It turns out I was the winner in the "Where’s Scott" contest held by guest bloggers Andrea Weckerle and Bill Green over at the Media Orchard. My guess, "Maybe he is in France doing damage control for Dominique de Villepin," apparently came the closest. We’ll find out tomorrow where he actually was.
I was asked to post my desired prize in the Orchard comments. After cycling through all the obvious jokes like give me all your traffic and so forth, I decided to be somewhat serious:
"For my prize for approximating Scott’s location, I’d like him to make a donation to a charity, amount and charity of his choosing. And then tell us about the charity and why it is important to him. He doesn’t have to share the amount."
Why did I pick this? Because I believe in giving back. Whatever our personal or professional problems may be on any given day, most of us in the PR/marketing blogging community are doing pretty well. We may not be rich or famous, but we probably have food on the table, a roof over our heads and the cash to fill our gas tanks. And we probably all support a number of charities as well as volunteer for community and charitable organizations. But… we rarely talk about it unless there is a tragedy like the tsunami or Katrina.
Robert French has tried to get the party started with Operation LinkLove but we need to do and say more, and more often. And not just about charities that are embracing social media. Every so often, we need to step away from the latest industry brouhaha and talk a little about the organizations and causes that mean something to us. They may not be blogging, but we are, and we can help spread the word.
That’s a meme well worth participating in.
So here are just a few of the causes and organizations I have supported recently:
American Diabetes Association. The Hudson MA school system does a School Walk for Diabetes each year. All the children, starting in kindergarten, are invited to participate. Douglas and I walked a bit more than two miles, which is a lot for a six-year old. Why did we do it? Well, we have family members who have diabetes, but just as importantly, I wanted to start Douglas off early with the idea that we do what we can to give back.
Muscular Dystrophy Association. Fellow marketing blogger Yvonne DiVita went to jail for a day for MDA, and I contributed to her bail money.
School Year Abroad. This program is for high school juniors and seniors. It gives them an opportunity to spend a year in another country, living with a local family, but studying in a "regular" high school program so they can still graduate on time. I am an alumni (France 78-79) and have contributed to the scholarship fund nearly every year since I graduated from college. It was one of the best educational experiences of my life… still… and I would not have been able to go if I had not received financial aid.
International Association of Nobodies. Proceeds from the Cafepress store will be donated to charity. Buy your t-shirt today. Wear it proudly.
What charities do you support, and why? I’m not tagging anyone — except Scott 🙂 Tag yourself and give the causes you support some airtime.
Tags: charity, giving back, blogging
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Thanks for your generous and selfless prize. It’ll be interesting to see what charity Scott chooses.