Lisa
Buksbaum's Monthly Letter: May, 2007
Be where you are, appreciate
every minute.
What a month it was… it gives new meaning to the term action-packed.
Every week had a peak experience… actually several … which made
it feel like several months rolled up into one.
Enjoying my 25th college reunion at Penn, Soaringwords started
a relationship with the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious
School of Nursing and the School of Social Work & Practice…
we held the Second Annual Soaringwords 5K … We are starting
some exciting new partnerships with national sponsors… I met
my agent for the first time for my book, Soaringwords the
Power to Heal. Ten Secrets to Conquer Life’s Pain and Obstacles…I
Attended the annual Cause Marketing Forum Conference… Attended
an annual Meditation Retreat… Commemorated the 9th Anniversary
of my brother Gary’s death… celebrated my son Jonathan’s 17th
birthday how thrilling to share it with our family and his closest
friends as his illness eight years ago was the motivation for
starting Soaringwords. Let me share some of the highlights with
you.
The Soaringwords 5K was glorious. We had perfect weather. I
started the day at 8am in Riverside Park waiting for Charles
Shutts the Pepsi distributor to show up. Hey when you’re the
CEO & Founder you often get to do the most glamorous jobs!
It was Charles’ day off and we so appreciate the fact that he
drove into NYC piling 1,500 bottles of Aquafina and Flavor Splash
into his van. An hour later I called Jonathan Lamstein from
Josh’s Place Catering and his co-wokers told me that he was
in the hospital as his wife Jill was giving birth to their fourth
child. Although Jonathan missed the 5K festivities his team
came through the finish line for Soaringwords. The food was
simply amazing and baby girl and mom are doing well. The rest
of the day was spent hanging out with the beverages and delegating
various assignments to the eight capable New York Cares volunteers
who pitched in to get the 5K route ready. Some of the 5K highlights
were, raising lots of funds to support our Hospital Outreach
programs, new corporate teams from W Hotels, MTV, Time Equities,
American Express, and welcoming back teams from BJ and The Jewish
Center. Special thanks to our Soaringwords schools …PS
152 led by David Grisevich for
singing a wonderful opening song at the start of the 5K… and
Principal Norma Perez and students from IS 528
who performed three pieces from Alvin Alley. It was spectacular
to see these young women dancing in the park with NYC taxis
whizzing by in the background. Thanks to all of the individuals
who invited their friends and family to make donations and cheer
them on and for everyone who came out to have a great time….
Gary Baumgarten, the Head of
News for PalTalk, broadcast live from the Soaringwords
5K. It was exciting to get such immediate feedback and encouragement
from listeners around the country during the show… PalTalk is
the largest video chat community on the Internet with over four
million active members. My show, Soaringwords the Power to Heal
will feature experts and authorities in Mind-body wellness as
well as the heroes and heroines from across the country that
are doing great things to overcome life’s obstacles. If you’re
interested in sponsorship information, send me an email.
Photos from the 5K are featured below.
 
 
We also have wonderful employee volunteer programs to share
with Summer Associates and co-workers. Please Click
Here for the corporate volunteer program summary. In the
last month, a couple of new law firms have signed up for summer
programs and we’re working on fourth quarter experiences with
Cisco, JetBlue and other sponsors.
Photo above: Hundreds of students and parents
at the Midway Jewish Center in Long Island celebrate a year-long
fund-raising drive to donate quilts and pillows to hospitalized
children
Back in September we had a kick-off program with the Midway
Jewish Center and on May 20 hundreds of students and parents
came together for a community-wide good deeds (aka Mitzvah fair)
to benefit hospitalized kids. Special thanks to
Principal Dina Hochbaum and chairperson
Ruth Spitz.
Photo above: Soaringwords at the Greenwich
Central Middle School.
We were delighted to share Soaringwords with 220 students at
Greenwich Central Middle School… they had a dance where they
raised $2,000 for Soaringwords and the next morning we shared
an assembly with the sixth and seventh graders…. Afterwards,
each homeroom decorated quilts and pillows with inspirational
messages and artwork… and also created SoaringFables and jokes
which culminated in a Closing Award Ceremony where the students
proudly presented their creations to each other. All of these
will be donated to hospitalized kids at Greenwich Hospital.
Photo above: Town School students collected
art supplies to donate to hospitalized children in special tote
bags that they decorated.
Special thanks to 13 year old Ali
Ruben who was the SoaringChampion that led four
amazing Soaringwords experiences at The Town School throughout
the year.
Soaringwords the Power
to Heal book
We’re looking for SoaringStars real-life heroes and heroines
to be featured in my book, Soaringwords the Power to Heal.
Ten Secrets to Conquer Life’s Pain and Obstacles. Email
me if you know someone who has overcome illness or adversity
and should be featured to inspire others to “Never give up!”
Marianne Williamson, Dr. Ron Taffel, Deepak Chopra and Ellen
DeGeneris are some of the special people who we are inviting
to be contributors to the book.
Best of the Best
You know who you are. Thanks for doing something truly wonderful
to help us soar higher. This month we want to thank:
Angela Grywalski of Baesman Response Marketing; Marcia Graham
of Beth Israel Hospital; David Hessekiel for the Cause Marketing
Forum Conference; Gina Rausher of JetBlue; Mike Campbell, Jessica
Bruderman, Jen Bresler, Patty Silkman, Sarah Ralston, Bryan
Sample, Sage Woodward, Lane Forcier, Maria Stillo, Tony Mangano,
Nancy Liner, and Principal Carol Walsh from Greenwich Central
Middle School; Lisa Fiestal, Gary Fischer of Horizon Media the
patients and families at Beth Israel Hospital enjoyed the quilts
and pillows and warmth so much; Kenyella White and Diana Graham
our wonderful interns from I Have A Dream; Rhonda Hurwitz; Dina
Hochbaum and Ruth Spitz of the Midway Jewish Center; Joe Lardizabal
of MTV/Spike; NY Cares volunteers Amber Nevens, Euphemia Martin,
Dena Fisher, Doyen Saunier Aurelia, Elvia Flores, Patrick Leung,
Jinha Oh, Julie Pasqual, Sarah Trust; Gary Baumgarten of PalTalk.com;
Meena Mansharamani and Kelly Greene and Ahad Afridi of Pepsi;
Dave Wadum from Print Media; Monique Prince from Viacom; Jennifer
Delgado from W Hotels; Marcelo Bronstein and Rachel Cowan for
the retreat; Abby Klausner our new summer intern; Gloria Messer;
Cheryl Saban; Lindsay Brine of Soaringwords for the 5K and everything
that you do everyday.
Sending you much love and soaring energy,
Lisa Honig Buksbaum
CEO & Founder, Soaringwords
lisa@soaringwords.org
212-290-7627
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