Word spreads and delivers fruit (and shoes and soap, too)

I spoke with Lorraine last night and she updated me on some wonderful developments. Earlier this week, she was helping a local elementary school. When she arrived, the teacher said there were bags waiting for her - bags of clothes and shoes. The eight year-old boy she is taking care of is in that school, and the bags were for him. The teacher said that somehow a person came across the Van Campaign website, recognized the boy in the photos, and gathered clothes and shoes for him. He was in need of shoes and clothes and they came at the right time!

Then, one day a bag of toiletries showed up at Lorraine's house for her family. Someone had seen the Campaign website, found out where Lorraine lived, and delivered the items to her.

And on another occasion, Lorraine was at a store with all the kids (after taking two trips to get there). A young man approached her and said he recognized her from the website. He lived in a different town but had heard about her from the Facebook Group. He said he and his fiance are supporting the family. And he's right...there's a check on the way from him.

These examples are indicators that good word spreads and motivates people to action! I told Lorraine I was going to share these stories, and she asked me to thank everyone from the bottom of her heart. She hopes to thank you personally one day. So, keep spreading the good word...so it continues bearing fruit.

Fresh Ideas From Someone I Never Contacted

Today I received an email from someone I never contacted, Ms. Aileen Galley, who is the Administrative Director for the Penn State Cancer Institute at Mount Nittany Medical Center. Ms. Galley said the Campaign email and webpage link were forwarded to her from a friend. Her email was both refreshing and informative, as she offered a couple fresh ideas for the Campaign:

Dear Chris - Your email and webpage was forwarded to me this morning by a friend. I think you have created something truly fantastic that I hope our whole community can get behind. I just wanted to check in to see if you had talked with any local car dealerships to get a discount/donation. I don't know that any could give a van away, but I wonder if they could give a substantial discount and generate some good press. Also, with the cost of gas these days, perhaps the gift could be raised to give this family a year's worth of free gas. Shaner Energy and Sheetz are two area businesses that come to mind - I know they have been very generous with other philanthropies. I hope this doesn't come off as unsolicited advice for a campaign you are obviously running so well. I will happily send a donation to you this week. My best to you, Aileen Galley

These are great ideas and I'll follow up on them - contact local dealerships as well as Shaner Energy, Sheetz and others that make sense.

Ms. Galley's email demonstrates the power of a viral campaign. I started with something small, someone did their part (emailed to Ms. Galley); Ms. Galley added her part (suggested fresh ideas); I'll do something that I didn't think of originally (act on her ideas); and in the end the Campaign will advance. Now this is cool!

By the way, the giving is up to $6,652. And we heard from Pastor Grabill of AoG - they will participate in the match! Can We Do This? Yes We Can!

Church offers to match other church's donation

When Pastor Dan Nold of Calvary Baptist Church (CBC) heard about the Van Campaign, he decided to issue a challenge to State College Assembly of God (AoG). Pastor Nold has committed that CBC will match whatever donation AoG gives, up to $500. This was a strategic challenge considering that Good Steward Software (GSS) is also matching every gift. So, if AoG gives $500 to the Campaign, CBC will match it, bringing the gift to $1,000. Then, GSS will match that amount, doubling the gift to $2,000. What began as $500 quadruples to $2,000. Now that's a good return on investment! Of course, we're thankful for any amount. Thank you to Pastor Nold for the match! We'll see what happens.