Blog post by Reed Sandridge from Washington, DC
Well I have fallen two days behind on posting this. Sorry, but I have been digging out from all of your emails and comments about the Worldwide Day of Giving! I’ll be doing an update soon on some of the great stories from June 15th.
But for now, I want to share one of the volunteer projects I did on the Worldwide Day of Giving. I spent six hours volunteering at The IMPACT Summit. Organized by HandsOn Greater DC Cares, this unique forum convenes leaders from the business, education, government and nonprofit sectors to leverage volunteerism, service and philanthropy to address critical issues facing our community. I was asked to photograph the event and captured nearly 300 photos throughout the day.
HandsOn Greater DC Cares President & CEO Dr. Madye Henson (photo: Reed Sandridge)
I arrived at the Renaissance Hotel around 8am. A friendly staff member for the event greeted me at the door and explained to me how to find the conference rooms designated for the event – there were several events taking place that day and it took a little searching to arrive at the right spot.
Alicia, my point of contact from HandsOn Greater DC Cares, gave me an overview of the day’s schedule and reviewed some of the key photographs they wanted. I pulled my Nikon D90 out and connected the 85mm lens that my brother Ryan had let me use. It’s a great lens by the way to capture quality images without flash. I also used a few of the other lenses that I have – all but one of them were actually Ryan’s.
I enjoyed this project. I wish I had been able to focus a little more on the content of sessions. You obviously know about my strong commitment to volunteering and service, but I am also very much involved in exploring how companies engage their employees in service. There are so many benefits for the companies, employees and the community, but I find that most corporations are not taking full advantage of the programs they have in place.
Dr. Henson (left) and Chairperson Matt Mitchell present Jamila Larson of the Homeless Children's Playtime Project with the Community Impact Award. (Photo: Reed Sandridge)
The day closed with several awards for exceptional dedication to service by both individuals and organizations. You can see a list of the amazing nominees and winners here. I packed up my gear and headed home. Now the laborious part for dodgy photographers such as myself – editing.
Year of Giving 