I know some of the details of what we are trying to accomplish here may be a little bit vague, and that is mostly because the details are kind of working themselves out as we go along.
At the end of the day, by participating in a good cause- be it by writing, donating, or promoting, you ARE the change. Every piece is important. We selected Pets Without Parents at random during the session as the beneficiary of this particular effort, but to me the act of coming together and making those connections is as important as the end result, since those connections will remain in place for life.
I realize “Go Do Something” is, for lack of a better descriptor, a dreadfully nebulous call to action and I have gotten a lot of questions of “I want to help but I’m still completely unclear on what exactly you want me to do.” For those who want to be a part of this, here are some more specific suggestions:
Bloggers
This Friday is the official Pets Without Parents Be the Change blog effort. Within the next day or two, we should have a widget available for you to place on your site that allows people to donate directly to the rescue. If you’re not sure what a widget is, check out this example from the blogathon– it’s very easy to insert into posts as a graphic or on the sidebar of a blog.
It can be a part of what you are writing about, or just sit in your post as a reminder of the purpose of the day. You do not need to blog about the rescue or Be The Change at all unless you want to.
You can do product reviews or take on a paid endorsement with proceeds going to the rescue . Host a giveaway. Reach out to product makers- I’m always amazed at how willing companies are to donate product, especially for a great cause.
Do a guest post exchange- trade blogs with someone you admire for the day.
If you’re stuck for ideas, just talk about what other blogs are doing that day and link to them. Heck, you can blog about your armpit hair for all I care. I imagine that might actually make for a fairly enlightening blog.
I will link to every blog who participates and informs me of that fact through the comments section or via the ‘contact m’e form.
Sponsors
If you want to donate a product for a giveaway on Friday, let me know. I can do it or connect you with other bloggers who would like to do so. Many of you have donated to the pawpawty as well, so thank you.
If you want to be the official sponsor of my blog for a day in return for a donation to Pets Without Parents, I can work that out too. Let me know.
If you want to do a giveaway of your own product on your own blog, I will link to that.
Tweeps and Facebook lovers
Go to the pawpawty. If you don’t know what a pawpawty is, look here. You really have to go at least once to get what it is and how it works.
The BlogPawty is April 21-22, 7 pm-1 am EST.
Post links to the rescue and/or the participating blogs on Facebook, re-tweet them on Twitter. It makes a difference.
Everyone
Participate as much or as little as you wish- and have fun!
If you want to donate, we will be grateful. If you cannot, your participation and presence on the blogs and on various social media platforms is still greatly desired.
I have some family stuff going on at the moment, and I am not sure if I will be back in town by Friday. I actually flew straight from BlogPaws not to San Diego, but to the East Coast. As I write this, I’m sitting in a Howard Johnson lobby typing “Pets Without Partners” instead of “Pets Without Parents”.
I’m not mentioning that to be melodramatic, but to explain why I cannot say for sure if I will be able to do a video or podcast for Friday as was my original intent. This is also why I’m a little slower answering e-mails. That being said, I am still 100% with this project and even now- especially now- during a very stressful period, I am more grateful than ever to have this positivity in my life.
Plus, since I haven’t seen Brody et al since Friday I have no new stories of my own to tell except for perhaps the effects of severe cold-turkey dog withdrawal on one’s psyche. 🙂
*hug* DrV.
(lol on Pets Without Partners – only if spayed/neutered)
We would like to donate a prize for the pawty. Any suggestions? We are a dog training business, but have some products for sale. I will also do what I can to get this effort on our website, Twitter, and Facebook. Hang in there!
If you would like to donate a prize for the blogpawty, I’d contact @frugaldougal on Twitter as she is coordinator extraordinaire. If you want to do a giveaway on a blog, either your own or someone else’s, I can help you coordinate that. 🙂
I would like to write a blog about the “Be The Change” event. I focus on Animal Assisted Activities and Therapy, started a K-9 Story Time program, and have a page for pet adoptions. My blog is primarily about the training process for becoming an Animal Assisted Activity team with your pet.
What a cool topic. I’m going to have to check out your blog!!
Thinking about you Dr V and sending you some dougal hugs, hope you get the family stuff sorted out. Was lovely to meet with you at blogpaws. Woof Woof from dougal and mum
Woffs & wags from all of us at i Love Dogs. We’d love to participate in #BetheChange. We can sponsor a prize for the blogpawty, and do a giveaway on a blog as well. Looking forward to it!
I’ll be participating, but in a different way. I’m going to raise money for Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary. I somehow suffered from comprehension fail and didn’t understand that we were all supposed to be raising money for one cause. But I’m really in love with the work Blind Cat Rescue is doing (they’re one of two rescues in the US that focus specifically on blind cats), I have a special place in my heart for special-needs cats, and I feel it’s important to help the less well-known rescues. A couple thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket to, say, Best Friends, but it’s a big deal to organizations the size of Blind Cat Rescue.
Hi Dr. V,
I’ll be blogging about Be The Change at This One Wild Life (http://thisonewildlife.com) tomorrow, adding the widget and attending the PawPawty (my first!) I am thrilled to have been able to attend Blog Paws vicariously through others’ live tweeting and to have found your blog in the process. Best to you! – Kim