Serving it up Vmeals Style

As promised, I wanted to take this opportunity to put us in a service frame of mind as we approach 9/11. Tomorrow will officially be recognized as a Day of Service and Remembrance. I'm sure you'll remember - who could forget what happened on that beautiful September day (much like today here) in 2001. It seems as vivid as if it were yesterday and yet like a lifetime ago. Time is funny like that, isn't it?

I will spend most of my day tomorrow ferrying my kids from one game or practice to another, but I will also be spending part of it at home making dresses from pillowcases for little girls in need. I came to be involved in this project through my my work in social media, and ended up finding something where I could do good simply by putting my passion for sewing and cute clothes to work. (If you care to learn more about this project, you can check it out here.)

Shayna with Myra Gayle & Mazie 

Let me tell you about a couple other Vmeals staffers. Shayna, our sales rep in the Atlanta area, is passionate about animals. For many years she has volunteered with a number of animal rescue groups around metro Atlanta.

In the past few years, she and her husband Craig, have have begun to take a more active role in helping homeless pets around Atlanta(and by "active" I think she means taking them all into her own home).They are the proud parents of 5 rescue dogs. Shayna also still tries to fit in a weekend at the local dog shelter whenever possible. If you are in the Atlanta area and interested in adopting a rescue dog, Shayna recommends CPR (don't worry, it's not doggy mouth-to-mouth - it stands for Canine Pet Rescue).

Some of the donated goodies!

Mary Pat, another one of our sales reps (she covers Central Virgina and Hampton Roads), has found a way to apply her sales and marketing skills to her love of running, kids sports, and charity work. She has raised funds and procured donations for the Legs For Liberia Race in Fluvanna County (Effort Church) for their missions program and for the Pink Power Triathlon in Richmond to support the Richmond YMCA and their programs.

She has also started a new non-profit (501 c (3)application pending) called Cleats For Kids. The mission is to raise funds to be able to buy cleats for kids. They also donate gently used cleats at fundraisers, community programs and to coaches to distribute to families in need. She saw a gap where children who qualify for program scholarships might not be able to afford the shoes. She may be starting in her own back yard, but she has big plans for the program.

That's just a peek at the diversity of interests among the Vmeals team. Next week we'll see what everyone else is up to, but we want to hear from you. What organizations do you support? Give them a shout out and include a link in our comments section below.