For most people, spending 25 years helping healthcare organizations would fulfill their desire to give back to the community. But Danny Arnold isn't most people. In addition to his day job as the Executive VP of Vitalize Consulting Solutions in Albany, N.Y., a firm he helped to co-found in 2002, Arnold is also a passionate fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Consulting: Why drew you to wanting to raise awareness and money for leukemia and lymphoma?
Arnold: It was the last day of 2007 and I was walking through the local civic center and saw a brochure. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was hosting a large endurance marathon. I wanted to run a marathon, and I signed up as a personal goal. But it has become so much more. I don't have anyone in my family with these forms of cancer, but I certainly know a lot of people that have been touched by them, including some of our employees' children. When I ran the first marathon, I ran it in honor of a co-worker's son who has leukemia.
Consulting: What did the initial marathon lead to?
Arnold: I'm currently mounting a fundraising and awareness campaign in honor of two local children—a nine year-old boy and an 11-year old girl who are both battling leukemia. We've tried to keep the fundraising very creative. We held a hug-a-thon at a local mall. We ran a booth for 13 hours and gave out 'I'm a hugger' t-shirts. We got local mascots to give out hugs, including the Build-a-Bear mascot who gave out bear hugs. We raised $2,100 from that one event.
Consulting: How else have you raised awareness?
Arnold: By far, our most successful effort has been through online fund raising. We've raised more than $15,000 in total, and half has come through Facebook. We also had a gold party, in which had 125 guests sold their gold and donated some of their bounty with us. That party, in four hours, raised $5,000.
Consulting: Has your passion rubbed off on your co-workers?
Arnold: Wendy Kadner,
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