What's Up Magazines

Publisher's Letter

We've all heard about the “power of positive thinking.” It's a wonderful energy and has helped many people. However, along with that, what we need plenty of today is … “the power of positive action.”

Every day I am impressed with the number of wonderful people I meet who are trying to do as my grandfather used to say, “put their money where their mouth is.” They don't sit and complain that “someone should do something about this or that” they are out there alone or with small-to medium-sized groups trying to do good in a way that benefits our greater society. The problem is that today our society's needs are large, and it takes incredible resources to make an impact on whatever the cause or problem may be.

The other problem is that we are all so busy, we may have the knowledge to address the problem but not the time to learn how to raise the influence, power, or money that it takes to put that knowledge into action.

The mission of What's Up? has always been to involve people, inform them, and to be a positive influence in our communities. From the beginning, we have followed that mission. The gratifying part about growing a company is that with that growth then we are able to reach more people and hopefully to be a benefit. Two new “positive actions” at What's Up? are our adoption programs and our Volunteers Needed column.

The charitable organization adoption program is a concept that is set up to work with an organization for 1 year. In that relatively short 12 months we will help them accomplish their “dream goals” (more than they dared to think they could accomplish) by helping them with whatever had been holding them back. For example: if fundraising is a problem we can show them how to put on events, write marketing materials, produce ads, and introduce them to other people who may be able to help. We are willing to use all of our own resources to work with their board and staff to accomplish enough so that within 1 year that organization is stronger and more capable of carrying on toward bigger and better things.

The Volunteers Needed column is set up to address that other void that I hear so frequently mentioned. How can I help? How can I find volunteers? This is a bigger problem than I had ever realized, but it makes sense. Again, it is the old time and money problem. People who may have the money rarely have the time to seek out the small but important organizations that probably desperately need it and the organizations are so busy trying to solve the problem that they don't have time or energy to reach out and find unknown people who may want to help. We will publish, for free, all the information about the volunteer needs of nonprofit organizations. We already publish information about upcoming charitable events in our Giving Back page, and we hope this new column will also help.

Our first two adopted organizations are the Arc in Annapolis and Easton , an organization dedicated to changing lives for people with developmental disabilities and their families and the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC) in Grasonville on Kent Island , previously known as Horsehead Wetlands. We have already run two articles involving the CBEC and in future issues you will read many more articles involving these two organizations. In this issue the article on fish tagging on page?? is one of the many programs underway at the CBEC. The goals we have set with these two groups are pretty big, and we are really enjoying the challenge.

Please join with us to strengthen our already existing local groups by sending us information about them, don't forget it's free! Any time you have an event send us the dates and information as soon as plans are final or at least 45 days in advance of the issue month in which the notice should run. Color pictures are always welcome. After the event if you send us pictures we will put them in Limelight; Movers and Shakers, or Around Town picture section—include names and what the event was about. We all love to see each other in print.

Thanks for being a reader and keep in touch.