7 reasons you need to know Rebecca Dobrinski, including FUNights Birmingham

7 reasons you need to know Rebecca Dobrinski, including FUNights Birmingham

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Birmingham, meet Rebecca Dobrinski. For those of you who know her already, she needs no introduction. She’s making a big difference in Birmingham with Red Thread Consulting, FUNights Birmingham and Community Engagement Lunch & Learn at Forge.

Plus, she has a drink named after her at Brennan’s Irish Pub, which we think is pretty cool.

 

1—Rebecca Dobrinski is one of those people behind (and sometimes in front of) the scenes who’s making a lot happen in the Magic City

 

 

Originally from Chicago, Rebecca Dobrinski moved to Birmingham when she was in middle school. She left in 1996 for a sojourn in Orlando, Florida, and came back in 2003. She had a few things she wanted to do, including finishing her bachelors’ degree at UAB. Since then, she’s been deeply immersed in all things Birmingham.

We sat down recently at Forge to chat about her work and some of her Birmingham faves.

 

2—Rebecca Dobrinski works at Forge, which means she has good taste in coworking spaces

 

 

What made you decide to work at Forge?

I had a great part-time job and some small projects on the side. But no work was getting done from my recliner. There was always something to clean or something else to do.

I wanted to be able to stop and focus. So, I came down one day to check it out, and a year later, I’m still here.

I love the collaborative atmosphere.  It’s friendly and it’s fun, but we all know we’re here to work. So many random collisions happen. It’s a great experience.

 

3—She created Red Thread Consulting to improve relationships between businesses and nonprofits through awesome community engagement

What about the work you do?

I’ve been working for nonprofits for the past 30 years, and I know a lot of the challenges they face.

But I also understand how nonprofits create opportunities for people in our community to come together.

When our core team reincarnated TEDxBirmingham, we wanted it to be something that not only showcased people in Birmingham but also brought people in Birmingham together to talk about ideas and make connections.

I’ve been doing that on a larger scale with GlobalXplorer, too. We have an online platform that shows people from all over the world how to recognize potential archaeological sites from satellite imagery to create maps that allow archaeologists to better determine where to start looking for cultural heritage sites.

This way, countries can protect their cultural heritage from illegal looting, urban encroachment, and environmental erosion. Our work with local organizations helps provide educational and economic development opportunities at these sites.

Based off of these types of experiences, I wanted to help small and medium sized businesses organize their community engagement and philanthropy while helping nonprofits—and make the relationship between businesses and nonprofits flow better.

A lot of times when you’re focused on making money, your engagement and philanthropy are important, but not as high a priority as closing a deal or making sure somebody’s paying their invoices. I come to businesses and help them take care of being a  “good corporate citizen.”

4—When Rebecca thought of the name of her business, she got a sign

 

 

How’d you come up with the name Red Thread Consulting?

About 6-8 years ago, I read a parable called “The Red Thread.” The idea is that everyone’s connected to everyone they’re ever going to meet by invisible red threads, and that’s how people seem to know to come in and out of your life.

I was so enamored with this, I got it tattooed on my hand.

Then I started this company. When I went through Create Birmingham’s Co-Starters program, everyone said “that’s a great idea—what’s the name of your company?”

Last Fall, I was working with the finalists for Rev’s Big Pitch and was attending the seminars they had to go to. There was one about branding and telling your brand story. I looked down at my hand and it occured to me: “Red Thread Consulting.” At the same exact moment, the projector above my head exploded. I couldn’t have gotten a bigger sign.

This was in October 2018. I incorporated in January 2019. My first pivot has had to do with learning that community engagement doesn’t always mean  your general community. Sometimes it means coordinating volunteers or engaging with customers. Part of the work is defining community, then finding the best ways to engage that community.

 

5—Rebecca Dobrinski and two friends started FUNights Birmingham

 

 

Tell us about FUNights Birmingham

FUNights Birmingham is the local affiliate of global movement.

