CBI’s Greenville office exemplified our Live Love Serve Philosophy last week when Associates participated in a Blood Drive hosted by design partner McMillan Pazdan Smith. CBI Associates, Bowman Still and Jessica Peeler attended the MPS event in which clients and industry partners dropped by to give a donation and support the Blood Connection of Greenville, an organization with the mission of supporting healthcare partners with adequate, safe, cost-effective blood supplies and services. 

Bowman says, “COVID-19 has drastically impacted blood donations this year, which is why Jessica and I felt it was important to participate in McMillan Pazdan Smith’s blood drive with the Blood Connection. We were proud to represent the CBI Greenville office and give back to our local community while supporting a valued partnership with MPS.”

Jessica says, “Giving blood is such an easy way to help someone in need, and we were happy to play a part in this event. We look forward to participating in other community fundraisers and service opportunities as we know so many organizations are looking for support post-pandemic.”

Learn more about the Blood Connection of Greenville and how you can offer your support. Blood donation saves a life and with the Blood Connection of Greenville you can too.

CBI and the Live Love Serve Foundation recently partnered to provide furniture for a new Drop-in Center created by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Piedmont Tri-County. NAMI Piedmont Tri-County was looking to create a space in their facility that would offer visitors and patients a safe, supportive and cozy environment. The vision for this space is that it is a place where individuals can participate in activities focused on fostering relationships and personal empowerment, while also providing access to entertainment, computer and digital art opportunities.

CBI and the Live Love Serve Foundation became aware of the opportunity when Connie Engelbrecht, Director of Client and Community Engagement at CBI, learned that the facility was in need of furniture that aligned with their vision. They were looking for soft, inviting chairs and couches, as well as a few tables and desks that would allow those dropping-in to work or chat comfortably. CBI worked with NAMI Piedmont Tri-County to narrow down the types of solutions that would meet their needs and provided an in-kind donation to the facility. 

NAMI Piedmont Tri-County’s Drop-in Center will open this year, and CBI and the Live Love Serve Foundation are thrilled to have been part of the team to create a safe, comfortable space for all those who visit. 

Our CBI Associates ended 2020 by giving back to their communities with a great momentum that we look forward to continuing in the New Year. 

In Charlotte, our CBI Team spent two days the week before Christmas volunteering with the local chapter of Samaritan’s Purse, supporting their holiday initiative called Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child provides shoeboxes of gifts and necessities to children in need around the world as a way of sharing God’s love and spreading Christmas joy. Anisha Hancock, CBI Charlotte Associate, says “It was really special for me to bring the CBI Team to volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child. The mission of the organization aligns so well with our Live Love Serve values, and it was a wonderful opportunity to get my colleagues involved and help support one of Samaritan’s Purse’s biggest initiatives of the year.”

Another group of CBI Charlotte Associates supported a different community the week before Christmas when they traveled to Dunlow, West Virginia to provide outreach and spread holiday cheer to a community decimated by poverty. Read about their trip and CBI’s ongoing relationship with the people of Dunlow in this CBI blog article. “Supporting the Dunlow Community and participating in the Cabwaylingo Christmas Event each year has become a huge part of CBI’s culture,” says David Longo, Founder, Chairman & CEO of CBI. “The work we do in Dunlow is the ultimate embodiment of our Live Love Serve Philosophy. I’m so proud of our organization and the excitement they have for supporting the people in Dunlow and know we will continue to make a great impact here in the future.”

Meanwhile, in Charleston our CBI Team was busy volunteering at the Lowcountry Foodbank of Charleston and ensuring neighbors in need had enough to eat over the holiday season. Kerby Teller, Senior Vice President and Market Leader in Charleston says, “I’m so grateful for my CBI Team and their continuous passion for serving those in our community. I could not be prouder of the work we did at the Lowcountry Food Bank, and I’m so glad we were able to make such a positive impact for our neighbors in need during the holiday season.” Read more about this team’s efforts here.

In Jacksonville, the CBI Team shared their time with an organization called Bring Your Brokenness which is a non-profit committed to eating disorder recovery and providing a safe and loving environment for those with eating disorders while helping them find hope and healing for life transformation through God’s word. The team in Jacksonville took a day in December to volunteer at one of the rehabilitative facilities and cook and serve breakfast and lunch to the residents in the program. Learn more about their outreach in this Live Love Serve Foundation blog article. 

In Greenville, our CBI Team partnered with Project Host, an organization committed to fight food insecurity in the greater Greenville area. Bowman Still, a member of CBI’s Business Development Team, said “This year it was a no-brainer for us to offer up our time to the organization we’ve all come to appreciate. Project Host serves more than 250 underserved Greenville patrons per day providing hot meals, snacks, water, socks, masks and more. The gratitude that Project Host shows our CBI Team for volunteering year after year is what keeps us coming back.” Read more about this team’s activities with Project Host here. 

In Nashville this year, our CBI Associates exemplified the Live Love Serve Philosophy when they organized an effort to support the local homeless in their community. The team created Blessing Bags to give out to local homeless individuals that they happened upon at any given time. Ashley Howell, a CBI Nashville Associate says, “My colleague Jennifer Edmondson and I were looking for a team building activity that would bring our office together and provide support to our local community. We both commute to work and often see individuals impacted by homelessness on our way to and from the office. As we reflected on the challenges of being homeless, we came up with the idea of the Blessing Bags. We were really proud of the way our Nashville team embraced and supported this effort and our community.” Learn more about this team and their community support on theLive Love Serve Foundation blog here.  

And in our Piedmont Triad location the team partnered with the United Way to provide treat bags to children who were going to miss out on Trick or Treating due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jennifer Heinz, a CBI Piedmont Triad Associate says, “We had a great time collecting materials and assembling Boo Bags for children in our community. My favorite thing about the Boo Bags is that each contains an encouraging, handwritten note for the kids to read. It’s been a difficult year for everyone, and we just wanted to help provide a little extra support for these kids on a special holiday.” Read more about CBI Piedmont Triad’s partnership with the United Way here. 

We are so proud of all of our CBI locations and their efforts to continue living the mission of the Live Love Serve Foundation which is to LIVE a God centered life focused on LOVE. We do this by SERVING our communities through support of religious and other charitable organizations that positively impact people. We look forward to another great year of serving others in 2021.