We are so proud to share that Brew City Marketing is one of the companies to have won Milwaukee’s Best and Brightest to work for!! Thank you so much to our incredible team for submitting the feedback, deeming us worthy of such an award 😍 Check out the press release here to learn more about it.
Now that we’re almost halfway through the first quarter of 2021, it’s time to give back to the community. For those familiar with our company, Brew City Marketing donates time and funds to charities every quarter. We are constantly thinking of ways to make the lives of others better any way we can. This month, for Valentine’s Day, Brew City Marketing is donating to the Starfish Foundation! You may be asking though: What exactly is the Starfish Foundation? Put simply, they provide funds to veterans who can’t afford to take part in the Taking It Lightly and Renewal Programs for emotional healing and trauma recovery. Their mission is to “assist emotional trauma survivors to release their grief, rage, and shame; and allow joy, productivity, and prosperity back into their and their families’ lives.” In the section below, we’ll explain how the Starfish Foundation set out to achieve its goals.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, around 11-20% of veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom are diagnosed with PTSD in any given year. This is a staggering number. PTSD is a serious condition that can negatively impact the person’s (and their family’s) life. Common symptoms include intrusive memories, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in emotional reaction. To ensure these veterans receive the care they deserve, the Starfish Foundation helps raise money so veterans can seek additional therapy. They’ve partnered with the Healing Warrior Hearts foundation—a charity that specializes in healing wounded warriors.
In addition to partnering with similar charities, the Starfish Foundation offers therapeutic retreats, sponsorships, scholarships, and grants for veterans. Through their partnerships, veterans are able to attend and participate in various forms of emotional healing; all donations help fund these initiatives (and many of them are run by volunteers!). These efforts are incredibly important. Unfortunately, suicidality among veterans is common and on the rise. By supporting charitable causes that seek to help veterans combat their trauma, you’ll be doing your part to help increase awareness and raise the funds necessary to support these veterans who are in such desperate need.
If you’d like to lend a helping hand to veterans in need, you should definitely consider reaching out to the Starfish Foundation. Every day, our troops provide a service that we often take for granted, and their sacrifice is immeasurable. As the saying goes, all gave some; some gave all. Giving back in any way possible is a beautiful gesture, which is why we at Brew City Marketing take charitable giving so seriously. There are numerous ways to help, and every little bit helps. We hope that you’ll consider donating in the way that makes the most sense for you and your family. Click here to learn how to give back to our veterans today! Or, to learn more, you can always contact our friendly staff to ask about our ongoing charitable efforts.
This year has been incredibly different and difficult for many families. Unfortunately, for some, this year has fundamentally changed their lives (not necessarily for the better in the short term). Right now, giving back to the community is more important than ever. Millions of people have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 concerns. Companies all over Milwaukee have shut their doors, and more and more families find themselves in desperate need of aid. Milwaukee is a strong city with even stronger people. This year, Brew City Marketing has made an extra effort to support our beautiful, vibrant community. Over the last few months, we’ve hosted jacket-donation and book-donation drives. We’ve also hosted food drives and have donated time and resources to other charitable causes. For this holiday season, we chose to volunteer at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission.
The Milwaukee Rescue Mission (MRM) provides a variety of services to those in need. On a regular basis, the MRM serves underprivileged folks with hot and healthy meals. In fact, they donate 304,000 meals and 72,000 articles of clothing to those in dire need every year. Additionally, the MRM gives homeless children excellent education opportunities. These programs provide each student with a broad base of knowledge and skills, which places them in a better position to succeed as they grow into young adults. Overall, the MRM is committed to serving those in our community who need the most help. Their mission is as noble as it is effective, so it was a pleasure to work with them.
During these trying times, it is completely understandable that not everyone can donate money. And, due to COVID-19, volunteering in-person might not be an option for you. Regardless of your circumstance, it’s incredibly important to think about those who are not as fortunate as ourselves. Charitable giving is as heartwarming as it is life-changing. So, if you’re thinking about giving back to your community, consider looking through their website for more information about volunteer work and donation opportunities.
