Site Launch: Boys & Girls Club of Rochester

"The Boys & Girls Club of Rochester is a community-based organization that provides young people with a fun, safe, and constructive environment when they are not at home or school. The Club has a lineup of tested and proven nationally recognized programs that address today's most pressing youth issues, teaching young people the skills they need to succeed in life."

CWS has recently launched a new website for The Boys & Girls Club of Rochester. The site's design reflects the club's atmosphere of fun in a positive environment, while maintaining the structure needed to serve a large volume of information.

The Boys & Girls Club serves an important role in our community. Want to know how you can help? While visiting the site, you will see many paths you can take to contribute to the organization. Some of these options include volunteering your time, attending one of many events, or donating something from the wishlist. You can also choose to donate money to their KidStock program securely from the Web. Remember that these donations, no matter how small, will have a positive effect on the life of a child in our community (Read about success stories).

We would like to thank Jill, Jodi, Jeremy and Larry from the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester for the opportunity to develop their new site, and we look forward to further helping them increase community awareness of their work with our RapidNewsletter application and Search Engine Optimization.

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch?

One of the great things about the current generation of Web-based software is that much of it is available for free. Even fee-based services will frequently offer unpaid plans as a way of letting people try the software, and these free offerings can be quite useful on their own.

All of this is great news for nonprofits, who have limited financial resources and often rely on volunteers who don't share a physical office and can't take advantage of traditional business software. These organizations are uniquely suited to Web applications, which can be used from any computer with Internet access.

Google, with its drive for innovation (and deep pockets), is often a leader in providing terrific Web-based software for free. Recently they launched a portal site that specifically highlights resources for nonprofits.

Noteworthy offerings include:

• Google Docs - Create text documents, spreadsheets and presentations in a Web browser, and easily share them with others for collaborative writing. Supports opening and saving Microsoft Office documents.
• Google Calendar - Sophisticated calendar management that integrates well with other software
• Google Checkout - Collect donations via credit/debit card for free. Google offers a special service for nonprofits that waives all processing fees.
• Google Grants - You can apply for free advertising on Google's network

If you work for or with a nonprofit, any or all of these services could be a huge boost to your productivity. It's great to see corporations like Google supporting people's efforts to give back to the community.

Site Launch: FAER.org

CWS is pleased to announce a newly redesigned website for the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER). Since 1986, FAER has been a nonprofit charitable and educational organization working to promote the generation of new knowledge in anesthesiology. Its work advances patient care and fosters the development of anesthesiologists who are dedicated to research and education in preoperative, critical care and pain medicine.

Visitors will find a multitude of information both for those seeking grants and for those wishing to donate to this worthy cause. The site also offers valuable links, monthly newsletters, program information, events, and much more.

We have enjoyed working with FAER, and we look forward to working with them again in the future.

Launch: Church of Saint John

CWS is pleased to announce the launch of a new website for the Church of Saint John the Evangelist. The church was the first Catholic Church in Rochester. It was founded in 1863 by Rev. James Morris and still exists at it's original location downtown.

The new website features a variety of valuable information for visitors and parishioners, including mass schedules, a calendar of events, community information, and even a photo gallery.

St. John's Block Party is July 14th and features Sister Hazel as the headliner. This annual event is for families, seniors, singles, and everyone interested in coming together for a celebration of harmony, humanity and peace. Tickets go on sale June 2nd.

It was a pleasure working with the Church of Saint John and we hope they enjoy their new home on the web.

My First "Live" TV Appearance

Today I had a nerve-racking experience, a live TV interview on KTTC. I have done several interviews in the past, but none of them were "live". The "non-live" interviews didn't bother me too much, because I knew they would take the footage back to the studio and edit my mistakes. No worries, right?

But this was LIVE.

There is no editing when you're done. There is no chance to insert words back into your mouth. You can't say "sorry, can we do that again?" So, I was a bit nervous from the start about this interview. When I arrived at the studio there were lots of bright lights, scrolling teleprompters, cameras, microphones, etc. The lack of direction and unfamiliar setup only added to my paranoia.

I had no idea what questions she was going to ask or what answers I might construct. There was no script and the teleprompters were dark.

In short, I had to wing it. For those of you who know me well, I'm more of a "details" kinda guy. I don't like to "wing" anything if I don't have to. You be the judge on how it turned out:



I did my best to pretend like I had done this before and think it went pretty well (after seeing the results). I must admit, however, that my wife is making fun of me for saying "I'm just like everyone else, living and breathing in Rochester." OK, I'll admit that wasn't the best choice of words (living and "working" in Rochester?), but I didn't see her volunteering for the job.

It was a fantastic learning experience and we've increased awareness about the March of Dimes "Walk America" walk on April 28th. I encourage you to join us with supporting a great cause and getting involved by walking with us or making an online donation.

Walk America Kick-Off

As you probably know, my wife and I had a son born 15 weeks premature last summer. I'm happy to report that he is doing great and progressing at an exponential rate. However, every year thousands of babies are born premature and they do not achieve such a positive outcome. Our son, Carson, spent several months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Mayo Clinic and we had the chance to meet several families who are still struggling.

My wife and I have agreed to be the "Ambassador Family" for the 2007 Walk America walk for the March of Dimes. We're proud to be the "face" for this event and a symbol for the advancements made by the March of Dimes. Without their research, many of the live-saving technologies they used on Carson would not have been available.

We have been blessed with a healthy child and want to give back both emotionally and financially. We have set a goal to raise $5000 as "Team Carson" and would love for you to join us. We would like for you to either walk with us or make a donation towards this great cause. If you're a customer of CWS, we'll even provide a credit to your account for 50% of your tax-deductable donation (up to $500 maximum per client). For example, if you donate $100 to the March of Dimes through the link above, we'll issue a $50 credit to your account.

Please join us Thursday, February 22nd at 6PM for the official Rochester WalkAmerica 2007 Kick-Off!! It will be held at the Eagle's Club at 917 15th Ave. S.E. (formerly the Elk's Lodge). Hamburger's will be provided and there will be music by classic hits 107.7 KLCX thanks to generous sponsors.

Thank you for supporting the mission of the March of Dimes and we look forward to seeing you on Feb 22nd (yes, Carson will be there) and walking with you on April 28th!