APRIL 2017 10 | FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM Photo credit: Thurlkill Studios

APRIL 2017 FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM | 11 Necessity is the mother of invention. That age-old proverb applies to the creation of nonprofit organizations as well. Families Giving Back, which helps parents engage kids in volunteering at a young age, is the result of a search over five years ago by Lisa Geyser and Alex Sklar, who sought to volunteer alongside their children. The two Phoenix residents met at the North Central Parenting Group and have sets of boys around the same age. They wanted to show their kids the importance of giving back and participate in the activity with them. They wanted to make giving a part of all of their lives, with the shared experience serving as a powerful way to reinforce philanthropic values. So the idea emerged: What if they created a way for families to give back, to make it convenient for the parents, the children and the nonprofit to help others? “People are very generous and they want to give but they just don’t know how,” Geyser said. “If you’re a busy mom and look on the computer for an hour and you can’t find a way to volunteer with your children then you’re probably not going to do it. Because that’s what we tried to do.” {by mike saucier} COVER STORY HOW LISA GEYSER AND ALEX SKLAR MADE IT SIMPLE FOR FAMILIES TO GIVE BACK EASY GIVING