Joe Lyons | Non-Profit Advocate

At a Glance

ad·vo·cate (ˈadvəkət/): a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy. Advocates help nonprofits advance their mission, increase their funding sources, and solve community and societal problems among other things.

Philanthropy and getting involved in the local community is one of my core values. There are a handful of causes that I believe in and that list is always growing. Each calendar year, roughly 15% of my professional time and resources go towards non-profit and pro-bono work.

As a business owner, my job provides me with the opportunity to work with clients all over the United States. But when it comes to giving back, Boston is where my heart is. I’m proud to be invested in many local non-profits including Project PACK, Pan-Mass Challenge, Big Brother Big Sister, The United Way, Dana Farber, and more. It’s an honor to have been a part of so many memorable local initiatives in our great city over the years.

  • 2000 Community Service Event of the Year awarded from Bridgewater State College for my fundraising concert that benefitted Fr. Bill's Mainspring House in Brockton, Ma
  • First recipient of the Crossen Sullivan Award for Outstanding Support awarded by Project PACK
  • Boston team member of the Verma Foundation

Non-Profits That I Support

Below is a list of some of the organizations and causes that I have been connected to over the years as either a sponsor, a donor, a volunteer or a partner. This list also represents a small fragment of the types of causes that need support from additional local businesses, so please consider them (and others) if and when your company is looking for ways to get involved in supporting the local community.

  • Boston Bites Back / The One Fund (In-Kind Sponsor of Web Deign, Event Sponsor)
  • Dana Farber (In-Kind Sponsor of Event Graphic Design, Event Sponsor)
  • Pan-Mass Challenge & The PMC Resolution (Brand Designer, Volunteer, Sponsor)
  • Good Sports (Donor)
  • Roosevelt School Girls Basketball (Corporate Sponsor)
  • St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Donor)
  • Sweet Feet For Strikes (Brand Designer, In-Kind Sponsor, Donor)
  • The Switch Co-Op Gallery (In-Kind Sponsor of Brand Design)
  • Thomas M. Menino YMCA (Donor)
  • Verma Foundation (In-Kind Sponsor of Brand Design & Graphic Design, Donor)
  • West Roxbury Youth Soccer (Corporate Sponsor)
  • White Ribbon Day with the Boston Celtics (In-Kind Sponsor of Event Graphic Design)
  • Friendship Home (Donor)
  • ACLU of Massachusetts (In-Kind Sponsor, Event Branding)
  • Big Brother Big Sister (In-Kind Sponsor of Graphic Design, Volunteer)
  • Blue's Bridge (In-Kind Sponsor of Brand Design)
  • Domestic Violence Awareness Month for Bristol County District Attorney (In-Kind Sponsor of Graphic Design)
  • Employers Against Domestic Violence (Brand Design, Graphic Design, Volunteer)
  • HP150 [Hyde Park’s 150th Anniversary] (Brand Designer, Official Sponsor, Volunteer)
  • Hyde Park Main Streets (In-Kind Sponsor of Event Branding, Volunteer, Award Recipient)
  • Liam’s Lucky Charms (In-Kind Sponsor of Brand Design)
  • Project Pack (In-Kind Sponsor of Graphic Design, Donor, Award Recipient)
  • Rocksteady Boxing - Parkinson’s Boxing Classes (Donor)
  • The Greg Hill Foundation (Donor)
  • United Way of Massachusetts Bay (In-Kind Sponsor of Graphic Design, Volunteer)
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A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

Boston Bites Back

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

NON-PROFIT SPOTLIGHT

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A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

An Opportunity to be a part of Boston history

One of the initiatives that I am the most proud of, was in 2013. Through a collaboration with chefs Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and hospitality legend Travis Talbot, I was invited as one of the designers of “Boston Bites Back”, a one-day event at Fenway Park that raised $1 million for The One Fund Boston to help victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

My role was to build the event website and manage the online ticketing.

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A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Dan Linskey hugging Lee Ann Yanni, who was injured in the Marathon bombing, during the event.

