In preparation for our annual Corks & Forks fundraising event, our team envisioned an amazing event with all fundraising elements- silent auction, live auction and program to highlight and illustrate all of the wonderful work Jolkona does. As the planning continued, we knew the elements of the evening’s program had to include a media piece about Jolkona. For the guests who were familiar with our organization and for the guests who were getting to know us, we needed a video to encompass all parts of Jolkona.

Enter Lucas Gregor, new Jolkona intern, fresh out of college and willing to take the lead on writing, shooting and editing Jolkona’s first impact video. For weeks, he dedicated his time to shooting in various locations from the Seattle Art Museum Sculpture park to Cal Anderson park on Capitol Hill to the Jolkona office downtown. With every part of the video from scouting locations, to bringing confidence and empathy to the video participants to editing, Lucas displayed passion and ease. The video encompasses testimonies from Jolkona partners, donors, volunteers and a board member to highlight what giving is all about. Here is Lucas’ brilliant work and final video:

In addition to giving over a hundred hours in creating the Jolkona impact video, Lucas is always available to help with other volunteer needs. In the month of October, Lucas volunteered at the Corks & Forks event, manipulating the media for the evening’s program. He also was a stellar bar tender at Jolkona’s Microsoft Giving Campaign’s international fashion show A Night of Fashion and Giving. Even with a last minute request, Lucas is always willing to help others and to be available to support Jolkona.

“Lucas is easy going, dedicated, and has an eye for creating great videos. He has been an amazing asset to the Jolkona team over the last six months. One of the first projects he worked on was our Volunteer Dancing video which was an editing project piecing together videos from around the world with our volunteers dancing while visiting our partners. The goal was to inspire more people to get involved with volunteering and he did an amazing job. Lucas’s internship is coming to an end and we’re sad to have him go but are truly grateful for all the creative storytelling he has helped Jolkona with in just a short period and we wish him all the luck in his future endeavors.” – Nadia Mahmud (Jolkona CEO)

“Lucas was a gem to work with from the start! The first time I met him, I showed him our dance clips – there were more than 20 clips, filmed to different songs, different tempos especially when we couldn’t hear the music, and often had shaky hands as our volunteer cameramen. I thought he would need at least 3 weeks to get this sorted out but he came back in a week with a rough cut that blew all of us away. The quality of his work continues with the video he made for corks and forks and I’m excited to see his artistic abilities continue to grow as Jolkona grows!” – Nancy Xu (Jolkona Volunteer)

Lucas has easily become part of Jolkona’s amazing volunteer team and we are so very thankful for his time and commitment!  Thanks so much Lucas!

As we’re currently wrapping up Jolkona’s 2012 strategy plan, we’d like to recognize our Director of Strategy, Seema Bhende, as this month’s featured volunteer. Seema has been with us since 2009, which makes her one of our most senior volunteers. Truly she has been a tremendous asset to Jolkona. By day, Seema is a Senior Director of Social Innovation at Waggener Edstrom where she consults with both nonprofit and Corporate Social Responsibility clients.

Over the last 2 ½ years, Seema has helped define our strategy as a nonprofit. She cultivated our invaluable partnership with Waggener Edstrom, which resulted in two matching campaigns and a pro bono ideation session. She has increased our visibility through a feature in Giving 2.0 and other news media, and has also hosted and facilitated several quarterly weekend strategy sessions with key volunteers to brainstorm ideas and direction for Jolkona. In addition, she helped mastermind our current volunteer structure, which has enabled us to accomplish so much with such limited resources.

What I deeply respect and admire about Seema is her ability to keep us focused and to think strategically in finding solutions to problems. Crucially, she has helped Jolkona steer a course of accountability to its own goals over the last two years. On a personal note, she has also just been a great support for me – and other staff and volunteers involved with Jolkona, I’m certain. Here’s what two other Jolkona volunteers had to say about working with Seema:

“Seema is a true leader and incredibly loyal. You can always count on her to take charge of an important project and volunteer to assist where she is most valuable. Along with being a stalwart team player, Seema is incredibly knowledgable about business, marketing, and NPOs. It’s been a pleasure getting to know her and working alongside such a wonderful person.” Aaron Alhadeff.

“Seema is one of the first volunteers and the longest serving amongst the currently active volunteers. She has played an enormous role in the strategic growth of Jolkona over the past 2 years, and her support has been critical to both Nadia and I. She has been a invaluable asset for Jolkona.” Adnan Mahmud.

Seema is truly passionate about Jolkona’s mission and vision of inspiring more giving to the nonprofit sector through our platform, and we’re honored and privileged to have her support as an integral part of the team. Thank you, Seema, for all that you’ve done and continue to do for Jolkona!  We wouldn’t be where we are today without you.