What is happening this week:

• Give Back Goes Back... to School
• Registration is Closed for Young at Heart
• Leader Profile: Lynn Lorio
• Mark Your Calendar: There's a Sounding Session on March 7

Give Back Goes Back... to School

Mother Nature didn't play very nice with us during Back to School on January 21... but we showed the ice who's boss! Nearly 100 volunteers painted stairwells, hallways, classrooms, bathrooms and other public spaces at four -- you read that right, FOUR! -- schools within the Newport Independent School district. And, thanks to our friends at Campbell's Soup, we also made a surprise donation of 40,000 Campbell's Soup Labels for Education to the Newport Independent School District. The event was capped off by an awesome happy hour at Hofbrauhaus. Check out photos here!

Registration is Closed for Young at Heart

Registration is now closed for Young at Heart, which will take place on Saturday, February 11. GBC will provide St. Paul Village residents with an eventful day full of food, games and prizes! During this event, we’ll get to know the residents and play games including Valentine’s Trivia, Guess-That-Famous-Couple, The Price is Right, True-or-False, and much more. If you are interested in joining the wating list for this event, please contact Membership Director Andrea Enders at membership@givebackcincinnati.org

As we did last year, we will collect new and gently used books, games and movies for the residents. Please keep in mind that larger-print books are preferred, but that all donations are appreciated!

Leader Profile: Lynn Lorio

Give Back Cincinnati is profiling some of the leaders who keep our organization moving forward. Our first interactive event of 2012 is right around the corner, so it seemed only appropriate to profile Lynn Lorio, Interactive Events Coordinator. 

Background:
I was born in Monterey, CA, raised a military brat through my early childhood, but call Oceanside, California home.I am a Long Beach State alum (go 49ers!). I came to Cincinnati by way of Seattle in 2009 for work and currently reside in Northside. I currently manage events at The Bank of Kentucky Center, a 10,000 seat arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.

What GBC Means to Me:
Give Back Cincinnati provides opportunities for people to volunteer their time in mattersworthwhile, connecting people within the community with each other. I came across GBC back in November 2009. I was still only 3 months new in town with no family or friends to spend Thanksgiving with so I decided I would volunteer. I stumbled across Fall Feast and signed up as a Share-A-Meal volunteer. It was one of the most memorable andrewarding Thanksgiving holidays spent being able to sit down and interact with those less fortunate. From there, my interest and participation with GBC grew, volunteering for Paint The Town and joining the Fall Feast committee in 2010, and most recently joining the Interactive Committee in 2011.

What I do for GBC:
I will be overseeing the Interactive Committee, taking my experience from my previous roll as a committee member, to try to bring another great year of interactive events for GBC volunteers & the community.

Fun Fact:
When I turned 30, I felt the need to do something different with my life. I was tired of the professional grind so I decided to quit my job and travel through Europe for 3 months. It took a lot of sacrifice, downsizing my life, saving money to make it happen, but the dream became a reality and I’d do it all over again.

Mark Your Calendar: There's a Sounding Session on March 7

Mark your calendar... March 7 will be here before you know it, and so will our first sounding session of 2012. During the sounding session, we'll talk about youth mentoring and share ways you can get involved. Details will follow in next week's email, so tune in!