You may have noticed that there are a bunch of different ways to get involved lately. There always are, but perhaps there's more emphasis because many of these organizations could use just a little more help right now.

I believe the most important thing is just getting involved. Whether that be doing a little bit of volunteer work, or making a small contribution. It seems that many choose not to participate at all either because they're not in a position to write a big check, or they don't have a lot of extra time to contribute. That's too bad, because to these different causes every little bit counts. Even a $5 or $10 contribution helps. It sure beats $0. Sure you don't have the time volunteer at your favorite cause for 20 hours each month. Could you spend a few minutes calling a handful of friends who might share in your passion?

It's probably not appropriate for most to give every time they're approached. If I did that I'd have a tough time finding enough money to feed my family. Instead consider some way to make a small contribution (time, money or both) each time there's an opportunity to help a cause you're interested in. Heck, sometimes it's not even the cause itself, but wanting to help a good friend's cause because they've always been there for you.

This is a busy month for me and many of my friends as there are some really neat opportunities to get involved.

My very good friend Thom Singer is raising money for the Kate Singer Endowment For Cranio-Facial Research, a cause that the Singer family started on behalf of their oldest daughter (who's now doing just fine). Thom donates a portion of his proceeds from every speech to this fund. This month is Kate's birthday and he's running a special online campaign. I hope you'll consider joining me in making a contribution to this fundraiser. Especially if you find yourself getting extra benefit from Thom's talk at our event Monday afternoon and the subsequent conference call.

The Austin Twestival is coming this Thursday, February 12th. This is an incredible global initiative occurring in 175+ cities world wide to raise money for charity : water. An organization that helps bring clean drinking water to the 1 Billion+ people on this planet who don't have that luxury. It's amazing to think of clean water as a luxury, but for many it is. Heck, maybe you don't even care that much about the cause and you're just interested in a really great party. There's nothing wrong with that. 100% of your ticket price is still going to charity! I'm sure you won't feel bad about that.

Finally we have our own NetworkInAustin 'Gives' initiative we're working on. Our efforts are currently directed at the Capital Area Food Bank the end of this month. There are 2 ways to get involved. Please consider one or both of these opportunities.

1) Make a contribution through our Virtual Fund Drive. Remember, every contribution counts whether it's small or large
2) Join us at the Food Bank on either Thursday the 26th or Friday the 27th and volunteer for a shift to make a difference.

How will you make a difference? You'll be surprised at how far even a little bit goes for the organization and for YOU.

Happy Networking!

Scott Ingram
NetworkInAustin.com