Investing in your community is a great way to give back to those who have helped support your business. Volunteer groups and non-profit organizations do so much to help the communities that all of us are a part of, but they can’t do it alone. We realize there are many opportunities to come together and better our community and encourage you to join us in lending a hand, or to spend time helping other charities and non-profits of your choice.

As successful members of the community, we have a responsibility to help those that are less fortunate and contribute to the common good. Every little bit truly helps when it comes to good works.

Below is a listing of just a few of our great charitable organizations we contribute to:

• We are proud underwriters of WYSO 93.1FM, as well as WDPR 88.1FM, both public radio stations. We also go on air a couple of times a year to help with their fund drives. Not only does it support public radio in the Dayton region, but it gives us an opportunity to connect with a lot of their listeners as well as supporters, and in our minds is the right thing to do.

• We are Gold Bell sponsors of Dayton History and many of their events, including Ringing in the Holidays. If you have not checked out Dayton History at Carillon Park lately, you should. Dayton History is organization, and our community is extremely fortunate to have a group like them to tell the story of Dayton’s remarkable history. We are proud supporters of Dayton History, and on a personal level, I always look forward to attending the Heritage festival, the Philharmonic concert and Ringing in the Holidays, all at Carillon Park among all the other events they hold.

• Dayton Gastroenterology celebrates Colon Cancer Awareness with a 5K race ‘No Buts About it‘ that we have been sponsors of for quite a few years (and again this year). Net proceeds of the “No Buts About It” 5K Run/Walk are used to fund screening colonoscopies for uninsured persons in economic hardship who meet the medical criteria for a screening colonoscopy.

• We gave over $1,000 to United Way to help them get their annual report and additional collateral printed at an affordable price. And if you are looking for volunteer opportunities, go to their website for a great list that fits any interests.

• We helped Miami Valley Hospital Foundation with their invitation set to celebrate the new Miami Valley Hospital Tower.

• Joe Ryan of Reliable Electric has set up a walk/race called LENLO (Long Enough Now Let’s OVARcome) to help overcome ovarian cancer in memory of a friend Kathy Alianello. Its been a great success and we have been proud sponsors for two years.

Perhaps in the holiday season, more than at any other time, our hearts go out to others. But there are always those who are less fortunate than we are and will appreciate our help all year round. Give what you can regularly to the charities that make a difference to your local and national community. You may be surprised at the benefits you reap!

I don’t think we are that much different from a lot of other small businesses and groups out there. We do what we can to help out, and we love seeing others do the same. And that’s what makes Dayton a great place. I guess being the holiday season, it’s a good time to say thanks to everybody that is willing to make a difference, and I’m thankful that we are in a position to be able to give back.

When we were deciding what to do for Christmas, the idea of looking back on all that we had done for others over the past year kept coming up. But how do you tell about it without sounding a little bit to much like “Look what I did.” I am truly proud of all of our contributions to the community and the  people within our community, so I decided, let’s talk about it anyway and see where it goes.

One quick note about this community we live in: There are so many good people in Dayton and the surrounding region that will give a helping hand without blinking when asked, I am truly amazed.

When a colleague of mine, Joe Ryan (of Reliable Electric) called this past summer asking if we could help support an event close to him called the Kathy Alianiello Memorial Run, and that not only was the run to support ovarian cancer research, but to also honor their close friend that had died in January, what could I say. We helped support the 10K run (through historic Lebanon) by printing their entry forms, flyers, posters and letters. And it felt good to help Joe out with this cause he had undertaken.

So we reflected more on last year, and started to wonder whether we had made a difference in our community. We do, and give, a lot, but being ourselves, we generally don’t think to much in terms of “making a difference.” We just help where we can and go on about our business. But looking back, I think we did make a difference and that’s what we are all proud of. Taking this time to reflect back on some of the areas we felt like we did make a difference, if you have a few minutes, click over on some of the organizations and charities to learn more or help make your difference in the community.

• WYSO 91.3 FM, Public Radio. WYSO, a member supported Radio Station that brings Public Radio to the Dayton/Springfield area and I believe we are all a better community for it. We support WYSO through underwriting and making sure their printing, mailing and related services are done right. I go on the air once or twice a year with Jon or Nick and help raise money during their donation drives. Not only does it support public radio in Dayton, but it gives us an opportunity to connect with a lot of their listeners as well as supporters, and in our minds is the right thing to do.
• If you have not checked out Dayton History at Carillon Park lately, you should. Dayton History is remarkable organization, and our community is extremely fortunate to have a group like them to tell the story of Dayton’s remarkable history. We are proud supporters of Dayton History, and on a personal level, I always look forward to attending the Heritage festival, the Philharmonic concert and Ringing in the Holidays, all at Carillon Park among all the other events they hold.
• For the second year, we have been proud supporters of the 5K “No Butts about it” run for Colon Cancer, which provides not only support for cancer research, but brings awareness to the need for screening.
• There are organizations like United Way  of Greater Dayton, who we help out by donating all the press time to producing their annual reports and leadership books. And the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation, where we donated the invitation set for the Gala Celebration of the new Hospital Tower.
• And there are so many others we discount all we can afford to, or we donate time and help out however we can: Hanna’s Treasure Chest, The Opera Guild of Dayton, Ronald McDonald House, The Dayton Food Bank, Culture Mash, Culture Works and the list goes on.

After reflecting on our year at Oregon, I went around to the staff and asked: what do you do personally to give back?

• Mike volunteers at his Church and kid’s school;
• Kim does a lot of volunteer time with Agape for Youth, For the Love of Children, Go Red for Women and Second Chance Rescue;
• Bob’s family quit giving Christmas presents, and instead everybody puts their Christmas money in a kitty and give it to a charity (Ronald McDonald house, Alzheimer’s organization); and
• Laurie’s family adopts a family at Christmas.
• Anita has made a personal commitment to the Salvation Army (they helped her family as a child).

I don’t think we are that much different from a lot of other small businesses and groups out there. We do what we can to help out, sometimes we do more than we can. And that’s what makes Dayton as well as this country a great place. And I guess being the holiday season, it’s a good time to say thanks to everybody that is willing to make a difference, and I’m thankful that we are in a position to be able to give back.