My current WILD IDEA has to do with extreme poverty and celebrities; musicians, bands and yes, actors. I'm working with a few friends globally on this; friends who, as me, were inspired by Bono and his work with ONE/MPH, the Global Fund and Product (RED).
The idea is we talk celebrities into posing for a photo holding a comfort doll. We get them to autograph an index card. We auction off both card and photo, and send the money to one of the three African charities we have chosen to support ( World Vision, ICross Canada, and Save the Children ).
A comfort doll is a small knitted doll that ICross volunteers knit. The dolls are used instead of packing foam, to protect vials of HIV/Aids medicines as they are shipped to African clinics. Once the medicines are unpacked, the dolls are given to the children in the village, many of whom are patients (and many of whom are reportedly buried with their Comfort Dolls when they die)
I have many people wanting to friend me. I don't mind - I’m here to network and get to know people… but I’m not into 'collecting' as many friends as I can. Ideally I’m hoping to meet people that support the same thing I do: making poverty history, the One campaign, Debt relief, Aid and Fair trade for Africa, HIV/Aids relief. I'm also hoping I can ask my 'friends' to help me out at auction time by reposting my bulletins (makes the difference between me reaching 200 people, or all of us reaching into the thousands!)
If you friend request me I always go look at your profile before saying yes. I’m going to say no if:
-- you don’t have any blog entries
-- your profile is set to private
-- your profile takes forever to load (overly heavy graphics)
-- is full of glitter graphics or spam comments you haven’t cleared away
--is hacked and you dont even know it (your friends list is full of near porn user pics)
Basically if you aren’t on your space enough to take care of it, I don’t see how you'll be here enough for us to become ‘friends’.
When I do say yes, I’d love to have you subscribe to my blog (how can we be ‘friends’ if we don’t read what each other writes?) but if you don’t that’s okay… I know time is short as it is without having a hundred blogs to read!
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To the bands that want to friend me - please read this part carefully before hitting the ‘Add Friend’ button (especially if you're a band manager!)
If your space is full of spam or phishing comments, if you have no interaction on your space with your fans (ie no blog entries or comments back to those you’ve ‘friended’), or your profile is simply advertising space for your next cd, band merchandise, and mailing lists, I'm gonna say no. I'm not interested in joining street teams or helping you get a record deal.. sorry. It's just that I need to concentrate my efforts on my own project.
Obviously, I’d prefer to add Bands and Musicians to my space who are interested in our charity project; interested enough to help (perhaps not by doing a comfort doll photo, but helping in some capacity). This isn’t always possible of course, but please keep in mind it is my ultimate goal and the reason I’m here.
If you're unwilling /unable to help but still want to friend me, PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE WHEN YOU HIT THE ‘add friend’ BUTTON and tell me that you're unable to do a doll photo. This saves us both the awkwardness of me asking for your help and you having to say no.
If I like what I hear on your song previews, and what I read in your blog entries, and how you treat your ‘fans’, and your space isn't littered with scantily clad babes and profanity, (or worse, has been hacked and you dont even know it), I usually say yes (even if you are unable to help with our project - what can I say.. I love music!)
BE FOREWARNED THOUGH, one day I'm going to ask you to participate in our Comfort Doll charity project. Guaranteed!. If you are passing through Vancouver on tour, we arrange to do a photo in person, usually at the venue the day of the show.(It takes about 10 minutes max.. I'm in, pic's snapped, card signed, and out of your hair again before you even notice me :) And although we've had bands offer us free tickets to the show, we always say thank you, but no. Thats not why we're here.
If that isn't possible, we can also do it through the mail. We'll mail you a doll, someone on your end will take a photo or two of your band holding the doll, you autograph the enclosed card and mail it back, emailing us the photo, and we go from there.
WE will set up the auction, and YOU will help publicize the auction to your Myspace fanbase. (Without the publicity to your myspace fanbase by you or your management, there's not enough support for the auction to be successful.)
We also give you and/or your band some free publicity: we add your name to our thank you list on our profile page, add your Doll photo to our slideshow, and and add your space to our top friends until our next auction. We also may profile one of your songs for a short period and may include your band's name in subsequent letters or messages to the next round of people we want to have participate in our project.
