Morris County Chamber of Commerce

---

The Morris County Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to bringing together companies and nonprofits to build relationships and collaborate in creating a thriving business and community environment. One of the Morris Chamber's signature offerings is LEAD Morris, the Leadership, Education, and Development program that educates business and nonprofit professionals on the opportunities, challenges, institutions, and people of Morris County. Designed for current and emerging leaders, LEAD Morris is a year-long program that fosters business acumen and community engagement. The program highlights the role of nonprofit organizations serving the county and encourages graduates to take on service roles in the community. Each LEAD Morris class forms teams that choose nonprofit partners and volunteer for a day of service.

This was the first full year where Jay Weisman and Legacy Philanthropy Group (LPG) facilitated our Hands On! Philanthropy(HOP) program for the LEAD Morris program participants.  As always, the goals of the HOP workshop are to explore key concepts around purposeful philanthropy while refining key personal and professional skills such as communication, collaboration, decision making, storytelling, and the sharing of values. 

During the program's opening retreat in January, the participants were invited to reflect on their shared values and shared passions for the causes and issues impacting Morris County. With that, the cohort formed five teams, with each team crafting a team name and a mission statement to guide them as they came up with a nonprofit service project.  The teams worked hard to understand the issues facing Morris County and gained a much deeper appreciation for the work being done by the county's nonprofits.  

The LEAD Morris teams chose terrific partners to honor their team visions and missions, and over the course of the summer the teams executed their service day projects and helped change the lives of some folks in our Morris County community.    

During the LEAD Morris graduation ceremony in December, each of the five teams reflected on their Hands On! Philanthropy journeys – how they bonded as a team, what they learned about the organizations working so hard in Morris County, and the profound and lasting impact this collaborative experience would have on themselves, their teammates, and the community. 

The team presentations reinforced the core concepts of Hands On! Philanthropy - that giving back can be a powerful, emotional, and visceral experience, and that a key part of generosity is choosing who to share that experience with. The LEAD Morris teams demonstrated how collaborative giving is all about intention - clarifying, articulating, and then acting on your shared values.  Each team had an inspiring and emotional story to tell.
 

Hats off to the LEAD Morris cohort on a job well done!  Kudus to Danielle Grayson, the LEAD Morris Program Coordinator who is the glue that holds the entire program together.  Thank you to  Meghan Hunscher, the Morris Chamber President and CEO, for another year of partnership with LPG.  And a special nod to Joe Nazzaro, who recently retired from his nearly 20 years as Executive Director of the LEAD Morris program.  Joe's devotion to the program and his passion for community service is the bedrock upon which LEAD Morris is built.  Through our Hands On! Philanthropy program, Legacy Philanthropy Group gets to build on  that foundation and Joe's legacy is one which we hope to honor for many years to come.

Check out the photos of the teams below.  And click through to learn more about some great organizations working in Morris County.

Bridges Built:  40 Participants x (39 Colleagues + 4 Nonprofits + 1 Sponsor) = 1,760