Thanks to the Yahoo article by Chris Nichols last year, I discovered two incredible young girls who took their passion for origami to help serve others. In all, Katherine and Isabella Adams used their passion for creating origami gifts to help raise well over $100,000 for their charity, Paper for Water.
Everyone has a gift.
If you think about some of the struggles you’ve had in your life, chances are your experience could be a valuable asset to someone else. That’s one of your gifts, a gift to be shared. A gift is part of your brand. Or maybe you used to play the piano or sing in the choir and haven’t used your gift in a while. Well, maybe it’s time to dust off the ivory or those dancing shoes and think about how you can use that gift to help others. The Adams family contacted one of their local Starbucks to see if they would display their origami Christmas ornaments to help raise money for charity. They sold out of their 35 ornaments in one day.
Build Alliances.
Whether it’s a manager at a local Starbucks or a manager at a local car dealership, I’m sure there is someone you know that could help you display your wares or help mentor you on how to get your gift, even if it’s intangible, out to the audience who would appreciate it. How many friends do you have on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or just in your email contact list? What if you sent a short and compelling story out to your friends asking for them to forward your message out to their lists? A friend of mine did that and raised hundreds of dollars to provide well checks and immunizations for children in need in one day through gofundme.com. Or, find a business that can benefit from you writing about them in your blog and how you can connect that business to a worthy cause marketing project. Develop a relationship with people who can benefit from your experience, but don’t be afraid to ask for help from people who likely will not benefit from your talent. Many people you think will help out, won’t, and vice versa. You don’t know until you ask.
Duplicate yourself.
Fortunately through gaining attention from their local paper, The Dallas Morning News, and the relationships within their church, the Adam’s girls’ efforts were duplicated through volunteer help. If you are serving others with passion, others will likely catch your fever. There is a reason the root in influenza is influence. Be persistent. Spread the news. Don’t give up on your passion. Build your brand. Write about it and let others find ownership within your project to help others.
If you are trying to build your brand through an online platform, blog, or just need some help finding your vision for: writing, business, or ministry project, drop us a line.