You'd be amazed at how many fans will bid on a band photo, (or autographed drum sticks, or set list, etc) and even $30 can buy 2 bed nets and protect up to 4 kids with each net - $30 can protect 6 children from blindness due to lack of Vitamin A - a little goes a long way. And, it makes you feel good that you've done something to help. Your fans feel good because you've done something to help - I feel good because one more person has made a huge difference.
(So, if you don’t want to be asked... don’t hit the 'add friend' button – you just know I'm gonna ask)
If you're a Band that I do friend, you might want to consider being friended at our 'Official' Comfort Doll Myspace as well.
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We also have a website - Comfort Doll Project - Check us out.
This idea is in its infancy, but has the potential to be highly successful, and more importantly - a long term project. As an amateur photographer, using my talents in this way seemed a natural progression.
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AUCTION NEWS
Our next auction will feature:
54*40,
Bands we are currently working with for future auctions include:
Frankie Whyte and the Dead Idols (including an autographed CD), and Wolfy.
RESULTS
Our most recent auction has just ended.
We raised $205.00 for World Vision.
We outfitted a school classroom with all necessary supplies for one year, bought 3 soccer balls for the kids so they dont have to use balled up plastic bags, bought 2 rabbits for a family to start a home business and use as a protein source, bought 4 mosquito nets to protect up to 16 children from malaria, purchased enough Vitamin A to prevent blindness in 10 children, and bought antibiotics to help 6 children.
We were able to help at least 32 children, plus a family and an entire school classroom. Many thanks to Tragically Hip, and Collective Soul (Josh, Ryan, Ed, Dean and Will) and their management, as well as the Collective Souldiers team of fans for helping us promo this auction! Without their help it wouldn't have been as successful.
Our fifth Auction
was held in late January 2008 featuring Blue October, and we raised $115.00 for Icross.
Icross Canada is the charity that uses the knitted Comfort Dolls instead of packing foam when they send shipments of HIV meds to African clinics. They've also gratiously allowed us to use the dolls for our own project, and the money we sent will go a long way to help them send their next shipment of HIV drugs and medical equipment to their next target spot.
Our fourth Auction
was held mid-December. We raised a staggering $500.00 for World Vision.
Half of that was used to fund HIV kits to prevent Mother to Child transfer of HIV during childbirth. The other half was divided between bed nets to prevent malaria, and Vitamin A therapy to prevent blindness.
All told, we were able to positively affect over 54 children with this generous donation. My extreme thanks to Tom Cochrane, Daniel Lanois and Jimmy Eppart, the musicians who participated, and to my friends who helped promo the auction here at myspace! Please check out Tom, Dan, and Jimmy in my top friends.
Our Third Auction
was held mid-May 07, and fans generously helped us raise $140.00 for U2's The Edge's Music Rising charity - helping New Orleans musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Many thanks to our participants Rocko and the Devils, and A Sheep at the Wheel.
Our Second Auction
was held mid-October 2006, and $80.00 was raised for World Vision.
Our thanks to Pete Levin,Jerry Marotta, Bert Lams, Tom Griesgraber, Third Day, Caedmon's Call, and Massari for their participation.
Our First Auction
was held mid-September 2006, and we raised $86.00 for Save the Children Fund.
Valdy, Gary Fjellgaard, Roger Hodgson (Supertramp), Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman, and Star Trek actor Alexander Siddig have our thanks for their help.
A heart-felt THANK YOU to those musicians/actors who have participated so far.
Thank you's go out to those musicians who's auctions are upcoming, as well as singers Brian Cook and WHY, Jerry Marotta (thanks for taking so much time with me Jerry!), Pete Levin (you're wonderful, my friend), Jimmy Eppard (Thank You! and thanks to Tawl Paul for the photo), Rocko and the Devils , (thank you darling!) Tom Cochrane (you rock!), Collective Soul (you guys are fabulous!), Daniel Lanois (musician and U2 producer) and his fabulous assistant Margaret, Blue October , A Sheep at the Wheel , Bert Lams and Tom Griesgraber , Massari , Third Day , Caedmon's Call , Roger Hodgson (formerly of Supertramp), Valdy, and Gary Fjellgaard, Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman, and actor Alexander Siddig (Star Trek Deep Space Nine) all of whom have participated in our charity project.
p.s. if you click on a photo in the slideshow below, it will tell you their name :)
