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Conference Notebook

June 02, 2008

Nonprofit Congress
How Charities Are Making a Difference

The organizers of the Nonprofit Congress’ gathering in Washington have dedicated much of the early stages of the conference to showing how charities are making a difference.

During the morning plenary session, meeting participants heard the stories of people who have had their lives transformed through interactions with charities.

One of the speakers, Jennifer McDaniel, told a tear-filled story about how she has rebounded from her life as a heroin addict, prostitute, and thief. She credited the work of Friends of Guest House, an Alexandria, Va., charity that helps women who are leaving prison.

The luncheon presentation, which pulls together speakers from a range of generations, is offering speakers such as Florence Green of the California Association of Nonprofits and Sheri Brady of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation the chance to talk about what has inspired them to become involved with advocacy work.

Most of the speakers focused their presentations on attempting to inspire the audience.

“We’re about helping people to reach their full potential. I’m thinking about how each one of us is holding that thread,” said Michael Weekes, president of the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, at the luncheon session. “I’m just one piece of that thread and I hope I’ve held it well.”

— Peter Panepento

Monday June 2, 2008 | Permalink

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