Photo from Boston.com

Photo from Boston.com

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A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

Actors Slaine and Kenny Wormald pose for a portrait in the stands at Fenway Park.

Photo from Boston.com

Photo from Boston.com

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Over $1,000,000 Raised to Help Victims of The Boston Marathon Bombings
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Verma 1

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

NON-PROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Verma Foundation

The Verma Foundation is a national registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to giving high-quality cap wigs to cancer patients suffering from hair loss.

In 2017, co-founder Natasha Verma was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 23. Her family came together and turned that negative into a positive. Through their “Put A Cap On Cancer” program, The Verma's create custom high-quality cap wigs at no cost for women and children fighting cancer and dealing with the emotional side effect of hair loss.

Verma 2

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

Putting a cap on cancer

In the first year of the program’s launch, they provided 416 cap wigs to cancer patients across the United States and partnered with 204 hospitals to provide this invaluable support. Today, we have given more than 800 cap wigs to patients around the world.

Over the past 3 years, in addition to rebranding the Verma Foundation, I've designed all of their event branding and marketing/sponsorship collateral. I'm also a proud member of their Boston team.

Verma 3

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

At the 2019 Verma Foundation Casino Night at Westend Johnny's. From left to right: Myself, Drea Catalano (13Photo), Natasha Verma (Verma Foundation and NBC Boston) John Caron (West End Johnnie himself) and Bill Alfano (Pan-Mass Challenge)

Verma 4
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Verma 1

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

NON-PROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Verma Foundation

The Verma Foundation is a national registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to giving high-quality cap wigs to cancer patients suffering from hair loss.

In 2017, co-founder Natasha Verma was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 23. Her family came together and turned that negative into a positive. Through their “Put A Cap On Cancer” program, The Verma's create custom high-quality cap wigs at no cost for women and children fighting cancer and dealing with the emotional side effect of hair loss.

Verma 2

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

Putting a cap on cancer

In the first year of the program’s launch, they provided 416 cap wigs to cancer patients across the United States and partnered with 204 hospitals to provide this invaluable support. Today, we have given more than 800 cap wigs to patients around the world.

Over the past 3 years, in addition to rebranding the Verma Foundation, I've designed all of their event branding and marketing/sponsorship collateral. I'm also a proud member of their Boston team.

Verma 2

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

Verma 3

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

At the 2019 Verma Foundation Casino Night at Westend Johnny's. From left to right: Myself, Drea Catalano (13Photo), Natasha Verma (Verma Foundation and NBC Boston) John Caron (West End Johnnie himself) and Bill Alfano (Pan-Mass Challenge)

Verma 4
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A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

NON-PROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Sweet Feet For Strikes

Blue Sky Sports and Entertainment conceived and created the Mayo Bowl in 2010 to benefit Boston Medical Center Pediatrics. Each year the Mayo Bowl sells out all 20 bowling lanes, attracts well over 400 event attendees and reaches over 4.2 million individuals through social media. This year, Patriots Super Bowl Champion and running back, James White, is continuing the Mayo Bowl tradition after having co-hosted with Jerod in 2017. He is marking a new era for the event, which has been newly renamed Sweet Feet for Strikes. In 2017, the Mayo Bowl Hosted by James White raised over $400k and over the course of the past 8 years has generated $2.3 million.

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A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

The G.O.A.T.

As if I wasn't already beyond pumped that I had just designed the branding for Sweet Feet James White's fundraising event... I had no idea that Tom Brady was going to not only like it here on Instagram, but he also attended the event and pose in front of the step and repeat that had the logo I designed over his shoulder with James (who had the logo on his shirt)!

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A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

Jermaine Wiggins

Jermaine Wiggins

James White Holding the Custom Dexter Bowling Shoes

James White Holding the Custom Dexter Bowling Shoes

Devin McCourty

Devin McCourty

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Boston Bites Back

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, and the Boston Red Sox. Food from up to 100 chefs all at Fenway Park for one night only.

$553,000 Raised for Boston Medical Center Pediatrics

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joe@joelyons.us

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