It was started in 2012 by a group of friends in Mexico City who were sitting around drinking mezcal and talking about what they’d screwed up in business. Now it’s in 80 countries and 300 cities all over the world.

We joke that I roped in two of my friends to help out with this: Scott Pierce and Jacqui Jones.

Each speaker gets seven minutes to talk and ten slides, and we’re not in control of our slides.

We’re really excited because nobody talks about failure. Everybody talks about success. We talk about huge companies that get bought, small companies get bought, but you can’t tell me they haven’t all failed once or twice.

It’s good to learn from all of that.

 

6—With Forge, she created the monthly Community Engagement Lunch & Learn series so people could get to know local nonprofits

 

After 30 years in nonprofits, instead of having one nonprofit I worked with, I wanted to help several. In partnership with Forge, I created Community Engagement Lunch & Learn. Local nonprofits come and talk about what they do and the services they provide to the community.

  • Where: Forge
  • When: second Wednesday of the month, follow Forge and Red Thread Consulting on Facebook
  • Tickets: free, just sign up so they know how many people are coming
  • Parking: the deck at Forge is free for the first two hours, and the event is one hour
  • Lunch: brown bag (meaning, bring your own)

On deck: 

 

7—We can’t leave without telling you some of Rebecca Dobrinski’s Birmingham favorites

 

Favorite tattoo parlor: Sanctum

 

Favorite coffee shop:  Church Street Coffee and Books

 

 

Favorite watering hole: Brennan’s Irish Pub

 

 

Favorite restaurant

This changes all the time. I love discovering undiscovered places. The latest was a place called Tostadas that has a cauliflower tostada which is great for people who are gluten free like me.

 

Favorite sports team: the Birmingham Bulls

 

 

“I am just a huge advocate of making sure you engage with your community. Volunteer. Donate. Do both of them responsibility. Ask around to find what you’re looking for, and support these amazing organizations.”

Community Connections: YouthServe

Community Connections: YouthServe

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Thank you to everyone who attended our inaugural Community Connections with Jennifer Hatchett, Executive Director of YouthServe.

 

Instead of a listening experience, Jennifer worked with attendees to help us experience what it is like to be in Camp. We completed an exercise they do with the camp students on different ways to look at our community. We discussed and plotted our answers to questions like “Why wouldn’t someone care about their community?” and “Why might someone not understand their connections to others?”

Jennifer also discussed the importance of volunteering mindfully for local organizations. Her strongest recommendation to the audience was to be more thoughtful and deliberate when you or your company is interested in volunteering with a local nonprofit. Quite often, descending on a nonprofit for a day of service can be taxing on smaller organizations not set up for a large influx of volunteers on a single project.

 

Jennifer’s advice is to reach out to organizations like hers to ask what they really need. The example she gave was from her own experience – YouthServe could really use some professional design services. Their current budget does not allow for a graphic designer, so she ends up creating the design collateral, web site, and other needs for events and communications. As luck would have it, a local graphic designer (and new Forge member!) volunteered his services on the spot and is now volunteering for YouthServe!

This was a great example of how our community really is interconnected, but you just need the opportunity to bring people together. Who knows what will happen at the next Community Connections event!

 

YouthServe is a unique organization that both embraces the ideals of servant leadership and offers the opportunity to all within the metro Birmingham area, regardless of their academic status or geographic location. The YouthServe Mission is to empower youth leadership and civic engagement through community service and philanthropy. They do this by bringing youth together from all walks of life – across real and perceived boundaries – to give them the tools they need to think critically about issues in their community and address them in practical, accessible ways.  

YouthServe’s programs accomplish this in several ways: 

 

1. In-school programming implemented via Civics, Government, or Career Tech classes in middle and high schools

 

2. Community service events held on weekends year-round

 

3. Youth Leadership Councils meeting during the school year (Youth Action Council, Youth Philanthropy Council, Alabama Youth Alliance)

4. Urban Service Camps in the summer months

 

 

All YouthServe programs (except the in-school programming) are open for any who wish to participate (ages 13-18) and can commit the time. Program participation is on a first-come first serve basis and require online registration.

