Community Service a Great Part of Small Business Ownership

Having the flexibility and freedom of contributing your time, talent, and resources to charitable causes you find worthwhile is one of the best things about owning your own business. Over the course of the past month, I have had a great time volunteering for some impressive nonprofits in the area—Shalom Farms, Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, Richmond Tennis Association, Short Pump Rotary, Junior Achievement of Central Virginia, the WATCH DOGS program at Kaechele Elementary School, and a weekly bingo game raising funds for the Aerial East Booster Club (youth gymnastics).  Whenever possible, I invite the rest of the Perkins Law team to participate and, in many cases, to be on the lookout for future community service opportunities. It is fun, it is rewarding, and in some small measure it benefits the community in which we live, work, and play. To date, I have never left a community service meeting, project, or event with a negative feeling about the experience or allocation of my time. There are hundreds of worthwhile nonprofit organizations in the Richmond area doing amazing things, I would encourage all small business owners across central Virginia to promote community service as a core value of their businesses. The benefits may not be easily measured on a spreadsheet, but the intangible benefits likely will surprise you.