Real Life Examples of Leveraging the Power of the Internet for Grassroots Life Saving Campaigns
OK all you grassroots organizers, non-profit fundraisers and do-gooders out there. This article is about the power of the internet to save a person’s life that YOU can take part in or use as a template for creating and implementing your own drives, fundraisers or movements.
If you have a list or post in a blog, then this article might even spur you on to spread the word to help the cause or if you’re the type they’re looking for, you may even decide to save a life!
This is exactly why so many of us get so JAZZED about new technology, web 2.0 and the Internet.
We talk about how we use the Internet to start and grow our businesses in order to create more freedom and abundance, which is GREAT, but with all of the crazy things going on in the world, we can use it to do great things to help man(woman)kind in our life struggles as well.
“Petey Needs a Wheelchair Van” is an Example
I previously wrote of an example of one of my fellow competitiors in the Next Internet Millionaire, who is an aide for a young man by the name of Petey. Petey has an incurable debilitating disease and in order to help him lead as normal a life as possible with the time he has left, Jason Marshall put together a giveaway campaign to raise money to buy a wheelchair accessible van.
While they didn’t reach their goal of $15,000.00, they did raise $6,000.00, which not only puts them closer to the possibilities and may open up new opportunities, but it also helped those of us who who donated recieve some valuable information products, softwares, books, courses, etc. for much less money than we would have had to pay if we bought them at retail…Obviously you can see the WIN WIN!
By the way, you HAVE to go see the Google graphic Petey created for a contest…Those of you who can relate to handicap life will LOVE it!
When you Ask for More than Money
Well, this new grassroots effort takes this same sort of idea to another level. This time the disease doesn’t have to be fatal and by either contributing our time, our connections or our bone morrow, we get a chance to save a life of a darling 26 year old Asian American woman and more!
Michelle Maykin dedicated herself to helping others by creating Project Michelle, an online/offline campaign focused on recruiting people to become potential bone marrow donors for others like her who have leukemia, so this drive reaches even further. Apparently, there is a major shortage of Asians registered as potential donors, which is a problem because they are the most likely prospects for donors that match others of Asian background.
My point is that this campaign can be used as an incredible template for using our skills and creativity to put together grassroots movements of as many people and entities as possible to provide for the needs of others less fortunate in our communities by leveraging the capabilities of viral marketing, blogging, email marketing and the Internet.
What makes this drive unique is that its purpose is not to raise money, but bone morrow donors. Think about the logistisical challenges, especially online, which, to the more traditional thinking person, might stop them before they start in putting something like this together.
So I invite you to study how this grass roots campaign is put together and how are successfully getting the word out, gaining volunteers and how they handle the logistics of creating drives in 5 major cities, as well as dedicated centers outside of those cities, that are tied in with the National Morrow Donor Program.
