Affinity4 Community Blog

“How could you leave Atlanta for Norfolk?”

This is the million dollar question I’ve been asked since I moved back to the Hampton Roads area.  Others have told me, “With all of the media organizations in Atlanta, you could have easily stayed there.  Why did you choose Affinity4?” While it is true that I could have just stayed in Atlanta, the reasons I chose this organization and coming back to the area are far deeper than what meets the eye.  The answer lies in the understanding of my calling.  I truly believe God has called me to the field of Communications in Christian ministry/media.  Affinity4 exists to make a difference and I equally share in this value.

I’ve never viewed an employer as just another job, but as an opportunity to participate in something bigger than myself.  So, I’ve always looked for positions where I could grow personally and professionally while offering the best of my gifts and talents to the organization. When I learned of the great things happening with Affinity4, I wanted to be a part of the adventure.

Affinity4’s new venture Cross Bridge Media and its new acquisition of Beliefnet makes this an even more exciting time to work for an organization that is making a difference through media. Media is a powerful tool which can be used for both good and bad purposes.  Affinity4 has positioned itself through media to provide content that can positively strengthen our values. I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in this journey and be a part of the future of this organization.

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On a recent vacation to Mexico, one of my good friends bought me a new bag-it was absolutely beautiful. Imagine my surprise when she told me my new tote was actually a FEED Guatemala Bag, and was helping provide relief for children in Guatemala. The FEED Guatemala Bags were actually created to support UNICEF’s nutrition programs to help the children of Guatemala to receive the vital vitamin and mineral supplements they need to survive. Each bag is handmade by Nest, a nonprofit organization that works to empower female artisans all over the world. Depending on the size, the sale of each bag supplies an entire year’s worth of nutrition to anywhere between 1 and 5 children a child in Guatemala-the most malnourished Latin American country.

Seeing the powerful results of these bags remind me how important it is to give back. Over 240,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable causes, namely malnutrition. Make sure to pick up a brand new bag! Not only is this a great way to help those in need, but to also get a great bag click here!

When will you be picking up your bag?

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Here at Affinity4 we are always looking for better ways to serve our customers and increase the Giveback to their chosen ministry or charity. We’ve found a way by launching our new Affinity4 Wireless three months ago. With our new Affinity4 Wireless, we provide prompt and reliable customer service by our own Affinity4 agents who take a personal interest in our customers.

Not only does our new wireless product offer the excellent customer service our customers want, but we offer nationwide coverage with some of the most popular phones. Whether you’re looking for a simple phone for emergencies only, or a BlackBerry to stay up-to-date with email access and a web browser, Affinity4 Wireless has the answer for you!

It’s been so exciting to see the new Affinity4 Wireless grow! Our customers are pleased by the fact that we take those extra steps to make sure they have the phone and plan that suits their calling needs. With plans as low as $29.99 a month, and great FREE phones, it’s a great time to make a difference through Affinity4 Wireless.

Join countless others who GiveBack to their ministry or charity with every phone call; sign up for Affinity4 Wireless today. You’ll have the comfort of knowing that Affinity4 will provide the familiar reliable customer service that you can depend on.

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TGIF, everyone! I hope everyone has had a great week and is looking forward to the weekend.

My favorite weekend activities used to include sleeping in and catching up on any television shows I may have missed during the week. My husband Jason and I used to also have friends over most Saturday nights for dinner and to catch up. Sunday afternoons were reserved for doing something fun like boating, hanging out at the beach, shopping, or just being lazy.

That all changed on April 27, 2009—the day my daughter Riley was born. She’s the love of my life and most certainly the apple of my husband’s eye. Weekends are no longer reserved for self-involved activities though. On Saturday she’s up by 6:00 a.m. and by 8:00 a.m. she’s had her breakfast and the house is a wreck. Mind you Jason and I haven’t even thought about eating yet. If we have something planned we’re lucky to get out of the house by 10:00 a.m. and we must be back by 2:00 p.m. so she can take her two hour nap while we rush to get a few hours of chore catching up in. She’s up by 4:00 p.m. and by 5:00 p.m. she’s ready for her dinner. We play for a few more hours and she’s had a bath and is ready for bed by 7:30 p.m.

On Sundays we do it all over again.

There are days when I miss my leisurely weekends actually spent relaxing but I can honestly say I given the chance wouldn’t give up my hectic weekends with my new family for anything in the world. As crazy as it sounds I’m actually looking forward to 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

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Every summer I look forward to one holiday – July 4th. As one of my favorite holidays of the year, Independence Day always seems to come at the perfect time when I’m in need of a little vacation from the world. And unlike Christmas and Thanksgiving, July 4th is the one holiday when you get to go to the beach, hang out with friends, and stay out as long as you want on the hot summer night. There’s nothing better than going to a cookout with your family and enjoying each other and good food.

As much fun as I have, I also like to take the opportunity on July 4th to focus on what the holiday is truly. I reflect on the greatness of our country and all the wisdom, rights, and freedoms the nation has afforded us. We are truly blessed to be a part of such an amazing country that gives us the right life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness.