The team at Brew City Marketing arrived at the MRM facility on Tuesday with a mission. We wanted to help make families’ Christmas memorable! So we rolled up our sleeves, put on our masks, and went to town. After we went through our COVID screening process, we were led to a room filled with Christmas presents. That’s not all, though: there were boxes upon boxes of blankets, thermal socks, winter hats, and bundles of necessities for families of all sizes. Every toy, every blanket, and every piece of winter clothing was donated by an individual from the community. It’s not every day that you get to see how generous the community is (in a tangible way). The whole team was blown away by the display of kindness—it was truly an amazing experience.
After our host gave us the rundown, our team split off into pairs and put together Christmas packages. Each pair received a handful of lists that gave us information about a specific family. We then picked out presents for the kids, winter clothes for the parents, and an extra gift for mom! We then wrapped each of the presents (some of us were better at wrapping presents than others!) and set them aside for delivery. At the end of the day, we collectively made packages for over fifteen families. We left feeling wonderful about our volunteer work, and we are grateful to have had a hand in making someone’s Christmas a bit more merry. Giving back to the community is something we love to do, but this outing was really special.
If this story has given you a bit more holiday cheer, and if you’re thinking about donating time or funds to a great cause, there are many ways to volunteer at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. The holidays are great, but this year’s holiday season is one like no other. If you are able to contribute in any way, now is the time to do so. Giving back to your community enriches everyone’s life, and it’s what keeps Milwaukee strong. So consider volunteering your time and energy for a beautiful cause—you won’t regret it!
Are you looking for a good way to give back to your community? Donating time and effort to a charity during a pandemic can be difficult, and it is completely understandable to want to look for ways to help that doesn’t involve person-to-person contact. Luckily, Brew City Marketing can help you give back to your community in a way that maintains the safety of yourself and your loved ones.
From October 1st to the 31st, we’ll have a bin outside our front door so you can safely drop off new and gently used books for infants, elementary, middle, and high school children, as well as books targeted for adults.
Next Door supports the intellectual, physical, and emotional development of children by partnering with their families for success in school and the community. Their services extend beyond general literacy and learning programs. Next Door’s comprehensive approach provides children with the tools necessary to thrive in school, and they extend self-improvement and employment preparation programs to parents in the community. Click here to learn more about Next Door’s invaluable services!
*We’re unable to accept discarded library books, reference books, textbooks, and damaged books. Sorry!
There is no such thing as a small donation; every little bit makes a tangible, positive impact on the community. Your generous donations will work towards ensuring that the next generation of children will have a brighter future. Thank you for your consideration and desire to make your community stronger. We hope to see you swing by the office soon!
For many companies, giving back to the community is much more than a PR campaign. Community service is woven into their company culture. That’s true now more than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What’s most impressive about this corporate commitment to community service? It’s that many organizations are adapting to current conditions. They recognize the need for involvement doesn’t stop just because of the crisis. If anything, the demand has grown.
In this blog post, I take a look at what companies are doing to continue their commitment to giving back to the community during the pandemic. I’ll also take a look at the rewards inherent in corporate community service. Besides enriching their employees’ lives and those who live in their community, companies and charitable organizations receive tangible digital marketing benefits.
Andrew Carnegie once said, “No man can become rich without himself enriching others.” Mr. Carnegie’s comment suggests that a fulfilled life doesn’t necessarily just come from within. It stems directly from helping others who are in need.
Taken on a larger scale, Mr. Carnegie’s comment underscores the mutually beneficial relationship between companies and charitable organizations. For companies, promoting community service opportunities to their workforce provides a convenient way for employees to volunteer their time. This in turn offers charities and community-based organizations much-needed awareness and a motivated workforce.
The simple act of volunteering provides employees with a sense of pride in themselves and their employers. It also offers employees the potential to meet new people.
Stephanie Watson wrote in the Harvard Business Review, “Studies have shown that volunteering helps people who donate their time feel more socially connected, thus warding off loneliness and depression…A growing body of evidence suggests that people who give their time to others might also be rewarded with better physical health—including lower blood pressure and a longer lifespan.”
During the pandemic, the public’s faith in corporate America has eroded. According to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, “Only 38 percent believe business is doing well or very well at putting people before profits. ”
Companies can counter this trend by making it easy for employees to do volunteer work.
