Obviously, I've been quite neglectful of this particular blog. I haven't posted here in over a year. The only reason I even thought to stick my head behind this curtain is because someone commented on a post I'd written regarding whether or not social media can turn you into a victim. I'm sure the commenter (who, by the way, appreciated the post) was simply doing a basic search on social media and various topics and happened to stumble upon my post. Cool, that's how the how game is supposed to work, isn't it? A post from long ago can resurface and get comments today. I love these inter-webs. They just might catch on.
I'm posting an article, I wrote for a magazine late last year, regarding using social media in connection with charity work and giving to others. However, I need to preface it by saying that Elizabeth Fallon, the person about whom it is most heavily written, passed away in January 2011.
Paying it Forward with Social Media
I’ve been so busy talking about what Social Media can do for your business that I’ve bypassed an opportunity to talk about something even more important than money. Fortunately, the story of Elizabeth Fallon reminded me that when it comes to Social Media, giving to others, giving to our communities and just plain GIVING are easier than ever. All it takes is the click of a mouse or the tap of a mobile phone, and suddenly, you’re paying it forward.
Elizabeth Fallon is a breast cancer survivor from Wales in the UK. (She now lives just outside of Portsmouth.) This young lady has the brightest smile and friendliest voice I’ve ever heard in someone who has every right to not smile or sound happy. Naturally, she has an adorable British accent, a chipper personality, and she’s just filled with hopeful light.
I met Liz at a friend’s birthday party a few weeks ago. She was here in the US visiting a childhood friend of hers who lives in Virginia. She also was able to take advantage of the opportunity to finally meet in person, her friends from Facebook.
Liz had become friends on Facebook with a woman (also named Wendy) who saw a picture that Liz had taken of herself in a silly-but-cute magenta (some call it purple) colored wig. Apparently, Wendy had been searching for a friend with a similar name and she saw Liz then noticed that she was a cancer survivor…like herself. See, Wendy had battled and beat lung cancer, so she reached out to Liz and said hello, and a friendship was forged. From this friendship, Wendy’s son Scott friended Liz, then Mike Gibbons “the button guy” also became Liz’s friend. This is how Social Media works, it’s a web that connects people to one another, and that’s what happened here. When Mike read about Liz’s second fight with breast cancer, he was “saddened and inspired” by her story. So when Scott came up with the idea to cheer Liz up with some buttons of her face in that magenta wig, Mike was on board. Wendy helped get the Buttons of Hope to Liz and now, they’ve gone viral.
At first, Liz thought she would sell the buttons to family and friends and raise a couple of hundred pounds for the local cancer support center. Within months, she was astonished to find that she had raised over £2,500 (over $3,000), and her amazement didn’t stop there. The positive energy that she got from the people who kept passing along the buttons helped to lift her spirits, and the darkness that had returned with her second diagnosis of breast cancer slipped away. She recorded a thank you to Mike for the Buttons of Hope, and her short video has become a beacon reminding us all “how powerful small things can be.”
People started posting their pictures on Liz’s Facebook page with the buttons as they literally traveled across the globe. Celebrities have had their photographs taken with Liz’s button; billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, Olympian Triple Jumper Jonathan Edwards and Theresa May the Homeland Secretary of England, are just a few who have had their picture taken with the button. I have a package of buttons on their way to an auction for the Ronnie James Dio cancer fund to be worn by several rock bands from the ‘80’s and today. Buttons of Hope have made their way to Mount Kilimanjaro, Las Vegas, the Carolinas, Spain, Australia, and many more places. In fact, when Liz got on the plane to make her trip across the Atlantic, all of the flight crew and the 300+ passengers were wearing them! The buttons are still on the go!
When it comes to “paying it forward”, everyone who posts pictures with the buttons to Facebook is doing their part in passing along Liz’s story. Buttons of Hope offer more than decoration; the buttons have helped inspire cancer victims and their loved ones, because they point the way to Liz. Elizabeth Fallon is such a bright character and her energy is contagious; she truly lights the way for those who are in the darkness of their fight with cancer.
January 17, 2011 - I am deeply saddened to share the news that Elizabeth Fallon passed into the brightest of lights this past weekend. She is missed and remembered with the deepest of love by those had and had not met her.
Wendy D. Wells is President of WD Wells Writing and Editing, LLC
She is a Charlotte, NC based, Telecommuting Copywriter, Professional Blogger and Editor.
wwells@wendywellswrites.com
Follow her on Twitter! @WendyWells
Friday, March 25, 2011
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