Sing Along With ALAN – How To Help Edition
Move over, Weird Al. ALAN’s offbeat songwriter is back – and this time she’s decided to tackle one of the biggest donation challenges that relief organizations face, especially after disasters like hurricanes. (Sing to the tune of “I Will Survive”) At first it seemed so great – a collection drive! My water and canned goods […]
(Marsh) Mellowing Out About Hurricane Season
I am not a patient person. A grad school professor once asked my class how we would respond if we were one of the students in the famous “Stanford marshmallow test.” While my peers seemed evenly divided between immediately eating the marshmallow or waiting, I confessed that I’d eat my marshmallow, then beat up the […]
It’s Time To Get Ultra-Ready
During late March and early April many of you probably spent several hours watching March Madness, the Masters Tournament – or both. By contrast, I spent my time avidly following the 38th annual Barkley Marathons, where just a few weeks ago, history was made. Even if you’re not a runner, this 100-mile, ultramarathon event is […]
Here’s Looking At U2
Last month, I had one of those experiences that you remember for the rest of your life – I saw U2 live in concert at the Sphere in Las Vegas! I could probably stop right there because what could be cooler than that? But the equally cool thing is, it was completely spur of the […]
Check Your Logo At The Door
Whether you work for a business or non-profit, chances are good that it has a logo – and that this visual representation of your brand goes hand-in-hand with almost everything your organization does. In fact, most of us wouldn’t dream of producing anything like business cards, ads, letterhead or corporate swag without one. Which makes […]
Why Do We HEART Our In-Kind Supporters? Let Us Count The Ways
It’s hard to believe. But we’re now a month into 2024 – and less than a week away from one of ALAN’s favorite holidays. We’re talking, of course, about ALANtine’s Day, that special time of year when we take a moment to show some extra love for all of our extraordinary supporters. This year instead […]
Test Your Winter Storm Readiness
Oh the weather outside is frightful, which is why it feels like the perfect time to brrrrrrrr-ing you this latest installment in ALAN’s popular “Test Your Disaster Readiness” series. So put on your thinking caps, get your keyboards and phones ready – and let us “snow” how your winter storm preparedness measures up. 1. According […]
Paint Life Grand
Each year at Christmas, my daughter and I buy each other one inexpensive, frivolous gift. This year we somehow both ended up gifting one another coloring books. The book she gave me was of the “paint with water” variety where you reveal the hidden colors on the page by running a water-dipped paintbrush over what […]
The Maui Wildfires: A Whole Community Approach In Moving Donations
Authored by Alexia Nobles In the first few weeks of the Maui wildfire response, a tsunami of product donations flooded the island, overwhelming first responders on the ground. The influx of donations was so large that sorting and distributing came to a virtual standstill, which is where ALAN stepped in. As part of the disaster’s […]