Yesterday was my birthday (29 again??), and there were two things I wanted to have for my celebration: time to play with my kids, and a special family meal.
Food and family go together as perfectly as chocolate and peanut butter in my book, so I'm excited to invite you to participate in this fabulous event, “Parm with a Purpose.” Parm with a Purpose is a special fundraiser to support The Adoption Center, whose mission is to help match children in the foster care system with their “forever families.” I am honored to have officially joined their board this year.
Everyone who joins will get a real-time virtual lesson with master chef Michael Ferguson on how to make the perfect chicken parmigiana, which warms the belly, and will know that all proceeds go to supporting The Adoption Center, which warms the heart! (Note: the recipe has a vegan-friendly version too!)
I know how much the sun rises and sets around my kids for me (they've figured it out too — and boy, do they know how to milk it sometimes!), and it breaks my heart to know there are children and parents out there who are still searching for each other's sunshine. Please join me in helping them find each other, and have a delicious meal in the process. Click HERE for more details and registration information. You'll be their hero.
Speaking of heroes, on this week's episode of Speaking to Influence, I got to speak with Joyce Chester, the CEO of Chester County OIC, which provides literacy and employment training services to thousands of people in need of additional help so they can find meaningful employment and be self-sufficient every day. With one hundred volunteers offering training and guidance in addition to her full-time staff, they embody the “unsung heroes” who are all around us, but whose work we often don't notice.
You can listen to Joyce's interview here.
And as a change of pace, I always enjoy it when the shoe is on the other foot and I am the one being interviewed. Yesterday I spent time with Olga Sapozhnikova on her Hidden Heroes video podcast. Olga is fascinating — she is a Russian documentary film maker who lives in Dubai, UAE, and interviews experts from around the world to help small business owners and entrepreneurs discover their own “Hidden Hero” and take their businesses global.
If you missed it on FB Live, you can catch it here.
We had a great conversation and discussed a variety of communication challenges, from cross-cultural communication differences, to what has been called “the most expensive fear”: Asking for the money, i.e., telling people all about your product or service, but never actually pulling the trigger and asking them to buy! If this sounds like you, you should definitely tune in… the success of your business depends on it!
Now back to my birthday celebration. Tonight there's chocolate cake with my name on it.
But don't forget to support The Adoption Center's “Parm with a Purpose” fundraiser, and help a child find their forever family who will celebrate all their future birthdays together. You'll be their hero.
Here's to your success,
Laura
