Look for opportunities to help others

What does it mean to do good in this world?

“You can do things and look for opportunities to help others. Take small actions take big actions. Just act with love.” - Noa Shaw

Life is all about who you meet, and finding a way to go out of your comfort zone to do things you wouldn’t normally do. When you do good for others, good will be brought upon you.

About eight months ago I had one of the most random run-ins possible. I was at a rooftop pool in DUMBO Brooklyn and was talking to my girlfriend when someone decided to chime into our conversation. I soon found out his name is Noa Shaw and he is a SoulCycle instructor in New York. Our conversation continued to grow and a relationship was started because of our similar interests in life.

I then engaged in conversation with Noa, and we talked for about 45 minutes. I felt there was a real connection made as we both had similar beliefs about the world around us and an underlying mission that we want to do good in this world. In full transparency, Noa has done a lot more good than I have up until this point and I would like to change that.

I began to do some research on Noa as I felt his story was interesting and started to tell my family about this new connection. It turns out my sister and brother-in-law know Noa “well” and have also interacted with him. Noa is just a person who wants to do good by everyone.

Because of the passion Noa has for helping people, he wanted to help a complete stranger named Kaneisha Onley in Washington D.C. who lost her car following the recent government shutdown. See the Huffington Post article here and the GoFundMe Campaign here for more information on her story.

I had the chance to talk about how Noa was looking to help and felt it was my duty to help him get Kaneisha a vehicle. I turned to Joe Wilkins of Pohanka Automotive Group, and Joe jumped at the opportunity. Pohanka is currently in their 100th year of business and is pledging $1 Million to local charities in that effort.

I work at Hireology, where we primarily sell our software to car dealers to help them attract and hire quality candidates for their open positions, which is how I met Joe Wilkins. Before joining Hireology, I was unaware of how dealerships operate and the nature of car dealers. For one reason or another, they often receive bad press coverage and people feel threatened when interacting with car dealers. I can speak from firsthand experience and for someone who has been in over 1,000 dealerships in the past four years, that is not the case.  

Pohanka is just one example of a dealership group that gives back. Automotive dealers are genuinely great people and are out to do good in the world. The thing that strikes me the most about dealers is how philanthropic they are. I know I can do better with my charitable efforts and automotive dealers in my mind are a key inspiration for me when it comes to giving back. They are deeply ingrained in the communities they serve, constantly sponsor philanthropic events, and are out to help people make the second largest purchase in their life.

I am thankful for Joe Wilkins at Pohanka and Noa Shaw for motivating me to do good in the world. I am glad we crossed paths and found a common ground and personal connection. I am also thankful for the numerous car dealers I have met during my tenure at Hireology and how generous they all are. I am excited to continue interacting with dealers and grow on the path of helping others.  

Pohanka Automotive Group pulled together a video highlighting this story featuring Kaneisha Onley, Noa Shaw and Joe Wilkins. See the full video at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBDCaPI9lyA&feature=youtu.be