November 9, 2011
Crisis in the Horn of Africa: FWD the Facts
Many Americans aren’t aware that more than four times as many people are currently in crisis in the Horn of Africa than were affected by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and that a child dies in Somalia every six minutes. You can help. You can do more than just donate, you can save lives.
I’m joining USAID and the Ad Council to spread the word and support the FWD campaign to provide food, water and shelter to the hundreds of thousands of starving and sick populations in the refugee camps in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, where families fight every day to survive.
Here is an image of one of on such survivor, fighting for the lives of her children on a daily basis. Alima Ali Abdi, 37, holds one of her three children as she waits in line to be received at the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya on August 20, 2011. “The journey here was very difficult,” said Alima. Her family walked 16 days on foot from Somalia, and “it was hard on the children.” They were pastoralists in Somalia, with a herd of almost 50 cows and 30 goats. When asked if any of them were left, she said, “They were all washed away by the drought.”
The FWD campaign represents not only the issues of Famine, War and Drought that people in these countries face every day, but also the solution: Forward this message to your friends, your families, your co-workers.
The campaign makes it easy. Go online and use the tools available at www.usaid.gov/fwd where there are resources to help make a real impact in the Horn. Infographics, a campaign toolkit and messaging that can be posted on Facebook, tweeted or posted on your web page can all be shared with just a click of your mouse or a text message. Visit www.usaid.gov/fwd or text GIVE to 777444 to donate $10 to support famine and drought relief in the Horn of Africa.
A crisis that affects more than 13 million is too big to be ignored. It may seem impossible to believe that one person can make a difference, but you can be a vehicle for change by sharing this message. Our goal for today is to have one share for every person currently being affected in the Horn of Africa (a total of 13 million shares). Tweet, post and talk to your friends and family to help spread the word.
Do what I’m doing. Tell everyone. Tell anyone. Do more than donate. Forward the facts.
Filed under: Campaigns, Communications, Federal Government Communications, Social Media
Tags: Ad Council, Africa, Ashley Judd, crisis, famine, FWD, Horn of Africa, USAID
November 7, 2011
Laughing with the Clinton Foundation
The Clinton Foundation recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary. In honor of this occasion, they created an original video to highlight their incredible work. And, let me underscore the word original. I first heard about the video at one of our recent blog editorial meeting when it came up that the Foundation had partnered with Funny or Die on a hilarious, celebrity skit aimed to bring attention to the organization and celebrate its 10th anniversary.
Immediately following the meeting, I watched the video. I have to say that it was indeed hilarious. (I’ve watched it at least five more times and it’s still pretty funny.) The video features Ben Stiller, Sean Penn, Kristen Wiig, Matt Damon, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and Jack Black brainstorming ideas to get the word out about the Clinton Foundation and their important work. (There are also a couple of more celebs but I’ll leave that as a surprise.) As you can imagine, brilliant ideas ensued including getting to the bottom of who keeps eating Sean Penn’s lunch and the urgent need for a softball team, aptly named the Clinton Clubbers.
Filed under: Communications
Tags: Branding, celebrities, Clinton Foundation, Funny or Die
November 3, 2011
Pop culture and public health
The following blog was oringally posted on APHA on October 31, 2011.
On an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Dr. Izzie Stevens tells her HIV-positive patient that she doesn’t have to have an abortion because of her fear of transmitting the virus to her baby. With proper, regular medication, Izzie tells her, she has a 98 percent chance of having a healthy baby free of HIV. That’s 98 percent. The doctor repeats that fact three times in the brief conversation, and the patient herself says it once more to drive home the point.
That one-minute conversation took months of behind-the-scenes work to bring to life on the small screen. It was a collaboration between the show’s writers and producers and the Kaiser Family Foundation, who provided the health research on that storyline, says Tina Hoff, senior vice president at the foundation.
“We have a mutual goal, which is to bring the largest possible audience to the content,” said Hoff, a presenter during this morning’s session on “Content Integration and Social Change: Sparking Action Through Programming Advertising and Popular Culture.” “For a fully rounded public health strategy, we can’t ignore the entertainment industry.”
Hoff was on a panel with other health and entertainment leaders at today’s session, which was moderated by Peggy Conlon, president of the Ad Council. When health information and compelling storytelling come together, whether the medium is TV, film or the Internet, great things can happen — behavior change can occur, presenters said.
Filed under: Communications, Media
Tags: 16 and Pregnant, APHA Annual Meeting, Contagion, Health and Society, Hollywood, Kaiser Family Foundation, MTV, Participant Media, Teen Mom
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