Firefighters across our country are participating in the Cold Water Challenge—a call to support charities in their communities—and I have watched with great delight. You are probably wondering what this has to do with The Ribbon In My Journal, but sponsoring charities is near and dear to our hearts in our company and our family.
My husband Neal is a professional firefighter. He was challenged by his colleagues to take an ice water bath and give $25 to the charity of his choice or disregard the challenge (oh, the disgrace of that!) and pay $100 to the charity of his choice. He watched video after video of men being doused with buckets of ice water and calling out others to take the challenge. Creativity was the name of the day.
Not to be outdone, Neal went with me to Savannah for our Cooking with Paula Deen photo shoots, and he had a little help in taking his ice water challenge. The video will explain it all.
Neal’s charity of choice was the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama. My son Brian is on the Board of Directors and serves as the president of the Junior Board, which he founded to get young professionals involved in helping eradicate hunger in our area. We have had many company events to collect food and to bring awareness to this tremendous need. Last year more than 9 million pounds of food was distributed in our area.
It is a very fulfilling thing to help people and support charities. Our family and coworkers here at Hoffman Media challenge you to help someone in need. Giving back is near and dear to our hearts. Thank you for your caring and loving hearts that make a difference in the lives of those around you.