CaringBridge Founder Sona Mehring to Speak at National Civic Summit

Eagan, Minn. (Jul. 13, 2009) —

Sona Mehring, founder and executive director of CaringBridge, will speak at the National Civic Summit on Thursday, July 16, 2009. The National Civic Summit is convening civic organizations and citizens to expand civic imagination and capacity through active citizenship. Over 100 nonpartisan organizations will showcase their ideas, approaches and tools through exhibits and workshops at the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel.

Mehring's presentation, "Leveraging Online Social Communities for Public Good," will demonstrate how one of the hottest Internet trends, social networking, is transforming how people connect and collaborate to do good. "CaringBridge is a powerful example of how social networks on the Internet are used to connect people around a common purpose," said Mehring.

CaringBridge is a free, nonprofit service providing personal and private Web sites that connect family and friends to share information, love and support during a serious health event, care and recovery. CaringBridge saves time and energy by centralizing communication during a health event. This eases the burden of updating family and friends and keeps the focus on the patient. Each CaringBridge site is unique; authors select their Web site design and add journal entries and photos to share their story. Visitors read updates and leave messages of support in the guestbook. For more information, visit www.CaringBridge.org.

The National Civic Summit is a collaboration of Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and the Citizens League with civic support by Target Corporation, General Mills and Blue Earth Interactive. Exhibits and workshops are free and open to the public. For more information, visitwww.NationalCivicSummit.com.

About CaringBridge

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CaringBridge is a nonprofit offering many ways for people to care for each other during any type of health event. Its mission is to amplify the love, hope and compassion in the world, making each health journey easier. For more information, visit www.CaringBridge.org.