This is the week for U93's Roofsit event, taking place a the Martin's Supermarket at the corner of 23 and Ironwood. 

Go to the Martin's Portal Blog (www.makeadifferencemichiana.org/martins) to get live reports from U93's DJs who are spending the week on the roof of Martins. The whole event benefits Friends of Child Abuse Prevention. Make your online donation right here.

You'll find a full schedule of events on their blog. You can also leave a comment for Rob and AJ.

Make a Difference Michiana welcomes the following agencies as new partnering agencies:

Lakeland Hospice St. Joseph, MI

Life for Christ Karate Ministries South Bend, IN

National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Indiana Chapter Indianapolis, IN

The directory of Michiana nonprofits continues to grow and should be passing the 300 mark soon. Contact us if you know of an agency that should be in the directory.

It's now official: Beds & Britches Etc. (B.A.B.E) has launched their blog! B.A.B.E. has become the latest local non-profit to take advantage of blogging to communicate with its supporters and the Michiana community.

B.A.B.E will be using their blog to share stories about the clients they share and comment on news items relevant to their mission. They are a unique organization that rewards parents who participate in relevant parenting courses or educational opportunities by giving them redeemable coupons that can be used to purchase clothes and other items for their child. B.A.B.E's partnerships with over 90 coupon distributors makes them an amazing example of collaborative efforts to address a need in the community.

During the month of May we saw over two thousand visitors to Make a Difference Michiana blogs. More and more people in the community are turning this medium as a way of staying informed about on-the-ground efforts to address issues in the community and serve those needing help.

Click here to go to the B.A.B.E. Blog.

We are about to announce the official launch of another non-profit blog on our website. Before we do that, I wanted to share some of the non-profit blogs that I read daily. These blogs are not necessarily written by non-profits, but they provide some incredible insight for non-profits about best practices and new trends related to the industry. I recently added these to our Non-Profit Resources Page.

Donor Power Blog
Non-Profit Chas (Local Blog about Non-Profits)
Fundraising Breakthroughs
Non-Profit Blog Exchange
Non-Profit Marketing: Getting Attention
Non-Profit Technology Network (NTEN)
The Integrator
Seth's Blog (not specifically non-profit, but the leading voice in new marketing trends)
 

The third local business recognized with a 2008 Good Corporate Citizen Award is Towne Air Freight. Towne Air Freight was nominated by Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County.

The story of Towne Air Freight's partnership with Habitat for Humanity includes some incredible accounts of selfless giving. In 2007, Towne Air Freight elected to give up their annaul Christmas party in order to fully fund a Habitat home that would be built entirely by Towne employees and spouses. The "Towne House" gave a family in the Near West Neighborhood an opportunity for home ownership that would have not happened otherwise. The generosity goes back further: in 2006 the local Habitat for Humanity sent a team down to Texas to build a house. Aided by Towne Air Freight, Habitat was able to assemble the walls for the house in South Bend and then transport them down to Texas.

Tamara McGill of Habitat calls the leadership and values of Towne Air Freight "an inspiration to our organization and to the entire community." Particularly their decision to choose a service project over a Christmas party is an exemplary practice of a business responding to community needs. Make a Difference Michiana congratulates Towne Air Freight on their well-deserved 2008 Good Corporate Citizen Award.

Non-Profits will have the opportunity to submit 2009 Good Corporate Citizen Nominees in late March/April of 2009.