A College Experience

Going to college was one of the best experiences of my life.  It was a hugely transformative period of time, and I had a blast at the University of Oregon (GO DUCKS!).  I have also seen the positive impact a college degree has on life and career.  So, I suppose that’s partly why I’ve been very passionate since I graduated about helping others realize a similarly impactful college experience.

Back in 2004, my lovely wife Rachelle and I joined a mentoring group in South Central Los Angeles called the Youth Leadership Program to mentor high school students for their 4 years of high school to help them gain access to college.  All of our students who worked their way through the program would become the first in their families to attend college.  It was amazing.

It was after the Volunteer Encounter that, I realized I wanted this type of volunteer work to be an ongoing part of my life.  It was also there in that program that I met Andy Seth, and the course of my professional life would be altered for the better from there forward.  Funny how things work out like that.

The Greatest Game Ever Played

Prior to my college experience and helping others realize a college experience of their own, I spent a decent portion of my childhood playing golf with the best custom golf shoes and grew to very much love the game.  I took a hiatus from the game after playing competitively on my high school team for a few years, and picked it back up with a passion when my family and I planted ourselves in Colorado 4 years ago.  Since then it’s become a borderline obsession, but I digress.

Side note, if you have any affinity for golf and haven’t seen the movie “The Greatest Game Ever Played”, I strongly urge an immediate viewing.

Little did I know that these two passions – college experience and golf – would find magical harmony together……

When Passions Collide

A few weeks ago, I put on a charity Golf Tournament for the 3^rd consecutive year for a program called Minds Matter.  Minds Matter is a high school mentoring program originally started in New York City several decades ago that has been growing here in Denver for going on 10 years now and has chapters in 11 US cities.  The program enjoys a 100% success rate of helping high-potential, low income students gain access to college with scholarships, helping to alter the course of their lives and the disrupt the cycle of poverty that many of them would not otherwise break out of.

This year’s tournament was special, as we raised an incredible record breaking $43,000 to directly benefit the mission of helping more kids realize their college dream.

To me, this experience has shown yet again how impactful an endeavor can be when it combines and feeds off of the passions of the people involved.  I’m already fired up for next year’s tournament, and it’s still 11 ½ months away!

What is it you are passionate about?  How can you harness that passion to make a difference?

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You could hear a pin drop as we sat down in front of ten teenage foster children. It was 9am and these teens were still rubbing the sleep from their eyes, less than enthused to hear what we might be able to teach them about basic finances. However, these teens were about to leave the system and go out into the world on their own, and being financially stable is a binary make it or break it proposition.

As we worked hard to connect with the group, we covered topics from financial dignity, budgeting, credit, loans, and the stock market. We were amazed to see how underprepared these children were with regards to basic finance.

Only a couple minutes in (and to our great surprise), hands shot up and questions were called out, as we hit a nerve with some of our teachings, and they became eager to learn more.

But we learned too! Their questions and life experiences really opened our eyes to the challenges of children in the foster care system. With so little guidance and direction, we wondered how these children would rapidly learn the financial lessons that more privileged youth receive from their families and peers[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][P1] . We enjoyed our time with these kids, but understood how much more they really needed.

We hope to have given these children the desire and hope to succeed in their own lives as they exit the foster care system, and could not have been more impressed with their spirit and resilience.

While we taught them some basic concepts, and helped answer numerous questions, they walked away with a much more important message. Financially, if you do what’s right and act from a position of strength, you can set yourself up for success no matter what challenges you may face along the way.

We encouraged them to face up to their fears, and to reach for their dreams in life….and along the way, we each were touched by their stories, and the warmth of their thanks as we parted ways at days end.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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We are once again sponsoring Casino Night to raise money for high achieving, low-income students to go to college. Last year, we helped raise a record $52,000 net.

This year, we will once again head to The Ritz-Carlton, Denver for the most fun night of the year.

Tickets are available here if you’d like to join us.

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I picked up ‘Dan’ (name withheld to protect identity) at 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday.   He’d been looking forward to the day’s activities so much that he said he’d barely slept the night before. Regardless his eyes were bright with excitement, and away we went…

I became a member of Denver Active last year to help kids like Dan.  As the old adage goes “kids are our future”, they all deserve a chance to reach their full potential.  Denver Active puts on four fundraising events a year and each one sells out.  The money goes to underprivileged and at risk kids in the Denver community.  Last year the group raised over $1 million.

My favorite event is Christmas for kids, which is where I met Dan.

We chatted on the car ride over and I was reminded of why I spend so much energy helping kids.  For Christmas we each take an underprivileged and at risk child to Target so they can each shop for themselves and their families at Christmas time.

I asked Dan what he wanted to get and his answer floored me. Rather than getting toys for himself he expressed that he wanted to get presents for his parents because they never receive them… remember, this is an 8 year old kid.  He went on to say that he had everything that he needed and will get a few presents from neighbors and friends, but that his parents never get Christmas gifts, and this was his chance to get them something.

We arrived at Target and the pressure hit.  We were surrounded by aisles of toys in every color, helicopters, action figures and games.  Amazingly he resisted the temptation and we walked straight past the toys into the women’s aisle to get his Mom a nice ring, then to the men’s aisle for his Dad.

Given the opportunity to get whatever he wanted for Christmas, he chose to get things for his family over himself.   In fact he never once reconsidered and he never even walked down the toy aisle.

The entire way back we talked about his gifts and how excited he was to give them.  His biggest worry was not being able to wait to Christmas to give them away.

Dan reminded me of what Christmas is all about, and why we raised all that money.

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We are proud to be one of Minds Matter’s many many Sponsors who helped make this year’s Minds Matter Golf Tournament BY FAR the most successful they’ve ever had.  With sponsor’s and player’s generous support, we were able to help them raise just under $33,000 for Minds Matter of Denver, shattering their previous best year by nearly double!!  This is enough money to pay for their entire Sophomore program and all associated costs w/ a record 17 incoming students for all of the 2012/2013 program year!!

Check out some pictures from the tournament on Minds Matter’s Facebook Page, and we hope to see you out there for next years tournament.  Details:

Where: Blackstone Country Club (private) in Aurora

When: Monday, August 12, 2013, 1pm shotgun start

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5th Annual Minds Matter Golf Tournament

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Last year, I was honored by being named volunteer of the year finalist nationwide.

I had the privilege of sitting next to the keynote speaker at the event who is a NY Times bestselling author, TV personality, motivational speaker, philanthropist, businessman, and I’m proud to say… he is now my good friend.

His name is Chef Jeff.

LotusGroup Advisors decided to share his message with our community in Denver so we are sponsoring him to deliver the keynote address at Minds Matter Casino Night.  Because he believes in helping people, particularly at-risk youth, to find their true potential, I knew I wanted him to speak.  His message is our message: Give people a chance to achieve their dreams by giving them the tools they need to get there.

Minds Matter Casino Night will take place on April 7th at The Ritz-Carlton, Denver. Tickets can be purchased at MindsMatterDenver.org/Casino-Night.

This event is by far the most fun night of the year, and I can’t believe I get to share such an amazing person with all of you while raising money to send 30 amazing students to college.  I usually spend my time playing online casino game which you can find over here, but as this one night is going to be extremely special, thus I am bound to stop.

This night means a lot to me and I hope it goes smoothly as possible.

I hope that in some small way, I can make a difference in this life, and I’m humbled to be taking another step along that journey.

To book Chef Jeff and learn more about him, please visit www.chefjefflive.com.

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