Being on Team Swift (then Programming board) for three years is some of my fondest memories of Swift. I met some of my best friends, I connected with people who love Swift just as much as me, and I walked away with some skills to help me in college, the work force, and my adult life.  

Starting two years ago, the main project of Team Swift became Arizona Gives Day (AZ Gives Day), a huge statewide fundraising event that enables nonprofits of all sizes to fundraise in a competitive manner with the chance to win bonus prizes. ​As a member of Team Swift, we competed against each other, against the Swift Board of Directors, and against all the nonprofits in dollar amounts and in number of donors. 

​​Now, as college students sprinkled across the country, our involvement with Swift and AZ Gives Day shouldn’t end. ​

​We can continue to set up  AZ Gives Day  pages and fundraise with a new outlook of what Swift does for the Arizona community, our home community. 

We can continue to compete with each other and with other Team Swift cohorts by joining together and setting team goals. 

We can teach our new communities what Swift is and get our new friends involved by sharing posts or becoming a donor.
Stay involved. Stay connected. 
Continue to support Swift’s Arizona Gives Day campaign! ​

Swift programs continue to be fun and enriching for all who are involved. At Club Swift, the current focus in identifying our leadership styles and learning how to use our leadership skills effectively. Club Swift participants have started to take the lead during Swift after School programs leading the activities with help and support from the staff. Speaking of Swift after School, lately we have been focusing on team building and decision making skills. Students continue to have fun while they learn how to work better together and to make positive decisions. ​

Asking people to donate to something can be hard. If you aren’t a politician or a professional fundraiser, asking people to part with their hard-earned money is something that feels icky, somehow. Few, if any of us, are comfortable asking for money. And you know what? That’s fine!
​
I am going to let you in on a little secret: when you ask people to support an organization financially that you are passionate about, you are really asking them to support your passion.

​We are all passionate about Swift in our own way. Whether it’s experiencing the unbridled joy the campers feel when their peers catch them in a trust fall, the uninhibited laughter that echoes around the walls of the dining hall during golden broom, or another moment during camp or after school or with friends, we all have a moment that we can point to as the reason why we love this organization so much. It’s the reason we continue to give our time and, in some cases, our money to Swift.

​But ultimately, what I am actually asking you to do is share your Swift story with the world. Your story is the most powerful tool in your fundraising arsenal because your friends and family want to support you. Your family and friends can feel the infectious joy you bring home with you after a week at Camp Swift or helping out at an after school event. By inviting them to contribute financially, you’re really inviting them to begin their own Swift story, and to help change the lives of youth from all over Phoenix.

​On January 20, 2018, the Swift Youth Foundation entered its 38th year of existence and hosted its 17th Annual Carnival. This carries great significance for Swift Youth Foundation as a huge amount of work has been done over the past 3+ decades in order to pave the way from the past to present to future potential for the youth we serve.
 
​I became involved with Swift Youth Foundation almost 15 years ago and was surprised to find the organization was already 23 years old! It seemed that our programming and efforts of volunteers was strong, and yet we struggled to expand our offerings and increase our funding to more than just enough to squeak by at yearend. For ANY non-profit organization to exist after 38 years is remarkable and for the past 15 years I have worked alongside some of the brightest and most well-meaning people; all of us trying diligently to get Swift from its grass roots to the “next level.” 

Having over 500 people attend Swift Carnival this year is a tremendous achievement for us. It represents the organization’s sustainability in continued efforts to support the community and expand our programming and reach. It may have taken over three decades to get here, however our continued patience has paid off immensely. Our growth potential is unlimited, and I am honored and humbled to be part of the continuing blossoming of the organization from Camp Swift to Swift Youth Foundation, from past to present to future.​

Want to see more of the fun and festivities from the 2018 Swift Carnival?
​Click here to view the  complete photo gallery. 

A business that was founded to make a difference in the lives of their patients and members, Centauri Health Solutions, describes corporate social responsibility as being part of their DNA. Corporate social responsibility is a corporation's initiatives to assess and take responsibility for the company's effects on the environment and society. Corporate Social responsibility is the idea that businesses should balance profit-making activities with activities that benefit society. 
 
Adam Miller, CEO of Centauri Health Solutions, decided the best way to celebrate the opening of their new Scottsdale Headquarters was to invite clients and four local charities for an event to honor the mutual mission of serving vulnerable or under-served populations.

LOCAL IMPACT
“We impact millions of lives annually by the work that we do each day, as well as through the giving of our time, talent and treasure in the community,” Miller said. “The organizations we support are many and varied – from local food banks to national nonprofits. And we support them through a variety of activities, including runs, walks and backpack drives, and through the individual volunteerism of our associates.”

Miller and Centauri Health Solutions encourage their associates to volunteer in the community. The business provides 8 hours of paid volunteer-time to them each year, which they can devote to the charity of their choice.