Ten years ago, Chris Palermo, founder and CEO of Global Communication Networks (GCN), had a mountain biking accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down for almost an hour. As Palermo explains it, “I’m sure you can imagine that a lot of thoughts, prayers and deals with the Lord go through a person’s head when you suddenly find yourself paralyzed. One deal I made was that if I would ever walk again, I would do my best to make this world a better place. After I finished praying and making my deals, a great thing happened, my feeling started to come back slowly and after months of rehab and therapy, I was as good as new.”

But he still needed to make good on his deal.

Two years ago, Palermo competed in the Miami Dolphins’ 170-mile bike ride for a cure to cure cancer. He raised $29,600 and was one of the top 10 fundraisers out of 3,000 participants.

Last year he was asked to learn how to ballroom dance for charity supporting The George Snow Scholarship Fund for their annual Boca’s Ballroom Battle. He was the top male fundraiser, bringing in more than $40,000.

This year Palermo and his wife Yvette and have chosen three charities to work with and are asking all of their friends and family to join them in making a holiday gift pledge to one or perhaps several of them.

• The George Snow Scholarship Foundation. The Palermos are now on the advisory board and were co-chairs for Boca’s Ballroom Battle 2014 to raise money for underprivileged children and give them the opportunity to go to college. Their goal is to insure that no deserving scholar in their community will be deprived of higher education because of a shortage of funds. Over the course of the last two years the Palermos have collectively raised and donated just over $40,000 to this cause. To access their George Snow Scholarship Foundation donation page, click here.  

• Catherine’s Hope for a Cure. The Palermos and GCN have been annual sponsors of this charity. A longtime friend, Catherine Abbott, has Batten disease, a progressive, always fatal, neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. There is dire need for funding to help find a cure and raise awareness of this devastating illness. Since being diagnosed, Abbott has made it her mission to find a cure, and the Palermos want to help her in that quest. Their Catherine’s Hope for a Cure donation page can be accessed here.

• Telecom for Change. Telecom for Change is a foundation that was started by friends of the Palermos, also in telecom, with a goal of supporting charities in need. The benefactor for your donation for this fundraiser will benefit Safe Nest, a Las Vegas charity that since 1977 has been supporting victims of domestic violence and their families. The Telecom for Change donation page can be accessed here.