For example, consider the program offered by Solstice Consulting Group. According to glassdoor.com, the firm offers employees “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (FBDO), which is an extra PTO day which allows Solsties to play hooky together. The only rule? They must do something epic! “We exist to prove what humanity is capable of.”
COVID-19 has also caused some firms to pivot and adapt past methods of giving back. Brew City Marketing (BCM) is a good example. Before the pandemic, BCM employees volunteered at Next Door, an award-winning early education provider that focuses on improving literacy and school readiness for children in Milwaukee’s central city.
However, Next Door limits the number of visitors to its facilities as a precautionary measure to help slow the virus’s spread. Consequently, BCM is unable to do their quarterly visits to read to the toddlers.
They’re hosting a book drive instead! From October 1-31st, they’ll have a bin outside their front door where people can drop off new and gently used books for infants, elementary, middle, and high school children, as well as books targeted for adults, which will be distributed through Next Door’s Community and Little Free Libraries. They’re unable to accept discarded library books, reference books, textbooks, and damaged books.
Amanda Dalnodar, the BCM CEO, observed, “When the children get to choose a book after the reading events, it’s fun to see their excited little faces. They take pride in ownership of their new book. The love of reading and books can never start too young – even reading to infants is beneficial for their growth and development.” 
It’s important to remember that community service must always be done for the right reasons. Corporations have to define their values first. That puts them in a position to select a charitable organization to work with that aligns with those values.
Ultimately, the decision stems from recognizing a need in the community and the energy to do something about it. Rewards, such as improved search engine presence, are secondary.
Matthew Murray points out in a Bright Local blog post, “Local SEO thrives on backlinks from trusted sources and good backlinks can be obtained from mentions about your community involvement. They flow naturally from your personal relationships.”
Mr. Murray explains several types of backlink opportunities available to companies that are involved in community service. “Organizational backlinks” are links to your site from the charitable organization with which your company is working. “A link from one of these sites can do wonders for your relative position in Google, particularly as one of the key factors in the local ranking pack is relevance.”
Public relations links are another opportunity to improve SEO both locally and nationally. Mr. Murray’s article explains, “Often there’s not quite enough going on in a local area to fill a newspaper, but local papers can’t publish blank pages. So they look to human interest stories, which they never tire of.” Similar opportunities come from online PR distribution services like Cision’s PR Web, which distributes press releases to an extensive database of media outlets on a national basis for a fee.
Oliver Neely provides additional evidence of the SEO benefit. “A link from a charity website can be extremely beneficial. Some are “local hubs,” which get good coverage. This boosts their domain authority, which can be passed onto you. In some cases, just one or two of these links can push a business right up to the first position of Google.”
However, Mr. Neely warns, “Google considers making donations for links to be paid links and against Google policies. Clearly, if you give to dozens of random organizations without regard to their cause or location, you are engaging in a link scheme and can expect to be penalized. However, if your motives are altruistic, you keep local, and you don’t go overboard, Google will recognize the difference.”
You really can’t go wrong when giving back – especially in these times when charitable organizations are struggling to adapt to COVID restrictions. It’s all good energy that comes back to you in countless ways and it just so happens that one of those ways is higher rankings in the search engines. Contact us today to optimize your community connections and increase your web ranking on the search engines.
Sources:
https://www.brightlocal.com/blog/local-seo-begins-with-community/
https://onlinemarketinginct.com/2019/03/19/how-charity-can-boost-your-local-seo/
https://www.edelman.com/research/trust-2020-spring-update
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/volunteering-may-be-good-for-body-and-mind-201306266428 “Volunteering may be good for body and mind” June 26, 2013
We are feeling the love vibes for Valentine’s Day today! One way Brew City Marketing likes to spread the love is by volunteering in Milwaukee at Next Door Elementary. It’s such a great way to inspire kids to keep reading and learning, and they get so excited when volunteers come by to hang and read one on one with them. The pictures below are from our last visit at the end of January.
Reading to children starting as young as when they are babies helps them to develop their reading and writing skills as well as the connections we make with one another as humans.
