Giving Season

November traditionally marks the beginning of the “Giving Season”. This is usually anchored by Thanksgiving then leads into the Christmas Holiday Season. This year many families and friends are finally getting back together in person to celebrate the holidays and give thanks. The East Orlando Chamber is no different. We are thankful for our members who have stayed with us and worked to strengthen our East Orange County business community. We have held countless meetings, workshops and events to help our business stay connected, informed and top of mind. Many members have taken advantage of Testimonial Tuesday’s and our Brain Trust meetings. Events have been powerful with members engaged and supportive of one another, helping in situations and referring and patronizing one another. The Chamber continues to support our members providing opportunities to shine and build their network of connections.

As we kick off November, our quarterly W.I.S.E. (Women In Successful Endeavors) Luncheon is on Wednesday, November 3rd from 11:30 AM to 1:15 PM. featuring Women in Nonprofit: Focus on Foundations, sponsored by Orlando Health at The Celeste Hotel Orlando. Graciela NoriegaJacoby, COO with Heart of Florida United Way will lead the discussion with a dynamic group of women leading nonprofit foundations. Joining her will be Lainie Fox-Ackerman (Orlando Health); Linda Landman Gonzalez (Orlando Magic Youth Foundation); Meghan Curren (AdventHealth); Jodie Hardman (Bank of America Foundation) and Min Sun Kim (Edyth Bush Institute). If you are interested in attending, register today at eocc. org.

Continuing the theme, on November 10th join us for our annual Local Charities Luncheon “Lights, Camera, Action” at the Holiday Inn East UCF, sponsored by Orlando Health and featuring Barbara Poma, Founder of onePLUSE Foundation. Five local charities are being highlighted offering guests an opportunity to support them by fulfilling their displayed needs on our “Giving Tree”. These Charities include Friends of Fisher House Orlando, Junior Achievement Central Florida, One Heart for Women & Children, Pathways Home Inc, and Volunteers for Community Impact. This is a meaningful way to start the Season of Sharing and supporting the good work of these featured nonprofit organizations who serve our communities. Reserve your seats early.

We are also excited about the announcement of the East Orlando Chamber Foundation. Keep a lookout for more details and information about this impactful charitable organization. We hope you and your families and friends will have a safe holiday season and remember those who are less fortunate and are still dealing with difficult times. Support your local businesses this holiday season and visit or take out a meal from a local restaurant. Even if a business is a chain or franchise, they employ our fellow residents and contribute to our local economy.

For 75 years we have supported our business members and communities in East Orange County providing a voice, opening doors for success, connecting members with opportunities, educational business development and building professional relationships. Our members support our mission to advocate and help sustain a robust economy, fostering companies with employment opportunities and merchants who provide the goods and services our community needs. More information is at eocc. org or call 407-277-5951.