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LightEmUp: New Online Forum Boosts The Benevolent

AHERN LOGO with trademark (2)-page-001

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 propel 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