Tag Archives: vanessa puleo

05.30.17
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Vanessa Puleo of Led2Serve Announces Outreach Partnership with Basket Brigade Central Florida

vanessa puelo

vanessa pueloORLANDO, FL (PRWEB) MAY 26, 2017

Led2Serve, a Florida based non-profit organization, is pleased to announce a partnership with Basket Brigade Central Florida to lead the administration, planning and logistical execution of its yearly Thanksgiving food drive. Now in their 20th year, Basket Brigade has led a community effort to deliver baskets full to the brim with love and their signature note which reads, “This is a gift from someone who cares about you, all we ask is you take good care of yourself, and do this for someone else…someday.” Last year nearly eighteen-hundred families in the Central Florida area received a tailor-made food basket delivered to their door.

“We started Basket Brigade twenty years ago with the notion that one small act of generosity on the part of one caring person can transform the lives of so many people. We’ve grown this annual event to feed thousands of families. This new partnership will help the local serve event in so many ways. We can also now offer corporate sponsors the opportunity to give back to the local community through tax-deductible donations for Thanksgiving meals. We can only imagine this partnership with Led2Serve will allow significantly more families to be helped each year as a result,” said Joetta Raylots, Founder and creator of Basket Brigade Central Florida. Raylots continues to say, “I would like to thank the Central Florida community for making a difference to families in need over the last two decades. Basket Brigade is a global initiative that started from hearing motivational speaker Tony Robbins speak twenty years ago”.

Led2Serve has mobilized thousands of individuals to join in serving events both locally and on a global scale. Supporting Basket Brigade will provide the capability of accepting tax-deductible donations from corporate and individual sponsors for continued expansion and growth of this yearly event.

“We couldn’t be happier,” says Vanessa Puleo, Founder and Executive Director of Led2Serve. “I’ve known Joetta Raylots for many years and know what a huge heart she has for helping others. We’re thrilled to facilitate the growth of this meaningful event and look to years ahead of giving back to the community together. Taking a vision like Basket Brigade of feeding families, linked with Led2Serve’s mission to serve others, we will accomplish amazing things in the Central Florida area.”

Raylots and Puleo are in the planning stages of how to take the foundational process and success of the Basket Brigade program and duplicate it across the USA.

This year’s Basket Brigade will be held on Saturday, November 18th where over 300 volunteers will gather for the event. The goal of feeding 2500 families is becoming a reality.

About Led2Serve:

Founded in 2009 by Vanessa Puleo, Led2Serve was created to equip, inspire, and mobilize individuals and teams to serve others locally, nationally, and in regions of Costa Rica. Led2Serve’s customized Journeys provide the opportunity for team members to give of their time and talents by taking part in meaningful community projects such as building a ramp for the disabled, painting a school, or participating in an environmental clean up effort. Their journey is balanced with fun activities such as zip-lining, hiking, snorkeling and white water rafting. Since Led2Serve is a 501(c)(3) organization, team members pay a tax-deductible journey fee to cover the cost of their travel. Led2Serve coordinates all aspects of travel, from food and lodging to project materials and transportation. Teams travel to the same locations throughout the year bringing groups from schools, churches, non-religious organizations, sports teams and corporations to support established community partners. Led2Serve also helps to create, implement, and oversee the logistical parts of one day service projects in communities across the USA.

04.06.17
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Vanessa Puleo of Led2Serve Announces The Launch Of Their Service Learning Journeys in the Washington DC Area

Vanessa Puelo

Vanessa PueloWe’re pleased to announce Led2Serve’s first service learning journey was completed in Washington, DC in late March. Led2Serve traveled with a team of twenty-two from St. John’s Military school in Salina, Kansas. This team joined an impactful service learning mission where students learned about our nation’s great history and were able to make a positive difference in the lives of others with service projects coordinated by Capital Area Food Bank and SOME (So Others Might Eat) non-profit organizations.

