Average Jane

Category: Charity

  • Help Average Jane Help Babies

    Shay Portrait I'm all signed up to do the March for Babies walk again. This year I'm on the Social Media Club of Kansas City team and we're hoping to raise a total of $5,000 to help ensure that all babies are born healthy.

    To inspire you to donate, I've posted an adorable photo of my niece as a baby. She will soon be turning 11 and was robustly healthy from the beginning, but many babies aren't so fortunate.

    I've set a personal fundraising goal of $300. I raised that amount easily a couple of years ago and you guys did most of the donating, so here's your chance to help out once again. I know money is tight, but even $5 would be much appreciated.

    If you're in the Kansas City area and you'd like to walk with my team, we'd love to have you. Just click the link in the first paragraph and register.

    Thanks in advance for your support!

  • Average Jane on Responsible Pet Ownership

    I grew up around a lot of animals, although not all of them were pets. We had dogs that came in and out of the house, cats that mostly lived in the barn, and horses, chickens and peacocks that obviously stayed outside. They were all well taken care of, especially once my parents got a clue about getting the barn cats spayed before they had a chance to get pregnant.

    IMGP2269These days, I have four cats of my own. Throughout my adulthood, I have had anywhere from two to five cats at once. The ones that are gone lived long, pampered lives. Unfortunately, many pets don't have that luxury.

    When I do volunteer work for a local pet rescue group, it makes me very unhappy to see how many people fail to take pet ownership seriously. I thought I'd make a list of the things that a responsible pet owner must do:

    • Understand that you're taking on a commitment that lasts for the pet's entire life. My cats have all lived to be 16-18 years old. Not all of them have behaved perfectly, so in some cases I've had to deal with their various issues for almost two decades. If you aren't in it for the long haul, don't get a pet.
    • Get your pet spayed or neutered. The world is full of wonderful animals with great personalities. There's nothing special about your particular pet's DNA. If you had any idea how many pets are euthanized in shelters each day, you'd never dream of facilitating the birth of yet another litter.
    • Provide regular medical care for your pet. They need vaccinations every year and any illness they get is best handled sooner rather than later. If your vet is too expensive, shop around or investigate low-cost clinics.
    • Give your pet wholesome food and fresh water at all times. However, don't overfeed. Do what you can to keep your pet at an optimum weight.
    • Make sure your pet receives the proper level of companionship and activity. Some breeds of animal do best with an animal companion. Others require a lot of attention from humans. Some animals need lots of exercise and others can be content with toys.
    • Provide a safe environment for your pet. Make sure they're sheltered from extremes of temperature and secured to prevent them from running off and getting injured.
    • Discipline gently. There's no excuse for treating an animal with harshness or violence.

    That's really about it. Not so hard, right?

    I have pets in my life because I love and enjoy them. I wish everyone felt the same.

  • Average Jane Supports Lee National Denim Day

    It's that time of year again! I've revived last year's Average Jane Team for Denim Day and I invite you to join my team and donate $5 toward the Women’s Cancer Programs of EIF by Friday, October 8th. Just click the graphic below.

     

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    Lee is doing a great giveaway on their Facebook page right now where you can win $500 in clothing and $500 to be donated in your name to the cause.

    Disclosure: Lee is one of my company's clients and I work on their account. However, I make the personal choice to participate annually in Lee National Denim Day.

  • Average Jane Puts Her Skills to Work

    My job title is Social Media Strategist. That means I help devise strategies for clients to incorporate social media into their corporate communications, marketing and even customer service practices. It includes blogger relations (which is interesting for me considering that I'm often on the receiving end of blogger pitches), and sometimes even handling a company's Facebook/Twitter/YouTube, etc. accounts on a day-to-day basis.

    I've mostly been putting this expertise to personal use when it comes to promoting my bands. My current cover band, Rock Machine, has a Facebook fan page and a MySpace page, both of which come in handy for inviting people to come out and see us play.

    I also recently started a Facebook account for Soroptimist International of Kansas City, MO. Even if you're not a member, you might enjoy "liking" the page to see how this venerable businesswomen's service organization is continuing into the 21st Century.

    Just yesterday, I became an admin of the Facebook page for The Animal Rescue Alliance (TARA), a local foster-based animal rescue group for which I volunteer. Up to now, my work for them has been mainly to take a shift each Sunday morning caring for the cats that are up for adoption at a Petco store. The volunteer who had been handling the Facebook page recently passed away, so it seemed almost selfish not to offer to take on the updates considering how well-versed I am in the medium.

    In addition to all that, I had an idea this week that I think will be a great value-added service for my husband's recording studio clients. He was talking to a band that had just recorded an album, urging them to start their promotion now – before the final CD copies are completed. I was eavesdropping (we were in my car) and said, "Tell them to submit it to Pandora now because they take a long time to evaluate songs."

    Even though I could only hear my husband's half of the conversation, it's obvious that the reply was, "What's Pandora?"

    That led me to a train of thought about offering a Band Promotion 101 session for the bands that record in the studio. I could spend a couple of hours teaching one or two of the most marketing-oriented members of a band how to optimize their Facebook and MySpace presences to promote their gigs and sell their songs. I could introduce them to the top online radio outlets, talk them through submitting their music to iTunes, CDBaby and other online stores, and basically just get them started down the path of growing their base of fans and customers. Sounds like fun!

    I already eat, sleep and breathe social media, so I'm always happy to jump in and do something new there. It's work, but it's also fun. How great a career is that?!

  • Help Average Jane Help Babies

    I may not have babies of my own, but I want everyone else's babies to be healthy. Next Saturday, May 1st I'm doing the March for Babies walk in Kansas City. If you can contribute even a dollar or two, I'd very much appreciate it.

    A big thank you to Cagey for contributing the first $25. Who's next?

  • Gift Card Giveaway from Average Jane

    Since I set a giveaway precedent last week (and by the way, congratulations to Mikey on winning the cookbook), I thought I'd continue through the rest of NaBloPoMo with a giveaway each week.

    This week I'm giving away a very special $25 Visa gift card called a GiveCard. Here's how it works:

    • You, the recipient, can go online to register your card and pick the charity of your choice to receive $5 (or more, if you like).
    • The rest of the card balance is available for you to spend like cash.

    That way you get two gifts in one: the ability to donate to a charity that's meaningful to you and also buy yourself a nice present. Even cooler, the company gives 10% of their profits to charity, so there's more spreading of the wealth behind the scenes.

    GiveCard partners with Charity Navigator, so there are thousands of charities from which to choose.

    If you'd like to win a GiveCard from me, just comment and tell me which charity you would choose to receive your donation. If you like, you can also say how you'd spend the remainder.

    Please enter by Thursday, November 19th at noon Central time. Once I choose the winner, I'll have the gift card sent to him or her directly.

    Disclosure: GiveCard is a client of my company and I work on their
    account. However, I am purchasing this prize with my own money and am
    not receiving any special benefit from conducting this giveaway.