With not enough hours in the day, how can we make a real difference in the Richmond, Va., community?

For me, part of the answer lies in Impact 100.

Through Impact 100, one hundred women each donate a $1,000 toward a $100,000 grant for a mutually decided upon non-profit. The grant is awarded at the annual “Big Give” where each woman has a single live vote.

A minimum donation of $1,000 is required per woman; however, you can join an impact circle with two other people and share a vote. Getting involved is easy and it is a great opportunity to meet with other local women wanting to help make a change. Simple acts, when made collectively, can transform lives. 

The Art 180 team poses with their $100,000 check.

The Big Give 2012
This year’s Big Give followed a rigorous grants review process where dozens of proposals were considered. The volunteer grants committees narrowed the choices to four finalists: Art180, Positive Vibe/Positive Vibe Café, Boaz & Ruth, and William Byrd Community House. Each non-profit presented how they would put the grant to use and, following their presentations, Impact 100 members chose the grant winner on May 8, 2012.

And the winner is …
The recipient of the 2012 Impact100 grant is Art180. The money will make it possible to open a youth-run art center located in the downtown Broad Street Arts District. The center will showcase youth talent in all forms of artistic and performance expression and provide employment skills training opportunities for youth.

The Big Give is an amazingly fun, energetic, and emotional event to attend. I love seeing generous, caring and passionate women join together to help our community and truly make an impact.

Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch said about Impact 100's recent big give.

Get involved
Learn more about Impact100. To receive more information and be added to the mailing list, call (804) 330-7400 Ext 122 or email impact100@tcfrichmond.org

Watch this WRIC-TV clip higlighting Impact 100's founder and Capital One executive Talley Baratka.

Michele Rhudy is proud to be a board member of Impact 100 and donate her agency's time to spread the word about the group through media outreach.

Could I survive? When you are 2,000 miles from home and 8,000 feet above sea level, what choice do you have? Well, aside from a few stolen whispers, I not merely survived – I wondered how I had survived without it.

As a professional communicator, this got me thinking about the messages I produce for others to consume. About all the noise my messages generate. How I’m posting, blogging, tweeting, writing and scripting. Creating the exact absence of silence. 

Do I worry more about the frequency of my messaging versus approaching my audience only when I have something of value to share?

Now Here’s Some Noise

• 340 million tweets per day
• 140 million+ active Twitter users
• 150 million+ LinkedIn users
• Every second, two people join LinkedIn.
• 800+ million monthly active Facebook users
• 400+ million daily active Facebook users

Source: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook

A few words
We all probably know people who listen more than they speak. And when they do speak, we want to hear it. Not hearing them is like missing a moment of gold. The kind of gold we communicators spend a career attempting to strike.

In my life, that person is my 72-year-old uncle Charlie. After introducing Uncle Charlie to my favorite city, New York, I asked for his impression. All he said was, “I’d do it again.”

Four words. 16 characters. A tweet on a diet.

In one second, my uncle Charlie summed up the world’s flashiest city, and rightfully deemed it a city worth a do-over.  

Recently, I was at a meeting where the following question was posed, “Can you tell a story in six words?” Sure, I thought. I don’t know how but it could be done. The speaker continued, “Yes, you can,” and then offered this example: “Baby shoes for sale. Never worn.”

Embrace silence

As communicators, we shouldn’t fear silence.

Silence doesn’t remove our message from the landscape. It allows our message time to root. It allows us the space to create a stronger voice for our messages. It leaves our audience expectant, because the more we aren’t quiet the more our ability to hear dulls.

Instead of mass messaging, how about ensuring our messages have mass? Do we want to be the company that always has something to say or that always says something?

I’ve come to realize that the loudest sound is the sound that breaks silence.

Let’s be silence breakers. But to do that, we have to allow for the silence first.

How do you create silence? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page. 

With two busy kids, a husband who is a sports editor, a dog, and lots of client work, Nicole vanEsselstyn finds her “silence” one moment at a time.

What is Connor’s Heroes?

 Did you know?

• Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children.
• Childhood cancer cuts across all social, economic and ethnic differences.
• Just a small fraction of the dollars spent on research in this country is directed to pediatric cancer.

Get involved
To be a part of this fun and creative community project: Say cheese! and then Vote for your favorite online at www.littleheroescalendar.com.

Once all of the portraits are taken, everyone will be able to vote for their favorites for $1 per vote (again tax deductible to Connor's Heroes). The top 13 vote-getters will be featured in the 2013 calendar, which will be available in September.

Photo sessions are scheduled for April 20-21, 2012, and May 18-19, 2012. Below is a cute baby with a schedule, but you'll probably need to click here to view and print all of the details.

For more information or to book your session, visit the Little Heroes' Calendar website.    
Attend the 2nd Annual Heroes Art Ball
Also, mark you calendar to attend the 2nd Annual Heroes Art Ball at the historic Hotel John Marshall in Richmond on Friday, May 4.