Gibson Family Gives Back to Their Community

“While we are not a social entrepreneurship company, it is one of AKG Design Studio’s core values, to work with other business owners and individuals to create a meaningful impact by giving back to our community.” – Anna Gibson, CEO, and Founder of AKG Design Studio.

This year my company and family are helping the CORE Foundation. The CORE Foundation helps a combination of the Reston charitable organizations and specifically helps at-risk youth and underprivileged kids in sports to provide them with a healthy lifestyle and habits.

While CORE supports many organizations, we chose to get involved in those supporting our community and specifically Cornerstones. Cornerstones is a nonprofit organization that promotes self-sufficiency by providing support and advocacy for those in need of food, shelter, affordable housing, quality childcare, and other human services. Being in the business of homes, we feel that every person should have a place to call home, with a warm meal and safety.

Our business and family chose to get involved with CORE after our trip to Louisville, KY this past February. While there, we learned about how many people were homeless because of where we stayed in the downtown area. My daughter and I experienced finding a homeless individual who was kind and gave us directions back to our hotel while warning us to be safe at night. We tried to provide him with the little food we had, but instead, he asked for a hot meal. Through our company’s marketing manager who lives in Louisville, we were able to get him that hot meal that night, as her family works close to the homeless community in Louisville. When I got home, it made me realize that I needed to do more for those who were homeless in my hometown.

Since we are an active family, we find it easy to connect through the sports to give back to our community. We know and understand the importance of sports in kids lives as it helps them grow up to be fit, confident, strong and capable. We hope to get many more kids involved, no matter what their financial abilities are. I recently finished my 2nd Reston Sprint Tri (which has raised over $300K for Cornerstones over the years). My daughter, Abigail, participated in the Reston Superhero Splash and Dash last weekend, while my husband, Andy, and I are volunteered on the course. And, would you believe, my husband Andy is so impressed with me doing the Sprint Tri two years in a row… He’s committed to doing it next year! At our CORE we and AKG Design Studio will continue to fill the needs of those in our community.

 
Setting my own bar a bit higher and chasing the bigger races, like a Half Ironman (Gulp!) I have signed up for Augusta Half Ironman on Sept 23rd. Sharing my journey with friends and family, we have used it to do additional fundraising for CORE Foundation, and were able to sponsor a few more kids to join us at the Splash and Dash. We have raised over $500.00. You can follow along our journey via this photo album.
Note from CORE Foundation: Thank you Gibson family and AKG Design Studio for your dedication and service to the Reston community and for sharing our vision. #BE THE CHANGE
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New CORE Cause – Kids of Reston

Creating a Reston Legacy 

OUR MISSION: Giving back so the next generation of Reston kids have the same opportunities to live, learn and play like we did.

We are focused on giving back to the community that gave so much to us as children.  Kids of Reston fund raise from those who have already benefited from the Reston experience. We do this by giving the donated resources to assist Cornerstones in providing a home for a family in need.  In addition, we help Cornerstones families in need with housing expenses including fees for pool passes, camps, sports clubs, music and art classes, and other recreation and leisure time activities.

HELP US MEET OUR INITIAL FUNDRAISING GOAL

$100,000 By Founder’s Day April 2019

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