 

As Director, Jennifer has overseen nearly 40,000 service hours performed by the teens in YouthServe over the past six years. These youth come from every zip code in the metro area and often participate in multiple community events over the course of their time in YouthServe.

 

Join us on Wednesday, September 11, at noon, to welcome our next Community Connections speaker, Abigail Schneider from the Jefferson County Memorial Project. She’ll not only discuss the organization and the work they do in our community, but there will be some unique ideas on volunteering for the JCMP. Check out all of Forge’s future events here.

Member Stories: Skip Vanderburg of Athenaeum Recovery

Member Stories: Skip Vanderburg of Athenaeum Recovery

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Our Forge members are innovative, forward thinking, and considerate of our Birmingham community. Skip Vanderburg is no exception. Athenaeum Recovery, Skip’s newest undertaking, is a platform that helps loved ones of those suffering from addiction navigate the path to recovery.

Why did you decide to start Athenaeum Recovery?

I have been in recovery for over 9 years. Our investors came to me in San Francisco and asked if I would advise them on this concept of bringing people together who have loved ones with addiction issues or individuals seeking to learn and get recovery. The mission is to help facilitate the aggregation of recovery centers, information about addiction recovery, a safe place for those to come to and discuss openly about addiction and join a community of like-minded people. Additionally, we are building out a Recovery Experience Platform to help recovery centers, counselors and addiction specialists.

 

How do you see your company impacting the Birmingham community in the future?

Our initial launch plan is to help those within the community and surroundings of Birmingham, receive guidance on addiction, local and align recovery needs to resources, and connect the community in an online safe and controlled environment for recovery. Ultimately using Birmingham as the test market we want to scale this program.

What are the next steps for Athenaeum Recovery?

Our next steps at Athenaeum Recovery is not only scale to a national or even global presence, but to develop a multichannel solution suite for beyond the recovery center. An example is engagement and becoming part of larger organization’s CSR programs, which are programs to bring positive impact to the community they serve in.

 

 Why did you decide to join Forge? When did you become a member?

We joined in April. And the reason was we had to hit the ground running. Time is everything in addiction. People are dying daily. We need infrastructure, a place to work and conduct meetings. Forge was ready fit for that to help us on day one to be launched. 

 

What is your favorite aspect of coworking?

Having spent over 2 decades in Silicon Valley, coworking environments are somewhat something we did years ago, so I am very familiar with it. I have been a member of WeWork in the past, which is similar to Forge, so it was a no brainer to locate such a facility in Birmingham and get launched as quickly as we could and Forge has definitely enabled us to do just that.

 

Member Stories: Alex Brackett with Hole In The Wall

Member Stories: Alex Brackett with Hole In The Wall

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Homeowners and businesses often complain that a contractor has made a mess of their home or office and left them with a substandard repair. Hole In The Wall was created to fill this void! Hole In The Wall is a reliable drywall company dedicated to quick, clean, and convenient repairs. Alex Brackett recently joined Forge as he is expanding Hole In The Wall to the Birmingham market.

1. I know you recently moved to Birmingham, what brought you here?

We moved to Birmingham because we were looking for a place to raise our family, and be closer to a non profit that we really care about that is having a huge impact on it’s community.  We also have friends who are like family here and it’s great to be connected with other families with kids that are the same age as ours. I feel that doing life with people you love is the best way to do life. 

2. How does Hole In The Wall differentiate themselves from other construction related businesses?

 

We are different because we are professional. Have you ever tried to get a contractor to show up on time, keep the price you were quoted, clean up the mess they made in your house or just communicate with you? We thought that should change, so we added professionalism to drywall. We will bend over backwards to make sure we communicate with you, and leave your home better than we found it. 