Led2Serve organized all details for the Journey Team which included the team touring the Capitol Building followed by a solemn visit to the Arlington Cemetery to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This journey team also visited numerous monuments throughout the city, including the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The week’s adventures were capped with a tour of the breathtaking National Cathedral where students learned of the extensive history behind the building of the church and how it serves as a cornerstone of religious diversity in our country.

led2serve

Moving into the service component of the journey all team members spent time serving through Led2Serve’s partnership with the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest organization in the Washington metro area combating hunger for 540,000 people each year and its companion problems: chronic undernutrition, heart disease, and obesity. For their second serve project, the journey members served with So Others Might Eat, an interfaith, community-based organization that helps the poor and homeless of the nation’s capital. SOME help to break the cycle of homelessness by offering services, such as affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment, and counseling, to the poor, the elderly and individuals with mental illness.

Vanessa Puleo, Founder and Executive Director of Led2Serve stated “As part of Led2Serve’s community serving component we regularly travel to established partnership locations many times a year, to forge impactful and lasting relationships that will benefit individuals within those communities. We’re very pleased to have these new partnerships with the Capital Area Food Bank and So Others Might Eat who have such a positive role in the Washington DC area.” Puleo continues to say, “Service-Learning Journeys are a way to engage in educational travel linked with a learning outcome and meaningful service to support those opportunities. High-school and college teams can teach their classes while we travel and serve throughout DC”.

led2serve

About Led2Serve:

Founded by Vanessa Puleo in 2009, led2serve was created to equip, inspire, and mobilize individuals and teams to serve others locally, nationally, and through many regions of Costa Rica. led2serve’s customized Journeys provide the opportunity for team members to give their time and talents by taking part in meaningful community projects such as building a ramp for the disabled, painting a school, or participating in an environmental cleanup effort. Their hard work is then balanced by taking part in activities such as zip-lining, snorkeling, white water rafting and other fun activities. Team members typically pay a Journey fee to cover the cost of their travel, which is tax deductible, as they are a 501(c)(3) organization. Team members can fundraise for their trips if they choose.

Led2Serve coordinates all aspects of travel, from food and lodging, to project materials. They travel and serve primarily in the Eastern United States and throughout five regions of Costa Rica. Led2Serve teams travel repeatedly to the same locations and serve with established community partners year round bringing groups from schools, churches, non-religious organizations, sports teams, family and friend groups, sports teams, and more.

Contact Information:
Vanessa Puleo
Founder/Executive Director
vanessa@led2serve.org

03.10.17
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Vanessa Puleo of Led2Serve Invites Everyone To A Service Journey

led2serve, a thriving non-profit organization, is in it’s eighth year of providing middle and high school youth with fun and meaningful service mission journeys for their spring and fall breaks. Their trips combine rewarding service to others with an adventurous component to provide a well-rounded experience that is second to none.

Founded in 2009, led2serve was created to equip, inspire, and mobilize people to serve others locally, nationally, and through many regions of Costa Rica. “Engaging students at every grade level is something that changes their lives dramatically”, says Vanessa Puleo, Founder and Executive Director, “When a student engages in a life-changing serving opportunity during a class trip whether their sixth grade, or their senior year…something eventually clicks. They begin to see life, serving, fun and community blend as one. Eventually, they can envision incorporating a piece of serving into every place they travel.”

Service projects can range from building a ramp for the disabled, painting a school, or participating in an environmental clean up effort. Students then are able to balance their hard work by taking part in activities such as zip-lining, snorkeling, white water rafting and other fun and adventurous activities.

The team at led2serve has learned, over the years, the ability for young adults to serve and play together fosters a strong team spirit and support that is unrivaled. They customize trips whether the school sending their students is public or private, small groups or large. The goal is to create well designed partnerships that align with each specific class and goals. In fact, some classes will serve and play together during led2serve journeys for as many as five or six years in a row, allowing the students to continually strengthen and grow their interpersonal relationships with others over time and experience a truly rewarding time in their lives.

To request or discuss a customized Service Journey reach out either by email: connect@led2serve.org or phone, (863)354-0137. You can also visit their web site www.led2serve.org to learn more.