Man of the Year – Joe Francisco

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Jayme

Man Of The Year Nominee - Joe Francisco

Meet Joe – one of our most active and downright good-hearted peeps in Charity Chicks. Born and raised in Slippery Rock, PA – about 45 miles north of the Steel City (Pittsburgh) Joe attended Bethany College and graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communications.

His first job out of college was an On-Air Airborne Traffic Reporter (flying in a helicopter producing traffic reports, and running the TV camera). After being ‘Traffic Joe’ for a few years, Joe moved into education, then started with the Art Institute Online as an Academic Advisor.

While in Pittsburgh he worked part-time with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a backup mascot (if you’ve ever met him, you’ll understand just why this is hilarious!), in-game host, and promotions team member (Canonball Crew).  Joe moved to good ole Houston the Spring of 2008 and transferred positions with the Art Institute, and was hired with the Astros on their Park Patrol.  After two seasons with the Astros, he became the Ballpark Host for the home games at Minute Maid Park.

“I’ve really enjoyed my move to Houston and love the area, the people, the food, the economy… the weather isn’t thatbad, but is bearable, and I don’t miss scraping ice off of my car in the middle of December!” Joe says about his new home.

Joe participating in 2012 YTAC Olympics

Joe has been volunteering and donating to various groups throughout his life, and has met many amazing individuals because of it (did someone say Charity Chicks Houston!?).

Two years ago a friend of his had been talking about their nomination for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Man/Woman of the Year Campaign and became interested in the organization and their process.  This past December, he was approached and asked if he would consider being a candidate this year and he was most definitely up for the challenge.

What is the challenge exactly? Ten-Weeks to raise funds for the LLS through donations, events, and any other ideas we can come up with.  A good friend of mine from high school has just finished his second round of Chemo, and has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia with the attached Trisonomy 8 gene.  Nathan Lambert is a young, energetic, smart, and most of all, a loving father, husband, brother, son, and friend.  You may or may not know Nathan personally, but you probably at some point know, or knew your own ‘Nathan.’

Joe and some peeps on our CCH flag football team

I’m dedicating my fundraising efforts to Nathan and his family, and to all of those affected by Leukemia/Lymphoma, or other illnesses looking for a cure – this is such an important part of life to give back and this is just one more chance I get at that.

We will be having a few events throughout the 10 Weeks, and one of the big ones planned is a group event with the Houston Astros.  Saturday, May 5th, in conjunction with The Art Institute of Houston, Sysco, and Aramark, we’ll be hosting a ‘Chef Competition’ featuring three groups of students chefs from the Art Institute who will be creating the next ‘ballpark food’.  Tickets are $29 with a portion benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The cost includes a sample of the food created by the students as well as a drink, and ticket to the game. Visit www.astros.com/LLS for more information and to buy tickets. Please share this link with friends and family – anyone can purchase from this link and it all helps my campaign, but more importantly this great cause.

CHICKS AND PEEPS WANT TO HELP? As mentioned above, Joe has been a staple in the Charity Chicks livelihood since the very first day we started. He attends every event he can, motivates us when he can’t be there, and donates to a variety of causes. This is OUR chance to help him. This is a huge honor for Joe to have been nominated – please visit the link below to make donations to his campaign. Don’t have any money or don’t feel compelled to donate? That’s ok – email him some ideas on how he can raise more money – lets brainstorm together.

Those interested in donating can do so online – http://txg.mwoy.llsevent.org/JoeFrancisco – the website JUST went live today!

If your company is interested in Sponsoring or donating, please contact Joe at:   joefranciscoMOY@gmail.com

On behalf of every Chick and Peep, congratulations Joe – your biggest cheerleaders are right here in pink rooting you on! We are so proud of you!

Posted in Charity Chicks, Do. It., Favorite, Houston Non-Profits, Peeps | Comments Off

We Ran For The Rose. Again. And We Liked It.

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Jayme

Our fourth year in a row (not third, like I previously blogged like an a-class idiot), but FOUR YEARS! Not only is that how long Charity Chicks Houston has been in existence, but that’s how many years in a row we’ve run the Run for the Rose benefiting the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation.

And as always, we had a blast. We had many returning team members and met some brand new folks – what more can you ask for?

Although we didn’t meet our goals (for number of runners on our team or $ raised), we had a great time and hopefully introduced many of you to an organization that we truly love and appreciate.

Even Aggies and Longhorns get along for this 5k!

It’s not too late to donate to our team page – maybe we can set a goal that each runner (35 total) gets at least $5 donated? That’s not so hard right? Donate here to anyone on the team – it all goes to the same great cause!

