Robins area. This area has been targeted by the City of Warner Robins for revitalization efforts and our move could help spark this revitalization.
Thank you for your continued support, and thank you in advance for supporting the Leadership Warner Robins Community Impact Program!

Jeff, Misty and Paul McAfee

P.O. Box 9537, Warner Robins, GA 31095-9537
478.953.5195
http://www.supportcancerkids.org/
info@SupportCancerKids.org