Giving Back - Part of Our Culture - Even Early On

You're never too Young to Give Back!

I clearly remember being about eight years old, and my father, +Larry Dorfman, taking me to the Atlanta Union Mission to help prepare food for the homeless.  The morning of the visit, I remember being annoyed - I wanted to watch cartoons and hang out in my PJ's after a "hard week at school." When we arrived, my complaints quickly stopped. I looked around and saw what I had never seen before - people who were grateful just to have a roof over their head and food to eat. Whatever struggles we may had faced as a family paled in comparison to the day to day lives of the people around me.

I am fortunate to have been raised in a family that, as they became successful, they stayed focused on giving back at every level. I saw a great example of charity, philanthropy, gratitude, and humility, and I vowed to pay it forward.

At +DMC Atlanta, giving back to the community is a deeply-rooted core value - something so ingrained that, if it is not important to someone, chances are, we will not hire them. We have several charities we have worked with over the years - Songs for Kids, MOvember (coming up soon - watch out, Ladies!), the Atlanta 2 Day Walk for Breast Cancer (fundraiser is next week!), and Operation Smile.

This past week, we hosted a "Day of Smiles," where members of our team went out and, between standing at a Farmer's Market and Retail Stores, jumping into intersections at traffic lights, and going B2B, we raised money for Operation Smile.  I saw this as an opportunity to bring my oldest daughter along for the ride and teach her how to ask for someone's help for someone other than herself - and she personally raised over $100!  She would simply go up to people and say, "Would you please make a donation for Operation Smile," and I would explain from there.  But - she got it. She understood that, when there are people who can't take care of themselves, it is up to those of us fortunate enough to have the means to help them out in any way possible.  I couldn't be a more proud dad - and I had to share the story.

Here is a link to the PRESS RELEASE about our event, and here are a few photos from the day.

Take care, and if you'd like to make a donation to our campaign, you can do so at http://tinyurl.com/dmcsmiles.