A few years ago in high school I raised funds for the Make Poverty History campaign. It really made me realize how much of a terrible issue poverty is in the world. So I did the teenage thing and invoked my parents to support my hope to sponsor a child.
And so they did. I’ve been sponsoring and writing to a darling little girl named Desta and her community in Ethiopia. It’s been great. She turns 10 years old in January so I’m sending a birthday card by the end of this week. My mother has most of the letters at her home and it’s been good to learn about life in Ethiopia for Desta.
Which brings me up until today. My family has decided that they cannot support Desta anymore. I would love to continue the relationship as long as required with what money I have, but having no job or income this is not looking likely.
What I am considering is a community project. I’d love to find a few kind local people to chip in on the sponsorship. How this can be done, I’m not sure. Any businesses or organisations looking after children in the world, how do you do it?
If anyone in Brisbane is interested in assisting me, leave a comment or give me a bell through the Contact page. I’d like to hear your suggestions even if you have an idea on what I can do.
Hello, readers! How is everyone today? Just a general update of the awesome things I’ve been up to lately.
Last week I was lucky enough to score a free ticket to Creative Drinks. My dear friend Hannah Suarez of Brisbane Creative Industries was the speaker of the evening and did very well. Her presentation is on SlideShare here and includes some helpful networking event tips.
Tuesday I was also in attendance at my favourite Brisbane events company Iceberg Events‘ Networx, Working the (Real & Virtual) Room. Director of Paragon Associates, Lisa Butler kick-started the evening with information on busting networking myths and emphasised that anyone can learn to network effectively. More friends of mine were speaking on the topic of working the virtual room (specifically Twitter) – in fact, the whole panel trio of Darryl King, Clare Lancaster and Greg Lexiphanic! Ignoring the occasional train screaming through South Brisbane, discussions of Twitter and social media run amok against a background of a Twitter projection of the #networx hashtag.
Yesterday I attended ANZ’s Small Business workshops discussing online marketing (specifically Google’s AdWords and social media) and brand awareness. The day was a good one and I met various new people interested in learning more about their businesses online. I was even outed as a secret live-twitter bug, which was a great example to those wanting to understand the scope social media can have. There are more ANZ Small Business workshops happening all around Australia until around November, so get in quick to enrol (they’re free too)!
Lastly, things are rolling faster and faster for Brisbane Twestival Local. Committee positions are being snapped up fast, bands and artists approached, venues scoped. We are hoping to gather the support of the voted-in beyondblue: the national depression initiative as our charity of choice to support, a charity I have long been a fan of.
Phew! I think that’s about it. Oh! And the BTUB Wine Night was a complete success as well. My first paid event as a freelancer. Feels good, man.
Looking for full-time employment has unfortunately taken a back seat to these activities. It’s a shame I’m having so much fun… well, no. Not really.
On Friday I spent my day volunteering for Fireball 2009 with New Fangled Functions at City Hall. It was a pretty good day, setting 400 places for attendees of the charity ball raising funds for adult burns research and development. I did take a photo of the gorgeous table settings before I left, but it didn’t save to my iPhone, alas.
I was unable to make the event itself, but from what I’ve heard it was a great success. Well done, Kellie, Michael and the team at New Fangled Functions. (And happy birthday, Michael!)
A few of you will recall an event I co-managed in February called Twestival at Brisbane’s Metro Arts. Well, it’s on again and I’ve been handed the reins!
Saturday, September 12th is Twestival Local. It’s the same deal, but we choose our own charity to support instead of a global charity being chosen for all events around the world. I quite like this idea as it creates a close-knit sense of responsibility for Brisbane and Queensland. The links on the Brisbane branch which I give are:
We are seeking one lucky charity, a kick-arse venue, charming sponsors, wicked bands, entertainment, artists, stalls, web masters, event gurus, stage managers, admin and general awesomeness for this event. Please e-mail me at events@nicolejensen.com if you would like to give a hand or offer up some contacts for us.
Lastly, I came across this useful article on how to secure a sponsor for an event. It’s pretty cool.
…and on a charming segway from my previous post…
Double Decadance is on this Saturday night at Fortitude Valley’s Step Inn. Funds from the event go towards Open Doors which supports young people aged between 12 -18 years who are exploring, questioning or identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT).
Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday disadvantaged LGBT teens can drop-in on Open Doors for support and networking. I’ve always loved the idea of drop-in centres and this one is definitely a fantastic use of the resources run by a former Family Planning Queensland counsellor and educator. Fantastic stuff!
On another related note, the Open Doors website links to Think Before You Speak, an initiative to halt derrogatory sayings such as “that’s so gay.” It’s aimed at schools, which I think is pretty accurate. Loving the Say Something Original pledge where you can contribute your version of the saying mentioned. “That’s so redunkulous!” is so far my favourite but “girl putting a fork in a toaster thats on [sic]” is pretty strange also! If only there was an apostrophe it would be complete, but you can’t ask for much when it’s going towards raising awareness on such a topic.
Anyway, you should come along on Saturday. It will be fun!
This afternoon, the lovely people on my Twitter list decided to help me in my search for employment!
Huge thanks to Clare Lancaster for starting this chain of tweets and to all who did RT. You’re all fantastic. Including those who have brainstormed with me and linked to never-ending Twitter job searching sites. There will be some creative methods to “find this woman a job” coming about soon!
In other news, Twestival is on all over the world on Thursday. Have you bought your ticket yet? Come and join us at the Brisbane Twestival for fun, games, great entertainment and good times; all raising much-needed funds for those thirsty in the world. I’m so excited!
I’m reaching out.
Along with Nicole Jensen, I’m organising Brisbane Twestival. Twestival is a global festival event taking place on 12 February that seeks to raise money for the 1 in 6 people worldwide who do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. 1 in 6! That’s 1.1 billion people without clean drinking water, something we take for granted.
To help them out, the Twitter community (http://twitter.com) are holding this event to raise both awareness and money to donate to Charity:Water (http://charitywater.org). This charity works very hard to get sustainable solutions to those communities without water but they can’t do it entirely on their own. Brisbane is just one of over 100 cities worldwide holding a Twestival!
But we can’t do this without your help, so here’s where you come in.
What we’re looking for right now are sponsors. We have a couple on board already who are providing a venue (to be announced shortly!) and contributing towards some of the costs of holding such a big event.
The event itself will not be a sombre event – it’s a festival! There’ll be local bands, work on display from local artists, stalls to buy stuff, a bar, and games and competitions. We’re conservatively anticipating a bare minimum of 100 attendees, though some estimates suggest the night will bear witness to as many as 300.
What we need are sponsors. Sponsors to provide prizes for the competitions and games, to donate to charity or to contribute in some other way they think would help us to make this a successful festival event.
In return, you’ll get exposure and generate an incredibly large amount of goodwill. We’ll be promoting you everywhere online from Facebook to Twitter to the official Brisbane Twestival site. You’ll be mentioned on all of our promotional material. You’ll be displayed on projectors and posters and mentioned repeatedly on the night. And, of course, you’ll be recognised for some time for giving back to the global community.
If you think you or your business can contribute, please contact myself or Nicole Jensen and we’ll help you to help us and the 1 in 6 people worldwide who need it.
Also, if you’d like to know a bit more, check out the links below.
Global Twestival website: http://twestival.com
Charity:water website: http://charitywater.org
Brisbane Twestival website: http://brisbane.twestival.com
Brisbane Twestival Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=44952598701
Brisbane Twestival twitter account: http://twitter.com/bnetwestival
via Facebook | Greg Williams’s Notes.
Recent Posts