SEG’s Zoom celebration room was the place to be for social impact stories on February 4! We welcomed a crowd of honored guests, featured speakers, social entrepreneurs, members of our expert network, community partners, impact ecosystem members, and many great friends to our 2021 Celebration of Volunteers + Entrepreneurs. SEG CEO Kelly Ramirez kicked things off by introducing Mayor James Diossa of Central Falls, who talked about the importance of supporting Rhode Island’s most vulnerable local entrepreneurs and small businesses, especially as the pandemic continues.

Then the stories and awards began! More than 200 expert volunteers provide guidance to SEG’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, giving over 1,000 hours of professional coaching and advising per year. We are deeply grateful for their contribution and dedication to helping SEG’s social ventures take root and grow.

In moving personal testimonies, five SEG social entrepreneurs spoke about forging productive relationships with their SEG coaches that embodied listening, trust, and the sharing of expertise. Congratulations to these SEG volunteer experts who were honored for their service:

2020 SEG Legacy Award

• Elias Safdie, Cordis Group Inc., introduced by Ana Bess Moyer Bell, founder of COAAST (see a moment with Ana and Elias in the above photo!)

2020 SEG Volunteer Recognition Awards

• Margo Crawford, Wave Productivity, introduced by Alicia Gauvin, executive director of The CSPH
• Katie McDonald, b.nourished, introduced by Jillian Quainoo, founder of In Jill’s Words
• Ilhiana Rojas Saldana, BeLIVE Coaching & Consulting, LLC, introduced by Jessica Vega, SEG Program Director for Central Falls & Pawtucket
• Bill Keogh, Ingenium LLC, introduced by Sarah Nadimpalli, founder of SIREN Women’s Collective

We also treated our audience to this lovely little 2-minute lookback at 2020. And five lucky attendees won door prizes from Giving Beyond the Box, The Heal Room, One World Cacao, The Medicine Woman’s Cabinet, and 10 Rocks Tapas Bar & Restaurant.

Thanks to everyone for being with us. If you missed all the storytelling, no worries! Our entire event video is coming soon.