What do you get when you mix celebrity golf tournaments, shepherds and healthcare? You guessed it. Boston Celtics’ head coach, Doc Rivers, has once again teamed up with leading destination club, Ultimate Escapes – of which he is a member – to provide healthcare for the uninsured. The 10th Annual Doc Rivers Celebrity Golf Invitational will be hosted by Doc Rivers on July 23 at the Reunion Resort and Club Wyndham Grand Resort in Orlando, Fla.  Each foursome will be paired with a celebrity and have the chance to win a variety of luxury vacation experiences with Ultimate Escapes.

Still wondering where shepherds come in to the picture?  Shepherd’s Hope is a non-profit organization of volunteers that provides access to healthcare for the uninsured. Many uninsured workers are employed in small businesses that don’t offer health insurance, or they are low-wage workers that cannot afford to pay the costs associated with an employer sponsored plan. Shepherd’s Hope aims to provide a solution to this problem and will receive all proceeds from the auction held at the golf tournament

This year’s celebrity golfers, including Anthony “Spud” Webb and sportscaster Craig Sager, will be paired with their golfing buddies on July 22 and will begin the tournament on the morning of July 23.  Through Ultimate Escapes’ signature Ultimate Giving® program, golfers will have the chance to bid on five luxurious packages including five-night stays at Ultimate Escapes’ luxury homes in New York City and Los Cabos, Mexico.

This is the fifth year that Ultimate Escapes has partnered with their member and famous basketball coach, Doc Rivers; both are excited to be giving to Shepherd’s Hope.

“Kindness is the golden chain by which society is held together.” No act of kindness, big or small goes unnoticed – and each and every one of us is affected by the outcome of generosity, love, compassion and kindness towards others. And the goal of Resort 2 Kindness, this month’s spotlight organization, is to create a chain reaction of kindness throughout the world.

Founded in 2007, Resort 2 Kindness is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the possibility of endless generosity and unconditional love. Resort 2 Kindness was created from the love of one family committed to making a difference by transforming the world through the actions of so many inspired people who are dedicated to do the same.

According to the Resort 2 Kindness website, the organization’s belief is that “doing little things can make a big impact”. You can make an impact and participate by:

1) Individual “Random Acts of Kindness”
Participants can share Random Acts of Kindness with people in their lives who they know or don’t know. Anyone of your choosing can be a potential recipient – friends, colleagues, family members, neighbors – or a brand new person who crosses your path just walking down the street. Kindness is a gift you can share everyday in a variety of ways. It generally costs you nothing but a moment in time.

2) Resort / Real Estate Sponsors Who Multiply The Kindness
Developers of Resort and Residential communities sponsor every act that R2K participants complete. They make a monetary contribution to the charities of their choice based on their commitment level. One hundred percent of all funds contributed by Resort / Real Estate Sponsors goes directly to the charity. No funds are used to support R2K administratively, so every kindness – and every dollar – goes where it counts!

3) Participating in the organization’s “Give Initiatives”
Every year, Resort 2 Kindness holds Giving Initiatives to give back to people and organizations in need, with the funds raised from their sponsors and Resort 2 Kindness supporters.

The first is “The Big Give,” held in the Spring/Summer of the year. This giving initiative is targeted at an organization whose focus is geared toward helping less fortunate individuals. For the “Big Give” initiative Resort 2 Kindness seeks to make an extraordinary impact on the lives of very ordinary people through monetary contributions and in-kind donations of varying degrees from its donors.

The second annual initiative, “The Little Give,” is held in the Fall/Winter of the year, and aims at helping a specific family or individual in need on a deeply personal level. This initiative only solicits monetary donations and seeks to positively impact any financial burdens a family or individual may be incurring, such as medical or other health needs, a change in a housing situation or other services related to food, shelter, clothing or general well-being.

This year, accomplishing its goal of raising $10,000 for The Little Give 2009, Resort 2 Kindness and its supporters gave one little girl’s organization, The Stink Bug Project, a very big head start. After struggling with her own battle against brain cancer, Allison Winn wanted to share with other children, the positive experience she had after receiving her therapy dog, Coco. Allison started by baking and selling dog biscuits to raise the money needed for a family to adopt a well-trained and rescued dog from the Prison Trained K-9 Program at Colorado Correctional Industries. Now, because of the remarkable generosity of one young girl, and the donations and support from the Resort 2 Kindness Community, The Stink Bug Project is able to touch the lives of so many – from families across the nation stricken with the devastation of childhood cancer, to the dogs that they are able to adopt and rescue from lives of neglect and abuse.

At Turner PR, we believe that the passions of our team members emerge when they know their efforts make a difference. Because this often comes from helping others, we offer 3 days of paid volunteer time annually. Our team has volunteered at local schools; helped with fundraising events for Hole in the Wall; made Thanksgiving baskets for Basket Brigade; mentored inner city youth in NYC and Denver; served in orphanages in Kenya with Heart for Africa; delivered lunches to the homeless with Resort 2 Kindness; and our footprint will continue.

We’re proud of our team members who make extraordinary efforts to give back because we know each hour, each dollar, each act of kindness – does matter.  Allowing your team members to participate in what’s meaningful to them will deliver in spades to your organization. Open up a forum to share the volunteer experiences during staff meetings or on the company blog.

If you’re an employer, create a program. If you’re an employee, request a program. If you’re an employee and a program exists, use the time.

Every year when the Super Bowl comes around, only one thing comes to mind.

That’s right, charity.

Okay, so maybe you think of food and funny ads but this year charity is a focus for one of our clients, Ultimate Escapes, a leading destination club.  They are currently running a really cool charitable auction: The Ultimate Escapes Haiti Relief VIP Super Bowl Package Charity Auction.

In an effort to help the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti, Ultimate Escapes’ charitable arm, Ultimate Giving, has donated two 2010 Super Bowl tickets with the use of a two-bedroom villa.  It is being auctioned off at the CharityBuzz.com “Heal Haiti” online auction site supporting the efforts of the American Red Cross and UNICEF.

The auction is live now (3 bids already, so hurry as it ends on Tuesday) and includes 2 tickets to the Super Bowl in Miami, 2 tickets to the NFL Sponsor Party on February 6 and a 2-night stay at an Ultimate Escapes villa in Miami.  Check it out to support Haiti and feed your football fix at the same time…