New Energy Weekly – Community

Do Something for Your Community

The market seems to be picking up a bit. I’ll get back to that next week. But this week I wanted to highlight one of our core values – giving back.

Mangrove Investor is a sponsor for a community even this weekend. If you haven’t read The Grove Essay yet, check it out.

This is just one of many things your editors do, in our spare time. Over the years, Mike, Annie, and I have donated hundreds of hours of our time to our communities. It’s a point of pride for us, that we can give back.

I have a simple philosophy on my approach to donating my time and money. 

Over the years, I’ve lived in a lot of different places – some awful and some great. They each impacted my well-being in some way. For example, when I lived in a townhouse outside Miami. My neighbors were miserable.

They watched everything going on and constantly complained to the board about any perceived infractions. The board meetings were just awful, angry, heated affairs. 

I hated it.

The atmosphere was toxic. I didn’t speak to many of my neighbors. It impacted my daily life in a negative way.

I also lived in a quiet suburban setting. Our community valued gardening, something I like to do too. It ultimately made me a better gardener and ended up in a community award. That impacted my life in a positive way.

There are many examples of how a community can make a difference in your quality of life. That’s why I want to be involved in my community. Over the years, I went from volunteering to sitting on various boards. Today, I’m on the board of our local YMCA.

It’s a commitment of both time and money. But it’s the focal point of our community. My kids learned to swim there. They played sports there. I still work out there. And when they asked me to help out, I jumped at the chance.

We just finished raising about $140,000 that will go to scholarships. That money will pay for some kids to participate in volleyball, basketball, or swim team. And it will help families cover their membership costs at the YMCA.

Our community has a large military component. Our YMCA has many programs designed to help out when a parent is on deployment. And we have programs designed for veterans after retirement.

I didn’t hesitate to help out our branch, because of what they do for our community. It’s part of our DNA. We believe that building strong communities improves them for all of us.

And I’m proud to see the Mangrove Investor logo on the skateboard contest this weekend.

As we said in the Grove essay,

“…as a company and as individuals, giving back to others is at the core of who we are here at Mangrove. We believe that being involved with and serving our community is a vital part of our mission.”

Have a great week,

Matt Badiali

P.S.: For more on the Terry Kelly Skate Jam and Friends of Fernandina Skatepark please visit https://friendsoffernandinaskatepark.com