Nonprofits Can Emerge Stronger After This Pandemic
To say it’s not an easy time for nonprofit organizations would be an understatement. Many have had to cancel in-person fundraising events including galas that can help to raise millions of dollars. Several have had to put a stop to serving out their missions that are based on in-person gatherings.
The mission of Lighthouse Family Retreats is to serve and help families living through childhood cancer. The main way they do that is by offering families a trip to the beach where they can put their worries aside for a few days and escape. Those beach retreats came to a halt due to COVID-19. It would have been easy for the organization’s leadership to put their heads in the sand and say they look forward to continuing those beach trips in 2021. That’s not what happened.
Lighthouse gathered their volunteers and sent out “boxes of hope” to those families who were supposed to be heading to the beach this summer. They were filled with lots of love — T-shirts, uplifting notes, movies, games, and other family activities.
The leadership of the organization asked themselves “how do we make our organization better?”
They decided they could strengthen their organization by providing families long-term support. They came up with a strategic plan on how to keep families engaged in Lighthouse and surrounded by volunteers who support them through this journey for years to come.
COVID-19 gave Lighthouse the time, energy and resources to put together a podcast and a YouTube channel. They have also focused on putting together a community of care for each family during the entire treatment period.
While Lighthouse looks forward to the planning of future beach retreats, they’re taking the time now to emerge better and stronger when we’re finally on the other side of this pandemic. Shouldn’t we all? Enjoy the video about Lighthouse Family Retreats! A huge shoutout to Jackson Healthcare for giving me the opportunity to tell these amazing stories!
Lexicon Strategies Partner and former Emmy Award winning political reporter Lori Geary has spent decades in the media industry covering local, state and national campaigns along with state government.
Ms. Geary joined the reporting team of WSB-TV in 1997 while anchoring at CNN Headline News. She stays active in the broadcasting world as a panelist for WAGA’s “The Georgia Gang” and Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind.” Her expertise is now in media training, media strategy, corporate communications, crisis communications and storytelling.