Responses are coming in!

We've gotten our first couple of letters back from our big mailing!  Pictured here is the one from Albuquerque.  The process appears to involve an executive assistant who screens requests like ours and then passes them along to the bishop at their discretion.  We saw this in action in a slightly different manner when we visited the Diocese of Arizona, as I mentioned in that previous blog entry.  Keep your fingers crossed so that we pass muster with the other bishops, and stay tuned.  I hadn't planned on posting updates because we didn't design a system for tracking donations this time, since they're supposed to go directly from the dioceses to the Red Cross.  But, recall that I did ask the bishops to mention Exist Kind to the Red Cross if they donated, so I hope to get wind of a few donations to share with you here.

Letters to Episcopal bishops are in the mail!

The photo above shows our stack of letters that we sent to Episcopal bishops in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.  Thank goodness for mail merge tools in word processing software!  After a few obstacles, we now are ready to launch the campaign in earnest and see if we can't do something for the flooding survivors in the Philippines.  Now we have a plan and a template to work from for future similar projects.  It feels good to say we've done our part in another project for the greater good.  As time goes on, we plan to occasionally do the same thing for other humanitarian causes--not overly tapping the bishops for a lot of money, but calling on them about once a year or so for a modest donation when we identify a cause such as a natural disaster.  We really want to include a church minister to act as a liaison between the bishops and the beneficiary to reinforce the legitimacy of the cause.  For now, stay tuned for updates on future mailings like this.

PSA taping at Access Tucson with FAIR.

Last night I had the great pleasure of working with FAIR to tape some PSAs in Studio A to publicize FAIR's work, their need for support, and the need to adopt their special-needs pets.  The star of the evening was the famous Boo-boo, the dog rescued from the dogfighting ring.  The taping went well and we got to feature eight different animals, including two cats from the same litter.  We didn't get a chance to feature Chewy on-camera, but we look forward to finishing his story.  These PSAs will end up on YouTube and Access Tucson and I'll of course link them here.  I want to extend a big "thank you" to FAIR for collaborating with me.  Below are some stills captured from the footage we taped.

This is Bluebell, a Husky/German Shepherd mix named for her one blue eye.  She survived valley fever and serious weight loss.

This is Charlie, a sweet Chihuahua.

These two sisters, Iyonna and Izzie, are part of a litter of four--all sisters.  All of them are available for adoption.

Progress on the Philippines relief project.

I've just completed a draft of a letter that I've decided to send to Episcopal bishops around the country, in addition to our own in Arizona.  This will total fifty letters, one for each bishop, who represent one state each.  Once some years ago, I sent a similar letter to the bishop of Mississippi requesting donations for another project and he actually sent a check for about $800.  I expect to have these in the mail by the end of this week.

Exciting taping this weekend with FAIR and the Jim Rose project folks.

(Me almost a year ago on February 13, 2011, not long after I gave my hair a fresh start.)

I'm really looking forward to my next project in the TV studio this Saturday.  I've arranged to host FAIR, the Foundation for Animals In Risk, who of course had a huge role in rescuing Chewy and his being nursed back to health.  We'll have a few animals from FAIR right on the set to tape some PSAs calling for support of this great organization.  I don't know yet if Chewy will be there, but another famous dog, Boo-boo, will be there.  Boo-boo was found right around the same time as Chewy by a Good Samaritan who brought him into touch with FAIR.  He had been horribly hurt and abused as dogfighting bait and shot with a pellet gun, and apparently left for dead.  He's been recovering from serious injuries but he's plugging away and has a great personality.  His story even made it into newspapers and onto TV newscasts around the state.

Also happening in Studio A that day is a follow-up to the Jim Rose project for which I coordinated the crew and equipment back in April of last year.  Two of the documentarians behind the project will stop by to work with me on one last aspect of the film.  This was a real feather in my cap and I'm thankful to have had this opportunity to connect with more people, participate in a documentary, and put this responsibility on my resume.

Efforts to Send Help to Philippines Flood Survivors

In order to expedite our implementation of our plan for humanitarian aid, I decided to go out on a limb and approach people in high places while we were on vacation in Scottsdale for New Year's weekend. On Tuesday the 3^rd, we took a ride down to downtown Phoenix and visited the Episcopal Church's diocesan office at Trinity Cathedral. The goal was to meet briefly with Bishop Kirk Smith, the bishop of the Diocese of Arizona, and obtain his endorsement of the charity drive idea. I would later present this support to the folks I spoke with already in Tucson and we'd ideally be on our way to launching the plan.

Once we found the diocesan office, the bishop was actually engaged in a conference call, so his assistant met with us for a few minutes. I introduced myself, gave her my business card, explained the Exist Kind concept and TV show origins, and summarized the charity plan. She had some valuable information for us: Apparently, many, many people come to their office seeking endorsement along the same lines as us. Bishop Smith is very reluctant to endorse anyone's project for what I think are obvious reasons, and we may well not receive the assistance that we're seeking. However, she is willing to look over my portfolio, as long as I put it together concisely and cleanly for the bishop's ease of reading. She'll then turn it over to him for his review.

At first, I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to actually speak to the bishop in person and that the odds aren't good for getting his support. However, I then realized that this was all valuable information and may possibly change the plan for the better. At this point, I think what I'll do is contact my old acquaintance, the retired Reverend Allen Breckenridge of St. Philip's In the Hills, and review the project with him. Another point that Bishop Smith's assistant made was that I need to demonstrate my connection to the Episcopal Church. I grew up in the church and I worked as a sexton for one church, so the connection is there, but I need someone to vouch for my character and involvement. If my contacts at St. Philip's and St. Francis can do that, I'll return to the diocesan office and be in that much better a position.

Another alternative I'm toying with is a variation on a project I carried out years ago in Mississippi. I might send letters to several Episcopal bishops containing a short grant proposal of sorts. I'd be requesting donations from the church to send to the Philippines Red Cross and the money would be sent on behalf of congregation members from around the country.

So that's the latest on the flood relief project and I'll keep posting as I make progress. I still plan to tape a video clip discussing the situation and my ideas if any of them are reasonably successful.

Emergency: Deadly Floods in the Philippines

I have an associate who is Filipino-American and the last I knew, he was writing for a Filipino newspaper.  Several years ago, we collaborated on a successful project and I have since followed his progress and have been pleased to see him do well.  I had a chance to visit with him today to talk about a project I have in mind to benefit the survivors of the floods going on in the Philippines.  I looked to him for input or assistance in implementing this.  Here's what I have in mind.

As well as facilitate and promote people's good causes and efforts, we at Exist Kind of course like to coordinate efforts with the Exist Kind name on them.  We want to arrange a donation drive to benefit relief efforts in the Philippines and involve the Filipino-American community in Southern Arizona, as well as anyone else who would like to help.  One approach we want to take is to speak with the staff of local Filipino-American businesses and members of cultural organizations to promote a donation drive, passively solicit monetary donations, and direct people in their networks to this blog to get money to organizations such as the Red Cross and Global Giving (most likely those two in particular).  We're specifying monetary donations because so many relief efforts nowadays prefer cash over goods, unless a donor is an entity who can provide large quantities of bulk items.  The second possibility for this plan is to solicit donations of goods to sell on eBay, the proceeds from which would be diverted (via eBay's tools) to one of these organizations.  We'd be looking to donate 85 to 90 percent, with the remainder paying for the operating costs of packaging, shipping, and any fuel expended to pick up donations around town.  Either way, we will provide receipts and proof of donations being given to the organizations to assure donors of our intentions.

I'll tape a short video to promote this and post it here and on YouTube shortly.