So while you soak in the sun on July 4th this year, don’t forget that you’re celebrating you freedom as well!

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Growing up, my mom put me in soccer for exposure to team sports. Seemed like a good enough idea; soccer is great for making friends, learning to work with others, and exercise. With that being said, no one pushed me to play it in high school, or try and play professionally. In almost every other country other than the US, that is not the case. More commonly named “football” to most, soccer both the most played and highly attended sport in the world. People go as crazy for soccer as we do for American football. Fans from all over the world can be seen painting their bodies, shaving their heads, and wearing their favorite player’s jersey.

Soccer’s biggest event, the World Cup, features teams representing their countries from all across the globe to compete for the chance to be the best country in the world. Admittedly, despite having played soccer as a child, I have not followed it, that is until this year. To my surprise, the World Cup has been pretty amazing. One call, one missed shot has such an impact on the game you’re at the edge of your seat the whole time! I soon realized via Twitter that I wasn’t the only one; friends and family members have called me screaming after their team won or upset because they lost. I’m going for Team USA, and though I don’t know who will win in the end, what I do know is that I will be glued to my TV until the final on July 11th. Let’s go USA!!!

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After hearing news of the BP oil spill almost a month ago, I figured the company would take responsibility, find a solution, and close the leak-I’m still waiting. I can’t believe that after all this time little to no progress has been made regarding the oil spill – it is a true travesty. Animal life is dying and water is being contaminated. Yet, and still, both the President and BP have stood by as if they are waiting on someone else to fix it.

President Obama took a trip to the Gulf to survey all the damage and potential damage to the area, vowing to “fight back with all we’ve got”. What I want to know is, why haven’t we been doing that the whole time? Even worse was BP’s reaction to the situation. After not only refusing to take full responsibility at the onset of the problem, it is now coming out that BP made a series of bad decisions prior to the spill that may have lead to the disaster. Not only did they decide to use a cheaper casing for the well, and to use fewer centralizers to save time, but there were also several tests related to the cementing job not conducted by BP to save time.

It’s a shame that it has taken public scrutiny to make both the administration and BP seem to take notice to what’s going on. I expected more from them. One thing I know for sure is that I will not soon forget the President’s lack of leadership, or BP’s lack of integrity.

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I came across an article in Parade magazine by Stephanie Paterik on some outstanding students from around the country making a difference in their communities. And, for the first time, Parade has partnered with the national youth-service organization The LEAGUE to honor these special students for their service. They, along with the U.S. Department of Education, will hold a ceremony for the 15 winners of nominated students in the following areas: economics, the environment, education, community, and health.

When I began to read the background of some of the potential winners, I was amazed at what people so young could accomplish and how great of an impact they are making around them. For example, Akshay Damany, after watching a documentary on autism, decided that tennis could help improve coordination in autistic children. He now teaches tennis to autistic kids in Pennsylvania. Another amazing student is Blake O’Connor, who held a children’s book drive, and recruited classmates to read to second graders at low-income schools in Tampa, Fla.

To see young adults making such an effort is an inspiration. They could be at home or hanging out with friends. Instead they are doing their part to become future leaders of the world.

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Yesterday afternoon, as you may already be aware, we hosted our Hoops of Hope Shoot-a-thon. What we did not publicly emphasize was that, for fun and to drive up the donations even further, we made it an inter-office competition among the Affinity4 staff. Each Team of 10 employees reached out to friends, family and colleagues to solicit donations on behalf of our efforts. In addition, we had prizes for best team name, best team uniform, most money raised by team, and best team spirit.

The roof of our parking garage was quite noisy yesterday – we sure know how to have a good time! We had a DJ on site to keep the energy up with great music – but I think he ended up trying to keep up with US! Local news channels were there to cover the story – you can see video of that by clicking here.

We had a great time, raised a lot of money for a great cause – over $4,300!! Even our CEO worked up a sweat shooting hoops – a game of 4-on-4 broke out after the shoot-a-thon was over. I can’t wait to see what volunteer event we participate in next!

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Dating back officially to 1868, Memorial Day was born out of the war that nearly tore apart this great nation and honors those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom. With the states each taking the time to honor their own casualties, it was not until after WWII that we pulled together to recognize them in a more fitting way, United under one great union. 



This holiday gives us the time to reflect on those sacrifices with a not-so-subtle resemblance to another day to remember the sacrifice of another person who gave his life to protect us. Memorial Day and Easter both honor the unselfish sacrifice of others. These two solemn days recognize that nothing great can be accomplished without sacrifice. Our fallen service members reflect what Jesus said in John 15:13 when he told his disciples that there is no greater a thing than to lay down one’s life for someone else. This is why we call this the ultimate sacrifice.

This Memorial Day, take the time to not only remember each of these sacrifices, but also take the time to thank a service member who put his or her life on the line with us in mind. Have a safe Memorial Day.

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