3. How are you different than a contractor or handyman?

A handyman is a jack of all trades, but master of none. We are specialists. All of our technicians are background checked. We give you a 1 year warranty, we show up on time, we have  a fully supported office for timely responses and we use a dust-free process to keep your house free from dust. Our company is well reviewed and not going anywhere. 

4. How are you working to get the word out in Birmingham?

We are doing three things. First, if you type in Drywall Repair Birmingham, AL in Google you will see our ad at the top of the page, and we are at the top of the list for drywall companies. Second, I am reaching out to every company who makes holes. Plumbers, electricians, roofers, restoration companies ect.. all leave holes in your home when they do a  repair from a leak. They typically leave the home or business owner with the task of finding someone to fix the drywall. Third, we are using word of mouth by asking every one who has had a repair to review us on one of the one of many platforms, google, home advisor, yelp or Angie’s list. 

 

5. Why did you choose to work from Forge?

We chose the Forge because it is a great location in Birmingham, we love the atmosphere and the price was perfect for what we needed right now. I couldn’t have asked for anything better! 

Lincoln Theatre undergoes restoration in Bessemer. Learn about the revitalization of this “arts desert” and the women behind it.

Lincoln Theatre undergoes restoration in Bessemer. Learn about the revitalization of this “arts desert” and the women behind it.

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Downtown Bessemer’s Lincoln Theatre is getting a facelift! Being restored to help revitalize the arts within the community, the Lincoln Theatre is a historic African American theatre in downtown Bessemer. Keep reading for more info on the project and the two inspiring women behind it—Glenny Brock and Mary Holland.

Brock is a project consultant and currently works with the Alabama and Lyric theatres. Holland is the mother of actor Andre Holland and one of the founding members of the Holland Project.

Established in 2018 and spearheaded by Andre Holland, the Holland Project will own and operate the Lincoln Theatre when its restoration is complete. Holland’s goal is to provide access to the arts for Bessemer and surrounding areas.

 

The History

The Lincoln Theatre was built in 1948 as an African American movie theatre and closed in the 1970s. Many historic theatres, including the Lincoln, have been used for other purposes since their closing, or even completely demolished.

 

Holland has many memories of visiting the theatre when she was young, stating that at the time, it was considered to be the “African American entertainment district” in downtown Bessemer.

Brock and Holland hope to restore and revitalize as much of the original structure as possible while also creating a modern community space. The original marquee is still intact and will remain on the building to signify its history.

 

Big Plans

Brock and Holland hope the theatre will be completed by the end of 2020/2021. In June of this year, they received a $21,000 design grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. This grant will be used for signage and the marquee in order to make it more visible to the community. The Lincoln also has a commitment for a historic facade grant of $100,000 from the city of Bessemer.

 

The women described Bessemer as an “arts desert.” They want to allow everyone in the Bessemer area, especially children, to have access to the arts and entertainment.

“There is not much access to the arts…I want to expose all kids to a wide range of activities. Children should be exposed to the arts without having to travel outside of their city.”

Mary Holland

The Lincoln has also hosted its first volunteer clean up day in July. People from the Bessemer Historic Society, community members, friends and relatives came out to help.

 

Working at Forge

Although the hands-on work gets done at the theatre, Brock and Holland say that they enjoy working at Forge for all of their paperwork, applications, meetings and more.

Bham Now: Why do you like working at Forge?

Holland: The thing I like most about working at Forge is the atmosphere and the energy that is generated by everyone there. I feel that I’m surrounded by a diverse group of people who are there to bring about positive change for our community.  It’s contagious and makes me want to do more!

Brock: That grant that we won, we wrote the application at Forge. In the middle of the night. Then we did a second Lincoln grant, quite a lot. Then we met with Sidewalk here. We got a lot done here. It’s a great place to come and get good work done.

 

 

Want to follow the renovation process? Follow @bamalincolnon Instagram to stay updated!