Episode 22
Impacting Lives Through Community Involvement with Tom Stanton
Grace Bruins interviews Tom Stanton, the founder of Mel's Charities, a non-profit organization that aims to impact lives by providing financial support for individuals with disabilities, memorials, and community impact initiatives. Stanton shares his journey of how Mel's Charities was born and how it has continuously evolved over the years. Stanton discusses the four puzzle pieces of Mel's Charities, which are doers, donors, door openers, and dreamers. He emphasizes how every person can fit into one of these categories to give time, talent, and treasure to support the organization's mission. Stanton also tells a heartwarming story of a million-dollar donation from a friend's family, who believed in the charity's work and its impact on lives and the inspiring work of former basketball player and motivational speaker Chris Heron. He notes the importance of real marketing and building strong relationships in the charity's success.
Tom Also talks about the founders' board, a group of individuals who have been involved with Mel's Charities since its inception. Tom notes that the original group is still involved, and their passion for the organization has not diminished over time. Mel's Charities' impact on Ozaukee County continues to grow, and Tom and his team are grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in their community.
Listen to this episode to learn more about the inspiring story of Mel's Charities and the power of community involvement and discover how you can get involved with Mel's Charities and contribute your time, talent, and treasure to their mission.
Episode Highlights
08:44 - If we can positively impact one person's life, it's a really good day. It doesn't have to be as fancy as this, but by doing that and just continuing that and not ever leaving that mission, we have now given away over $1.9 million. And the beauty of it is we're just getting started.
35:46 - If you stay true to what you believe in, I say this all the time, it's amazing what you can accomplish by having fun, not taking yourself too seriously in a huge dose of God's grace and just be grateful for whatever you get. I don't care if it's personal life, business, non-profit, whatever. We're only here a short time.
37:56 - I've said this and it said in the documentary, the biggest life that's been impacted by this whole thing is me. Because I can still be a rudderless ship, I can still veer off, but this has grounded me, giving me purpose, giving me a reason to strengthen my relationships. Not personally, professionally. It's been the greatest thing that's ever happened to me.
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