| | | As
summer approaches, we are gearing up for a busy season. Applications are in
for this year's Integral Fellows
Awards program. We look forward to sharing this amazing group of
individuals with you next month. Take note that today we are announcing the
date for this year's Microsoft Alumni Foundation Celebration where we
celebrate the work of the nominees and announce the winners. The event is earlier this year (October
1) and soon we will announce the location and some exciting speaker components.
We expect to fill up fast. Founders' Circle members can reserve their spots now. We'll take
reservations for our other members later this summer. This is a great time to join our Founders' Circle or renew
your annual membership to insure
you have an opportunity to attend the 2012 Celebration. Another exciting member activity
for this summer is a Habitat for Humanity build
on June 30th. We will be sharing more details on this soon! While you are marking your
calendars, be sure to reserve September 21st which is the annual King County
(WA) Day of Caring. Last year we had over 240 alumni
participants in this great day of service. This year, we hope to create 20
or more specific Alumni projects and recruit 500 alumni to participate. If you
are interested in being a project lead or organizing a project for your favorite
nonprofit let us know. We have other news and stories
for you below. Visit our website often for the latest information, stories, and
events about MSAF, members, alumni, and their nonprofit
organizations. | Skills learned at Microsoft
transfer well to a nonprofit board | | Alumni Steve Wells believes that current
or former employees of Microsoft, no matter what stage their career is in, can
demonstrate their value even more by serving on a nonprofit organization's board
or committee. Read more. | Worldreader and FC Barcelona Set
Goal: One Million E-books to Africa | | Worldreader kicked off a
campaign with support from renowned soccer team FC Barcelona, asking people
to help send 1 million e-books to students in sub-Saharan Africa. A $5.00 donation to
Worldreader provides students in Africa access to books that teach and
inspire, so they can improve their lives. Read more.
| Key foundation sponsor picks a
fight against childhood obesity | | One of the Microsoft Alumni Foundation's main sponsors,
Growums, is a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based company with an interesting and
laudable mission: It seeks to combat child obesity by getting kids to grow and
eat their own vegetables. Read
more. | SIFP Seattle: Apply
Today | | For the second year, we are proud to be a funding sponsor for the
2012 Social Innovation Fast Pitch: Seattle. Building on the success of SIFP 2011, the program has been updated and improved
this year. There are workshops (some of which are open to the public) and
increased mentoring opportunities. Applications are
being accepted now for participants. Mentors are also welcome with applications available now. Read
more. | Technology Access Foundation
opens new site on June 1. | | Join Technology Access Foundation, co-founded by 2009 Integral Fellow Trish Millines Dziko, as they open a new
facility on June 1, 2012. Click here for more
information. | As always, to keep all this
moving forward, it takes resources. Consider sharing your time,
talent and treasure with us to support
activities that enhance our community's ability to give back and have
impact. Now is a great time to add your
name to our Founders' Circle list and
become a lifetime member. This support is instrumental to our ability to
sustain our programs. Donations at any level can
be made directly through our website, and for only $39 you can become an annual member which
provides you access to our special events and activities. I have been told that if you
include a recipe in your news letter it increases readership. So please enjoy
my family receipe for Fresh Strawberry Pie. It
is best when started with a trip to your local farmers market. If you join our
Founders' Cirlce I'll
personally make a pie for you! All of this, we hope, will help
us live up to our mantra: We do philanthropy. Please join us so
that together we can work to make a difference in the world. Sincerely,
Marylou Brannan, Executive Director  | | |