There are a number of ways to volunteer with Next Door, whether it be reading to the kids or donating books to their library. Find more info about volunteering in Milwaukee at Next Door here: https://www.nextdoormke.org/get-involved/become-a-volunteer/
Every year the Milwaukee Rescue Mission holds special events and opportunities for the community to help those in need. At Brew City Marketing, we are always looking for ways we can lend a hand, and we were so glad we could join MRM for their Christmas volunteering event this past holiday season!
For the event, we brought several bags of new and gently used personal care products and stuck around to help a big group decorate their gym. Once everything was covered in a holiday glow, parents from families in need were invited to come in and pick out presents that had been wrapped by volunteers. During that time, kids got to go to a separate room that was also spruced up with holiday decorations. MRM sends out a wish list, specifically asking for the types of gifts that will be the most welcome. It included:
MRM doesn’t just provide opportunities for Christmas volunteering, they have a lot of stuff on their calendar you can get involved with. They are also always looking for help with:
You can reach out to enquire about getting involved here.
Want to see what else BCM does to get involved in the community? Check out our community involvement page!
We are collecting donations for our 3rd annual clothing and supplies drive for the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. Drop off toiletries, kitchen supplies, non-perishables, and new or gently used clothing to our office at 9211 W Center St, Milwaukee WI 53222. We will drop off your donations on Saturday, Dec. 14th, when our team at Brew City Marketing plans to spend the morning volunteering at their facility near 19th and Wells in Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Rescue Mission provides aid and resources to those experiencing “homelessness, poverty, and hunger in the Milwaukee metro area.” Programs within the organization transform individuals from a life on the streets to lasting productivity. Short and long term projects address underlying issues to enrich the body and mind. Starting with a meal, and ending with complete independence, people receive essential tools such as education, substance abuse rehabilitation tools, and job training.
Problems that cause homelessness are often unexpected. Eviction, unemployment, domestic violence, addiction, death of a loved one, and severe mental illness are just a few. It could happen to anyone of us or someone we love. One in four of Milwaukeeans lives in poverty and often, “children get the worst of it.” Their growing bodies are stunted and educations are put at risk. Therefore, children in poverty are more likely to develop chronic illnesses such as asthma and are more likely to drop out of school. Likewise, stresses involved with poor health, fewer opportunities than peers, and housing instability lead to anxiety and depression.
The 3rd annual clothing and supplies drive begins now and will conclude December 14th. As stated above, our office is at 9211 W Center St, Milwaukee WI 53222. We look forward to seeing you and thank you in advance for helping our community.
Contact us with any questions.
Brew City Marketing president, Amanda Dalnodar, believes in giving back and encourages her employees to do the same. She regularly volunteers at Next Door Foundation, among other organizations in the Milwaukee area. Click the link below to read the featured article in the Biz Times about Amanda Dalnodar’s volunteerism.
Milwaukee Business Journal announces Brew City Marketing winner of 2019 Diversity Award
By Hannah Matthiesen
June 15th, 2019
Milwaukee, WI – Brew City Marketing was founded nearly a decade ago in the midst of the 2009 recession by CEO, Amanda Dalnodar. Recently announced, Brew City has won The Milwaukee Business Journal’s 2019 Diversity Award. Dalnodar and her team have helped to create 500 websites for nearly 400 businesses around the greater Milwaukee area, many of which are minority-owned or employ local minorities. The Milwaukee Business Journal recognized Dalnodar and the rest of her company’s strong commitment to local business diversity with this year’s award.
“I’ve always wanted my own business.” Dalnodar says, “We started with zero clients and didn’t even take out a loan.” And in Brew City’s first year alone, the business had picked up 100 clients and quickly grew into what it is today where they offer competitive employee benefits to their full-time employees as well as paid internships. Dalnodar is proud to be of service to such a wide array of businesses in Milwaukee, “it’s an honor to help small business owners and entrepreneurs succeed.”
“Brew City Marketing helped our West Allis roofing business increase calls by 45% in 4 months.”
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“Brew City Marketing helped our West Allis roofing business increase calls by 45% in 4 months.”
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“They cut our cost-per-lead by almost a third. Great communication and real results.”
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