GOTO Hits the Beach

Back in the early aughts, GOTO burst onto the international press circuit with two articles in Bermuda's daily broadsheet, The Royal Gazette.

Founded in 1828, The Royal Gazette is Bermuda's only daily newspaper and reaches around 90% of Bermuda's adult population. So it's safe to say Bermuda knew who we were.

The first article (published January 25th, 2002) focused on GOTO's humble beginnings and ties to the island. The second article (published June 3rd, 2003) featured an interview with the five founding GOTO Board Members ... live from Bermuda!

Second to emphasizing that the GOTO Board "Retreat" wasn't paid for by our donors, this was my favorite moment from either article: “We're not doing it for money, we're doing it because we believe in the organization and we believe in the kids. That inspires people to help us.”

That's as true today as it was then.

If you're interested in taking a stroll down memory lane, here are the 2001 and 2003 articles for your reading pleasure.

Jazz & Gin Video

Friends of gosince01 ... below is a short promotional video for our upcoming Gala. Check it out to see what you missed at Gala's past & what's to come on Feb. 26th.

This version is a little grainy, so if you want to view the HD version, you'll have to visit gosince01's YouTube channel.

A Halloween Fundraiser Retrospective

Historically, Halloween has always been GOTO's largest & most debaucherous fundraiser. Our very 1st Halloween party was held in a lounge in TriBeCa called Obeca Li. Obeca Li was over 15,000 square feet large and our decision to host the party there was a HUGE leap of faith. It was the largest GOTO venue to date by far.

The gamble paid off.

We sold 400+ tickets. Our guests' costumes were awesome. And the party was a blast. We haven't looked back since.

We're 5 weeks away from our 9th Halloween Costume Party and there's no reason to believe that this one won't be as much fun as the first.

If 2009 will be your first GOTO Halloween, check out the photos in the posts below to see what you've been missing.

Halloween 2001 Photos

Halloween 2002 Photos

Lost at Seaport Artwork

For GOTO's very first summer fundraiser aboard the Peking, we turned to artist William Collieson for the design of our promotional artwork. Mr. Collieson was educated at the Wallasey School of Art in Liverpool and currently lives in Bermuda.

This was our very first attempt at "outsourcing" GOTO's creatives needs to a professional, and we couldn't have been happier with the results.

Given that "Lost At Seaport" was being held aboard a ninety-one year old, four-masted barque, we wanted the artwork to be classy. And we wanted the design to feel summery. We were blown away by what Will produced.

The image at top left was Mr. Collieson's first draft of the campaign artwork. The image to the right is the finished product.

The work is about seven years old, but it still holds up. Thanks again, Will!

GOTO in the Star-Ledger

In 2007, New Jersey's largest local newspaper profiled GOTO in their hallowed pages.

Click on the image to the left to read what the Star-Ledger had to say about us.

A Summer Fundraiser Retrospective

We're 6 weeks away from GOTO's big summer party (7/30/09 at the 79th Street Boat Basin), so we thought it'd be fun to post a slideshow of our favorite pictures from GOTO's first 3 summer events.

For our first summer party (August '01), we classed it up in the garden of the Merchant's House Museum. A jazz band serenaded a few hundred GOTO supporters and we were joined by Appel Farm founder, Albert Appel.

The following year, we traded the jazz band & Merchant's House for steel drums & the Peking. Docked at the South Street Seaport - and with a capacity of close to 600 "passengers" - the Peking was an awesome outdoor venue for us. We were at the Peking for four summers in a row. Everyone had fun on the Peking.

Except the guy who tried to climb the 170 foot mast and got arrested ... true story.

Enjoy the photos!

Top Ten PRACTICAL Reasons to Volunteer

As part of our partnership with the POLO Ralph Lauren Foundation a few years ago, we submitted the following "Reasons to Volunteer" for use on their website. We think it still holds up, but you be the judge ...

In theory, there are dozens of compelling reasons to volunteer: altruism, giving back, building your community, etc. But intellectual arguments aren’t quite enough to get some of us off the couch, so here’s a list of reasons that might hit a bit closer to home:

Top Ten PRACTICAL Reasons to Volunteer:

1. Because how many more Saturday morning trips to Pottery Barn can you really tolerate?
2. Because you’re temporarily smarter than the kid whom you’re tutoring, and that boosts your self-esteem.
3. Spend less time with your boyfriend while avoiding the hassle of breaking up.
4. Because the paltry wage that you receive at your paying job is little more than an insult, anyway.
5. Another job = another water cooler = another set of opinions on reality TV.
6. Free donuts.
7. Studies show that women are more likely than men to volunteer, and those odds are hard to find elsewhere.
8. After your 80 hours of court-ordered community service, you’re already in the habit.
9. Because you know you have a novel in you, but it can’t be called “Decent Grades in College and the Reasonably Comfortable Life That Follows”.
10. Everyone knows that Superman is the only guy who gets paid for saving the world.