The Red Shoe Project
Oh cool. I like this. I can finally write a blog post that’s somewhere on the southside of 1500 characters. Who knew?!
Man, it’s like magic. About ten minutes ago I tweeted about my new red shoes giving me some new red blisters and the next thing you know I’ve got invitations to join the #redshoeproject. So I took a look at their Facebook group, snapped a quick shot of my offending shoes, and now I’m ready to join a really innovative public relations and fundraising project. This is one of the beautiful things about social media. The power it has to connect people quickly to causes and organizations that thrive on volunteer participation.
My New Red Shoes is an organization out of San Francisco that was founded in 2006 by Heather Hopkins. The whole premise is to give children from underprivileged families the empowerment of self-esteem through new clothes. The idea is that when parents have a hard time coming up with money for new school clothes, their children start the first day of school feeling inferior to their more shiny classmates. My New Red Shoes helps to provide new clothes for children at a critical time in the development of their self worth. Isn’t this concept amazing? Talk about making a real impact with such a simple action.
So here’s where The Red Shoe Project comes in. Michael Long (aka The Red Recruiter) has put his passion for social media to work by creating a program that identifies worthy causes and allocates one year to raising money and awareness for that cause. This year (through April 2010) he’s focused on My New Red Shoes. Here’s how it works: Snap a photo of yourself in red shoes and post it to the Facebook Group. The goal is simply to create awareness. Group members have taken the concept and given it wings through special Red Shoe Nights and themed events. At the end of the year Michael plans to create a highlight YouTube video. Pretty amazing use of social media. Michael’s innovation gives non-profits and social media strategists a lot to think about.
So yeah, I’m already thinking of what kind of cool red shoe photo to put on the Facebook Group.
In the meantime, maybe I need to sneak away and do some shoe shopping. A girl can always use a new pair of shiny red shoes. But this time I’ll remember to bring the Band-aids for those shiny new blisters I’ll also no doubt be acquiring.
