Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Brass Magazine and giving back

I love my business and my volunteering and working on the MGB and all, but I have also been reading, attending some seminars and taking a long look at ways to build wealth. It will take a good deal to fund my foundation, so it can finance the projects I have planned, and more yet undiscovered. Giving back is very important to me.


One of the things I ran across is a magazine called “Brass”. It is a relatively new magazine for ‘young people’. Huh. I found it quite interesting and I’m only young at heart. I sure could have used something like this when I was ‘young’. The owner is a young guy who introduces himself and his magazine in this manner: “My name is Bryan Sims. I am the founder of brass|MEDIA Inc. I am a college student with a dream - and this is it.”
Bold, He has brass. He states his goal as: “To provide direct, intelligent, entertaining content to young adults about the money side of life.“ I could have used that back when I was younger. It gives me hope for our future.


One of he things that really caught my eye though was number 9 on his ‘Guiding Principles’:
“9. Give back and help others.
We believe strongly in giving back and helping others in a variety of ways. We value our contributions to the community, whether speaking to high school students or donating copies of our magazine to various groups, including organizations such as Johns Hopkins Hospital. We reserve ad pages for nonprofit organizations like the American Red Cross, UNICEF, and the American Indian College Fund.

However, giving back and helping others goes beyond supporting non-profits. It also means being socially engaged, like listening to the ideas of a young entrepreneur and sharing our contacts with them. It means hiring interns and young professionals to give them a chance to prove themselves in an up-and-coming environment. In short, this is our effort to make our community and world a better place through social entrepreneurship.” His website is http://www.brassmedia.com Check it out.
I admire him. I am sure he will do very well.


And there was another interesting statistic I saw somewhere, that said that 60+% of retired people volunteer or serve others in some way. I was surprised by that number. It is much higher that I thought it would be. There is so much negative stuff on the news and in the headlines that I am always pleased to see messages like these.

What are ways you know how we can give to others or ‘pay it forward’. What do you recommend? Add your list in the comments.

Mine are:
Donations to:
Guatemala Mission Outreach
The Susan G. Komen Foundation
The Brain Injury Recovery Network
Our local church
The Turks and Cacaos National Museum
The Safety Harbor Museum
giving automobiles to individuals in need of transportation

Volunteering at:
St. Petersburg High School
Coastal Cleanups
various fund raisers
The American Red Cross
Florida's National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship events