Little Red Wagon Foundation

I want to take this time to introduce to you the power of a little red wagon and a 10 year old boy. Meet Zach Bonner, the founder of Little Red Wagon Foundation. Zach is an amazing 10 year old from Tampa, FL who started this nonprofit to help other kids faced with distressing situations.

He is walking 280 miles, with his red wagon from Tallahassee, FL to Atlanta, GA to raise awareness and funds for the nearly 1.3 million homeless kids across the U.S. While I knew there was a growing population of homeless youth under 18, I had no idea it was 1.3 million. That is distressing. Every kid should have a place to call home and one filled with warmth, support and love. Zach knows it takes funds to support the cause, but how smart is he that at his age he knows it takes education too. I am amazed, stunned, a-gogged at this young boy! After watching his video on his website, he has such a big vision. He 'gets it' better than most adults I've met.

You can follow Zach's 280 mile trek at http://www.zachtracker.com/. If you feel you are drawn to donate to support his efforts, you can do that through his website. If you are going to be in Atlanta, GA on 11/17/08, you can meet Zach on the steps of the Capital.

I am so moved by Zach, I will be donating a part of my upcoming book sales to his charity.

Wear the Cause

There is a gem of an online store called Wear the Cause. Here is what they are about...

"Wear The Cause is clothing that raises awareness. Our fashionable clothing contains cause related substance within the imagery. Each shirt represents a different cause, health, animal rights, education, society, and the environment. Our mission is to educate and entertain the world, and a percentage of proceeds will donate to charities. Wearthecause.com is our main home for shopping our store, learning about causes, discovering artists, and being part of the team. Our apparel is available for men, women, and children. We have short sleeve, and long sleeve graphic T-shirts, tanks, camisoles, hoody's, collards, as well as baby clothes. On our cause page you can learn about current issues occurring around the world, and link to charity sites to help get involved. Our cause clothing is created from artist online submissions. Artist involved get a bio of themselves and there art, with a link to their website....Join our community and support a unique blend of fashionable clothing, with cause related substance, plus an online artist collective, as well as charity involvement. Through our clothing we can create a visual spread of cause related information to viewers, with hopes of sparking interest, and raising awareness. We need artist to submit their cause related designs. So shop, learn, create, spread, and love cause."

How cool is this! Wear the Cause has creatively and successfully blended cause awareness, artists with a desire to share their message and work, and attire that is so very hip. I know what I want for Christmas! You?

New Study Released on Small Business Charitable Giving

For all the small business owners and solo-entrepereneurs, with annual gross revenues of $100,000 to $250,000 this is a must read article, "New Survey Shoes Great Enthusiasm for Charitable Giving by Small Businesses." It was posted in Financial Aid.

I was super excited to stumble across this study. It really speaks to hundreds of thousands small businesses and entrepreneurs making a modest income, and that aren't perhaps giving back in the way they would like because of limited resources, organization and time.

The study conducted for the Chronicle of Philanthropy examined giving of over 1,000 small businesses. It reveals that small businesses approach to giving is more of an 'aside project' rather than a part of their overall business plan. Yet, most say they value the importance of giving back to causes and communities. Here in lies the divide, the incongruence, a non-alignment of what they say is important, but then not putting their attention to actually creating a plan for giving and Post-Its and notes on a legal pad don't quite constitute a plan.

A giving plan for a small business doesn't have to be a 20 page document. However, it does have to be written, incorporated into an annual operating business plan, aligned with both business and social goals and a valued aspect for the business owner.

Copyright. 2008. Maggie F. Keenan, Ed.D. All rights reserved.

Take the Cue from this Pink Pool Stick

Yesterday was a rainy, damp Sunday. It was perfect for staying indoors, watching t.v., which I rarely do. As I flipped through the stations, I landed on an exhibition billiard show. I think it was America vs. Europe. Top men and women professional billiards playing for, well I don't know it could have been a title or some high stake. Either way, I was fascinated at the talent of the players and the techniques they used. I mean, it was as if, their mind directed the 8 ball to go in a particular direction.

The entire tournament was fascinating and I was stunned at the professionalism and exemplary talent among the women billiard players. I've never seen women play professional pool before. Plus, the outfits the women wore were really fabulous. They looked super sheik. And to think, I always thought of pool as the pass time for guys to hang out with buddies in basements across America. To my surprise.

Then today, I came across an ad for a pink cue stick made by Viper. Part of the proceeds go to The Breast Cancer Foundation. So, to the ladies out there that are thinking pool can be your sport, this cue stick is for you. Now what I am not able to tell you specifically, is which breast cancer foundation they are supporting. There is the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, The American Breast Cancer Foundation and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Nevertheless, the point here is you get a fab pink cue stick and it helps fight a terrible disease.

A Pound for a Pound & 2 Thumbs Up!

What a great cause related marketing campaign! WeightWatchers launched a month long campaign, "Lose for Good", to support two nonprofits, Action Against Hunger and Share Our Strength.

What was exceptional about this program is that their customers, both online subscribers and those who attend local meetings, had the opportunity to participate. to lose weight and support two causes at the same time. The campaign will "donate the cost of a pound of food for each pound lost during campaign period. Pounds lost by Members will be determined by average weight lost per meeting attendance during campaign period multiplied by total number of attendances during campaign period. Pounds lost by Online Subscribers will be determined by total weight loss recorded in the Weight Tracker during campaign period. Weight losses are subject to our healthy weight loss guidelines. Cost of food will be calculated by each participating charity. Donations will be made 70% to Share our Strength up to $700,000 and 30% to Action Against Hunger up to $300,000." (WeightWatchers)

In addition, participants could spread the word through Facebook and MySpace using the widgets that WeightWatchers provided through their campaign website. Again, oh so smart! They implemented social media to create awareness for their program and the two charity partners they selected. Participants could also send e-cards and share the video to reach out to family and friends.

This was a well branded, well designed, well "everything" CRM campaign. Good for WeightWatchers and good for the participants to may have reached a new weight goal and helped someone else while doing it.

To learn more about the Lose for Good campaign, click here.

Corduroy to Promote Early Education

I know what you may be thinking, corduroy.. as in the pants we wore back in the 60's and 70's as kids. Nope! It's a children's book and it was used to jump start the Jumpstart's Read for the Record Campaign to set a world record for the world's largest shared reading experience on the same day with the same book. Read for the Record Campaign is Jumpstart's annual event. This year's book Corduroy is about a teddy bear's adventure in a department store.

I happened to watching the Today's Show with Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al on October 2nd. The rapper LL Cool J, Honorary Spokesperson, and actress, Mary-Louise Parker, singer/songwriter, Jesse McCartney, actor Greg Kinnear and Maria from Sesame Street read Corduroy on The Today Show for Jumpstart's Read for the Record! They were set up on the Plaza with lots of little fidgie' (fidg-i) sitting and listening to the story.

Jumpstart advocates for adults to read to children at an early age. Children that are read to at a pre-school age develop skills that prepare them to thrive in school. The Jumpstart model is quite successful. And, their Read for the Record Campaign created national awareness. This campaign is an excellent example of how one organization can reach the stars (no pun intended). With celebrity-readers, national broadcast network support, and communities & schools reading on the same day, the same book and breaking a record is amazing. Aside from the national pr, Jumpstart has an excellent and solid track record of making an impact. Impact being the measured progress and success of kids and the number of children served through the program. It was recently named one of the top charities by Fast Company's Social Capitalist Awards.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and wives, sisters, mothers, grandmothers, daughters and partners are encouraged to get screened and encourage loved ones and friends to get screened. This month marks a long campaign for awareness and education around breast cancer and awareness and education are prevention which saves lives.

During October you will notice pink ribbon ad campaigns in advertising. Avon is the leader with their Breast Cancer Crusade. Others include Mercedes-Benz, Yoplait and Estee Lauder to name a few. Campaign ads will be smathered across magazines, commercials, corporate blogs and websites. Here are a couple of sites that are promoting breast cancer awareness this month:
Think Before You Pink
Curves, Inc.
Bobbi Brown Cosmetics

There are plenty others and we will see celebrities like Cheryl Crow and Ellen Degeneres that will have a voice in the crusade. Some campaigns are well done and in the fight over the long haul. Other businesses will not have the same stay appeal with their campaigns. Mainly because their giving back to whatever the cause of the month is or as I wrote in a previous blog, they Pick Pink beCause it's Popular. This i not the way to create a giving program for a business, big or small. Another aspect of giving to organizations for breast cancer awareness is to know which organization you are giving to. Really! There are so many organizations and funds to support this cause that often times we don't know exactly which one is which. It's as if this particular market is saturated with organizations fighting for this cause. If you don't believe me just Google "breast cancer awareness." So, a good tip is know which organization you are choosing to support and check them out on Charity Navigator.

My deepest and thought-felt prayers to you or your loved on whose life has been affected by breast cancer. If you have been fortunate to not have an experience around this disease, I encourage you to visit your doctor for a screening.

2008 Memory Walk Savannah

On Saturday, September 27th, the Alzheimer's Association Coastal Georgia Regional Office held its 2008 Memory Walk in Johnson Square, Historic Savannah. It was an absolutely beautiful day. This was also a special event for me. It was the 2nd year I was Chair and it's time to step aside and let someone else fill the shoes. But this year was special and I am grateful to our Committee members and staff who dedicated time and effort to help pull this off. (click the Memory Walk link to view all photos)

Since the inception of this event about 5 yeas ago, this year's event was absolutely the biggest and best of all Memory Walks. We have grown and continued to raise more dollars each year. But, this year, we tripled the number of teams to 73, doubled the number of participants to 683, and will have raised $155,000 by months end. Both Mayor Johnson and County Commissioner, Pete Liakakis came, talked and walked! We had two local rock stars, Bucky & Barry and their side-kick Willie, Johnson HS Band - and then the band followed up behind all the walkers through downtown Savannah. The food (BBQ, slaw, Coca Cola and beer). Yes, we live in Coca Cola country and a town that is referred to as the Town with To-Go-Cups.

All of this was amazing, considering all the talk, buzz and news about the economy (including a recent blog post by me).

What's the reason behind us knocking this event out of the park in these time? Simply doing our job and never stop asking. Our strategy was also important and it worked. There was no begging, hounding or muscling. It was our approach coupled with heart and commitment to the goal. A goal that will help provide free services and programs to nearly 14,000 families along coastal Georgia whose lives are affected by this disease. One with no cure, no treatment, just meds that prolong or delay the disease progress.

Thanks to our sponsors: WJLC22/FOX28; Local 11Ten, Sticky Fingers, J. Christophers, St. Joe's/Candler Health System, Amedysis, The Marshes of Skidaway, Rivers Edge, United Hospice, and so many others. Thanks to supporters: HostSouth, Johhny Gannem, Davis Florist, City of Savannah, and more....

We appreciate your support. Thanks for the memories.