54 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2019
ACTS OF KINDNESS
LIGHTEMUP
BOOSTING THE BENEVOLENT
Raising awareness of charitable
causes while championing young
organizers as they bring awareness
to the causes they care about is a
new nonprofit online platform called
LightEmUp that will both amplify
advocates’ voices and create scholarships
for them.
The initiative is the brainchild of
Christina Ahern, a former marketer
and mother of four from Manhasset,
who has spent the past two years developing
the site, which is expected to
launch next month — creating a new
forum for a community of do-gooders
to boost one another’s efforts.
“The point of it is to provide financial
support so a rising generation can
keep the fire lit in their hearts so
they can go on to continue to make
an impact and turn their compassion
into careers." she says. “These kids
are doing tremendous things, from
doing lemonade stands to
innovating ways to handle
waste in the community …
they deserve recognition for
what they’re doing.”
The social media portion
of the website will launch
first and will initially have
a local focus before building
a national audience. Users
will be able to post administrator
approved video, photo,
and text posts — sparks, in
the parlance of the platform — about
their campaigns and events. Once
it gains steam, users will be able to
compete for scholarships by having
the online community vote for the
best initiative, to be on par with the
typical scholarships that reward
athletics and academics.
Using the tag line “this is your moment
in history,” Ahern says the
name is a nod to her grandfather,
who was a U.S. Army paratrooper
during the Normandy invasion and
lit the runway for American military
aircraft to land during World War II.
Channeling the spirit of the greatest
generation, LightEmUp aims to boost
those that restore faith in humanity
by making a positive impact on the
world through their community
service and charitable
efforts. And if all goes as
planned, the forum will be
the launchpad that propels
1,000 community organizers
and charity drives.
"We need to put incentives
behind what we need most,"
Ahern says. "We need more
great people doing more
great things. That is what we
will do. We will catapult and
reward individuals, in effect
LightEmUp, so they go on to make our
world a better place."
LightEmUp is looking for content to
support the launch. Share what you
are doing to make your communities
and our world a better place. For
more information or to submit a
campaign, visit lightemup.org
-TB
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