As part of our Blogads Gives Back initiative, we volunteered some time at the Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill. The RMH-CH provides a clean, safe, and healthy place to stay for over 1800 families a year while their children undergo treatment at area hospitals.

Giving back has been part of how we operate for a long time, and the Blogads Gives Back program is an extension of that. The blogging and online publishing community we work with every day spans an enormous range of niches — political bloggers, parenting sites, food writers, music critics, sports columnists, and even specialized review sites covering everything from outdoor gear to the best bitcoin sportsbooks. What we’ve found over the years is that no matter how different these communities look on the surface, the people running them tend to share a common instinct: when they see an opportunity to support something meaningful in their local area, they show up. Volunteering at RMH-CH felt like a natural way for our team to do the same thing in person, alongside the work we do online every day.

Many thinks to Cathy and all of the great staff and volunteers of Ronald McDonald House for helping us contribute to the great and important work they do.

We’re getting our ping-pong paddles dusted off over at Blogads HQ and gearing up for pADdle Battle 2011. Triangle-area advertising and new media folks are invited to join us on June 23 at Fullsteam Brewery in Durham’s “D.I.Y. District.” Make some new friends in the industry over local craft beer and friendly table-top competition. The party gets started at 6pm, and the tournament kicks off soon after.

It costs $5 to play, and all proceeds go to the Durham branch of the The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. It’s free to come and hang out. We’ll also be accepting canned goods for the food bank. The tastier, the better.

Think you’ve got game? Sign up now.

Congrations to Brian Russell, who has signed the lease for his coworking space in Carrboro just down the street from us.