GiveForward and Imerman Angels are two companies built on helping people. Neither endorses violence or would ever condone the intentional harming of others in any way. That being said, the interns of each company are readying to go to war with one another. Delicious, belt-busting war.

The 1^st Annual Intern Chipotle Chow-down Challenge is just around the corner. In what is sure to be 45 of the most epic minutes to tick off the clock this summer, each company will put three interns on the front line to eat as many pounds of Chipotle burritos as they can. The winning team will crawl away from the scene with more stomach pain, more pride, and a happier boss, as the side-bet between Imerman founder Johnny Imerman and GiveForward co-founder Ethan Austin has some high, still-being-negotiated stakes.

If you visit our Facebook page, you’ll find some pictures from a recent training session we held in preparation for this event. In case anyone is wondering about the formal wear, the reason is obviously that we mean business. And as far as the inanimate representation of the Imerman angel goes, again, we mean business.

More details (including a date and time) to come, just as soon as the interns over there stop dodging us!

This article on 5 Ways to Help a Friend With Cancer is over two years old, but we just rediscovered it and thought GiveForward users might find the advice it contains to be timeless. This truly is a great read; it’s just too bad she didn’t mention anything about the ever-important sixth way to help – fundraising!

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GiveForward user Michelle Martin was featured on today’s Running Feet Helping Hands blog on ChicagoNow.com. Michelle’s friend and co-worker Lauren was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in December, so Michelle created a fundraiser on our site to help pay for treatment and recovery. To further support her friend, Michelle (@mkzm) will be running the Chicago Marathon in Lauren’s name.

We think this is so cool, and we’ve actually been noticing over the last few months that more and more of our users seem to be taking this same (physically impressive) approach. Take, for example, the Run For Mike 2010 fundraiser, which recently ended with more than $6,800 in donations, or the Running for Mae fundraiser, which ends later this week but has already surpassed its goal of $1,000.

It really is inspiring to see that so many people are willing to go the extra mile (or 26) for their friends and family.

We here at GiveForward are flattered to have been mentioned honorably in Greg Ferenstein’s (@Ferenstein) latest article on Mashable.com. In the piece, Greg outlines “some of the most useful ways to raise money for your charity or creative project.” He was kind enough to give us an honorable mention in the “Cause” category.

Crowdrise, the site he gave top billing to in this category, was started by actor Ed Norton and has done work with comedic mega-star Will Ferrell. I’m still a week away from starting my next class at The Second City, so we can’t be mad at an honorable mention. Plus, they’re doing some wonderful things over there; check them out. Thanks for the love, Greg!

GiveForward users new and old can benefit from reading the six online fundraising tips our Co-Founder Ethan Austin provided in his guest blog on StepByStepFundraising.com. Ethan based these steps on the things he has seen since GiveForward’s inception. Many of them came from GiveForward users themselves, so you know they’re good ideas. Now stop reading this blog for a few minutes and go read that one.

GiveForward Co-founder Ethan Austin was recently interviewed by Michael Dunlop (@MichaelDunlop) of RetireAt21.com fame. Those of you who are curious about the thought process behind our site or are interested in what we strive for should definitely give this a read.

Michael was kind enough to call GiveForward “one of the finest examples ever of Young Entrepreneurs making a real difference in the world.” During the conversation, he asked Ethan about a variety of subjects, including his path to GiveForward, his views on business, and the future of him and the company.

There’s a lot of really interesting stuff in here that even I didn’t know. And I know everything. Except for how to talk to women. Which is why I would like to pitch a sister-site to you if you’re reading this, Michael: LonelyAt22.com. You set it up, I’ll provide the content. Deal? Seriously. E-mail me.

The awesome news for GiveForward today is that the new version of CANCER101 will include us as a resource! C101 is a wonderful service that provides patients and caregivers with the tools and resources they need to make sense of the overwhelming amount of information and the difficult emotions that can accompany a cancer diagnosis.

We are proud to be a part of something that benefits so many people around the country. The C101 Planner – which has helped more than 30,000 cancer patients since its creation – is a free, three-ring, tabbed notebook that includes virtually everything a patient and caregiver could need to stay organized throughout treatments (and for up to ten years of follow-up appointments).

98% of all patients who use the planners say they would recommend them to a friend, and we are thrilled by the idea of potentially having word of GiveForward spread in a similar fashion.

Monica Knoll, a three-time cancer survivor herself, created the planner and web site in an effort “to empower patients to partner with their heath care team to determine a life-saving medical plan.”

GiveForward happily announces the addition of another cancer resource partner, Bear Necessities.

The mission of Bear Necessities (@Bear4kidscancer) is to “eliminate pediatric cancer and to provide hope and support to those who are touched by it.” Bear Necessities aims to fulfill their mission by providing three main programs.

The “Small Miracle Program” supports pediatric cancer patients and their families as they face the many physical, psychological, and financial challenges that accompany the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancer.

The “Annual Research Funding” program “provides funding for Information and Support Service Grants to pediatric cancer facilities that are servicing the ‘immediate needs’ of pediatric cancer patients and their families.”

Finally, their “Information and Support Services” program provides patients and their families with educational information and various other services relevant to the treatment and cure of pediatric cancer.

Please visit Bear Necessities for more information on the awesome work that they do!

The GiveForward team is proud to be featured in the Summer 2010 issue of Women magazine, a publication designed for female cancer patients. In their “Spirit House” department, Women gave us a lovely little write-up about how to raise money online for a friend with cancer. Also featured were two other fantastic services – Spirit Jump, which provides patients with cards and gifts through a network of volunteers, and Magnificent Marvelous Me!, a therapeutic activity book that is being sold to raise money for the nonprofit organization Art With Heart. I challenge you to sell something cooler than an activity book to raise money for a nonprofit. You can’t.

Unfortunately, the article isn’t available online, but we encourage you all to buy the issue if you see it on newsstands, or become a subscriber by checking out their web site.

We here at GiveForward are totally psyched to announce our new partnership with MyLifeLine.org, a non-profit organization that provides cancer patients with a place to blog about their progress and experiences.

While many MyLifeLine users have already been using GiveForward to raise money for their medical expenses, this week marks the beginning of MyLifeLine formally endorsing and streamlining our services directly to their users. To make what is probably a totally unnecessary comparison, it’s almost as if our two communities have been talking (as the kids say), and everybody in our circle of friends could sense that there was something happening between us, but now we’re finally Facebook official, and we’re so happy to find that everyone is clicking “Like” when they see this news on their mini-feed.

The bottom line is that members of MyLifeLine.org will now be able to simply set up a fundraiser on GiveForward.org and then place the personalized widget we provide for them onto their MyLifeLine pages. Prior to this partnership, MyLifeLine users could only use PayPal to fundraise directly on their blogs. The use of our widgets, however, will give MyLifeLine blog-readers the opportunity to donate without being taken to a separate site, and we all know that everybody loves a one-stop-shop. read more…