A big round of applause to the Rose family (and friends and volunteers) for another successful race around Reliant – they have done this event for ten straight years and each year it gets better AND better. Oh, and a big thanks to ALL the vendors at the post-race party. We all agreed there was more food at this 5k than any of the marathons we’ve run – such a nice and tasty touch! See you next year runners!

Posted in Charity Chicks, Favorite, Houston Non-Profits | 2 Comments

Crazy for Crawfish?

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jayme

It’s that time of year again – crawfish season in Texas! It’s back!

To celebrate springtime and raise money for Houstonians of all ages living with disabilities of all kinds, Easter Seals Greater Houston’s Young Urban Professionals Organization is hosting an all-you-can-eat crawfish boil and concert at Firehouse Saloon!

Yeah, you heard us: all-you-can-eat. Don’t be scurred.

Presented by Granite Properties, Inc. on Saturday, March 31st from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., the fundraiser will also feature a live concert by local Texas country artist Cooper Wade, cold beer, and lots of fun.

Easter Seals Greater Houston provides resources to local residents living with disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. This fundraiser will help to raise money for the therapeutic services the nonprofit provides to those of all ages. Tickets are just $20 in advance, $25 at the door, with sponsorships starting at $500.

Purchase tickets here.  But hang on….feeling lucky?

If so, maybe you can win a pair of tickets to this all-you-can-eat crawfish boil. Leave us a comment and tell us why you want to come and we’ll pick one lucky winner by tomorrow (Wednesday) and you’re going for free.

Don’t forget, leave a comment. And tell your friends too – you know how it is with charity events – the more the merrier.

Posted in Events, Favorite | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Run With Us – Need An Incentive? Here’s a Discount!

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Jayme

2011 Team Charity Chicks at Run for the Rose

It’s that time again – the tenth annual Run for the Rose benefiting Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation, and this will be Charity Chicks’ third year participating – we need you on our team.

We set some ridiculously lofty goal to have 100 runners on our team, and we are only at TEN. Yeah, ten. So sign up. It’s for a great cause, it’s a fun event, and we even have a little discount code for you:

We’d like to offer a $5 discount to Charity Chicks Houston members for Run for the Rose. That means the competitive (timed) 5K will be $25 (vs. $30) and the noncompetitive 5K will be $20 (vs. $25). We truly appreciate your continued support over the years!! Our special code – ChicksHou – should be entered in the “Discount” box during registration.

Sign up for the Charity Chicks team for the Run for the Rose.

Just a few reasons we love this event? Read about them here.

If you’re not good with math (guilty), that means we need 90 more runners/walkers to sign up for our team to meet our goal and help this wonderful non-profit. Please sign up today and tell your friends, family and co-workers!

Posted in Charity Chicks, Do. It., Events, Favorite, Houston Non-Profits | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Single This Valentine’s Day? Cry. Me. A. River.

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Jayme

Yeah, you heard me: Cry. Me. A. River.

Wanna know why? First: because I too am single. Wah, wah, wah. It’s not the end of the world. I promise. Even after 4 hours of DVR’ed Grey’s Anatomy, it’s still not the end of the world. Second: because there are so many things in your life to be thankful for. Third: there are so many people who could use your help, NOT YOUR TEARS, right now.

So you’re single this Valentine’s Day. Cry me a river, then grab a pen (or keyboard) and do something good for a change. If you don’t have that super hunky guy (like the one pictured above that yours truly drools over in a not so normal way) to write a silly love letter professing your love to, write a different kind of letter this “holiday.”

Think of a family or a friend (or co-worker, or neighbor) that could use an uplifting note this Valentine’s Day and then send it. Think about how uplifting a note from a co-worker that read, “great presentation today, you killed it!” would mean to you.

Or a note from your neighbor, “love the new rose garden you just planted. it brightens the neighborhood right up. thanks for that!”

Or even as silly as it sounds, a note because of FB. “I saw how upset you were about your grandpa and wanted to send you a little note today to let you know I was thinking of you.” – all of those could do wonders for people.

OR, love this idea so much you want to take a GIANT step forward? SIMPLE. Visit our resource page where we list Houston non-profit and charity resources by category. Find one that strikes a chord with you (maybe it’s animal related, military related, children related, or something else) and send them an email, a Tweet, or a note on their FB wall telling them how much you appreciate what they are doing for the Houston community. Tell them you would like to VOLUNTEER at their next event. Tell them thanks and post it in your FB status.

Seriously, I know first-hand how much Valentine’s Day can suck, but it doesn’t have to. Consider the above little idea a simple way to turn that frown upside down. We know…Velveeta cheesy, but c’mon – give it a try, won’t ya? These charities and non-profits work so hard to do good in our very own backyard, sometimes they need help. And encouragement. Give it to ‘em.

Posted in Do. It., Favorite | Tagged , , | Comments Off