Earth Day and the Green Fair provide opportunities to engage in our community (at home and at work)

It's National Volunteer Week, so before I go any further, I want to say thank you to all my friends and colleagues for everything they do to serve others.  This is your week, so enjoy it.

Yep, April 19-25th is THE week -- as established by the Points of Light & Hands On Network -- across the United States and Canada when we celebrate the many contributions of what are sometimes called unpaid staff.  This year's theme is pretty appropriate - "Celebrating people in action."  That's what it's all about every day, every week.  Not just this week.

That fact that today is Earth Day, as well, makes it even better.  There's so much going on right now that, at Blackbaud HQ, we decided to focus on being green this week...and having our volunteer fair in May.

As for being green...I just returned from a great lunch & learn where Josh Martin from the Coastal Conservation League talked about "rethinking settlement patterns" (i.e. stopping sprawl and being mindful about land use).  Very cool presentation with some shocking arial photographs of highways, malls and neighborhoods that eat up acres and cause traffic problems because of how they were designed.  I have to admit, the alternate vision Josh shared of what the Coastal Conservation League thinks these places could be like is pretty darn compelling.  When I meet someone like Josh and hear what organizations like his are doing, it makes me appreciate living in an engaged community.

I'm also happy to report that my house got a walk score of 75 out of 100 or "very walkable" in terms of getting to a variety of shops (including a Starbucks and a local bakery), restuarants, parks...even a branch library.  I knew I liked living in a walkable neighborhood with a central place where people gathered.  Hearing Josh helped me understand why that was.

Tomorrow, my colleagues who work at Blackbaud's HQ on Daniel Island have another opportunity to learn more about what it means to be green.  Greenbaud (our employee environmental corps) and Team Blackbaud Charlestion (the HQ "branch" of our employee volunteer corps) are teaming up to bring us our first Green Fair.  I hear that more than 25 local businesses and organizations that promote sustainable living and/or products and services will be in the atrium.  We'll be able to check out the latest in Hybrid technology from Honda, learn how to get free hot water from SolarTEK and maybe even snag a cupcake from, who else, Cupcake.

I love opportunities like this that give us a chance to meet in our "community center" within Blackbaud, visit with people from neighboring divisions and learn about things that make the world a better place.  So thank you to everyone on Greenbaud and Team Blackbaud Charleston who are bringing us the Green Fair.  I hope this is the beginning of an annual tradition.

And never fear, we'll get back to National Volunteer Week soon.  Our HQ-based volunteer fair is scheduled for May 6th, and we've invited more than 30 nonprofits to set up shop in the atrium.  Australia and the UK (where we also have offices) have their volunteer weeks in May and June, respectively.  So we'll be championing volunteerism for months (well, ok, we do that all the time, really)!

Wherever you are, I hope you are doing something to mark Earth Day and to give back.  That's what being a part of a community is all about!