While most of us were watching Slumdog Millionaire, The Dark Knight, Milk and others clean house at the Oscars last night, the real heroes were being spotlighted during the commercial breaks. Lisa Nigro, founder of the Inspiration Cafe in Chicago, was one of them.
Lisa founded the Inspiration Cafe in 1989 as a place in which homeless men and women could be served with dignity and respect in a safe environment. Initially, she delivered sandwiches and coffee in a red wagon she borrowed from her nephew. After graduating to a car, and then a school bus, Lisa's business eventually grew to three different brick and mortar cafes where over 2,500 individuals a year can not only receive food and drink, but also supportive services such as housing assistance and a restaurant skills training program to boost their chances of employment.
Academy Award winning actress Helen Hunt teamed up with organic nut company TrueNorth to produce a 60 second spot highlighting the work of the ex-cop turned the Ultimate Good Samaritan.
- “I’m so happy TrueNorth is telling Lisa’s story and even more excited that it will get such a tremendous audience,” said Oscar-winner Helen Hunt. “I wanted to show, in images, the spirit of what Lisa is doing. I’m hoping others will be as inspired by her as I was.”
This isn't the commercial, but it's still a great video from Inspiration Corp!
Read the full story about the Inspiration Cafe here. Then, do your own part to help the homeless by choosing RE*Generation as your Cause on SocialVibe and adding your badge to your social networks. You'll be earning free donations for the charity, courtesy of your brand sponsor.
Have any of our Chicago-area SocialVibe members been to the Inspiration Cafe? We'd love to get a Pink Ball pic inside or outside - even better if it's with Lisa!!
via Ecorazzi
