Shadow Day with the Dalton Agency

On Friday, October 29th, I shadowed Anna Burns at the Dalton Agency in Savannah, Georgia. The Dalton Agency, a national advertising and public relations firm, represents a wide range of global, national and regional clients. The agency provides award-winning creative designs and brand development, public and government relations, media placement, Web design, programming and television and radio production services.The Dalton Agency's headquarters are in Jacksonville, Florida but they have many branches, one which is in Savannah. Anna is their only employee but does an amazing job! I arrived at her apartment around 10a.m. and found out her only client is McDonalds. She is responsible for all of the PR and Advertising for McDonalds franchises that stretch from Charleston, SC to Brunswick, GA. Anna was so helpful, she entertained all of the questions I had and believe me, I had a lot! We started off by visiting a manager at his location and discussed their promotinal ideas for their grand re-opening after a renovation to the store. Their big event is on Black Friday and they are located next to the Savannah Mall so it should be a sucessful event. Anna has her hand in everything McDonalds does from the menu board designs to the advertisments placed in the newspapers. She is a very busy girl but is extremly organized. Anna has worked for the Dalton Agency for 5 years now and is wonderful at her job. I am so thankful I was able to shadow her for a day. I learned a lot about the profession and it really made me excited to get into the real world! Thanks Anna and the Dalton Agency for this wonderful opportunity!

PRSSA National Conference

Only five days until I fly to Washington DC to participate in the 2010 Public Relations Student Society of America's National Conference! I am so excited to participate in this opportunity and I sincerely hope I learn a lot for my future career in Public Relations.

(Each year, PRSSA and PRSA work to bring students like you unparalleled educational and professional development opportunities through the PRSSA National Conference. At Conference, you will have the opportunity to network with public relations professionals and make contacts with students from across the country. Resume workshops and speaker sessions will prepare you for the real world and show you how you can achieve success in this vast and exciting field.

Washington D.C. is filled with innovation and opportunity. As the host city of Conference, our historic capital provides the following advantages:

• Public relations firms to provide speakers and exhibitors.
• Politicians who can discuss public relations issues of domestic and international dimensions.
• Some of the nation's most respected journalists and media, such as The Washington Post.
• Museums that bring both history and culture to our city.
• Historical landmarks like the Washington Monument and the White House.
• A neighborhood for every mood, from trendy DuPont Circle to stately Capitol Hill.)

I am really looking forward to meeting the 2,000 professionals who will be at this event and although I may not get a job from it (which I am hoping I will be able to :) ), I am excited to hear from their experience in the profession and I am looking forward to all of the information I will learn! Stay tuned for the post Conference blog post to see how it all goes!

White Chicks Cherish Careers in PR

I recently found this post on the blog What White Chicks Cherish and thought it cute and also true...check it out!

White Chicks Cherish Careers in Public Relations and only Pharmaceutical Sales rivals PR in its white-chick-work-force dominance. Public Relations is a grueling and restless occupation—appointed with the dutiful task of portraying a perfect, socially acceptable appearance for exacting clients. And who expertly knows more about putting a glorious shine on appearance than the only species of human being capable of making sweat pants look adorable?

PR requires meticulous attention to detail, the ability to be charming in all social settings and a natural inclination for constant communication. There are plenty of social functions to plan and attend, demanding a relentless work ethic, a photogenic sense of style and the inherent need for of an arsenal of cute outfits. White chicks in PR work hard and play hard; the lines between the two commonly blurred. A Career in Public Relations affords white chicks dependable income and the chance to be engaged in social media while having an engaging social life. And they basically get to spend 40-plus hours a week talking to other white chicks.

White chicks were born for PR.

Help WWCC get some PR love on Facebook and Twitter!

Did You Know 4.0

1. Public Relations is more than just a party!

Most people associate public relations with party planning but there are a lot of logistics behind making the party successful. It is a beautiful thing to see an event unfold from start to finish and a huge sense of accomplishment that accompanies that.

2. The importance of social media.

Who knew Twitter and Blogs would play such an important role in my life. PR is taking a new direction and it is extremely important as a PR professional to know how to use social media.

3. Do not be afraid to beg.

PR is all about free stuff so do not be afraid or ashamed to beg for what you need. Connections are also very nice because they can usually get you what you want!

4. Good writing skills.

Having good writing skills is crucial in PR because we are constantly writing press releases, articles, newsletters or anything else someone may need. Being a good writer is important in any job so it is a great skill to have an continue to develop.

5. Network, Network, Network!

Get contacts from anyone and everyone you meet. You never know when they may have something that can help you. Look for networking contacts in the oddest places (grocery stores, weddings, conferences) you may be surprised who can help you out.

6. Do not procrastinate.

Procrastination can be your worst enemy. Do not wait until the last minute to do anything because you never know when it will need to change at the last minute and then you will not be prepared. Ask questions during your process to make sure you are on the right track.

7. Take things with a grain of salt.

If someone does not like your ideas do not take it personally. Keep shouting out ideas and brainstorming!

8. Be a team player.

Being able to work in a group is very important in PR. Work well no matter who your team mates are and be a contributing member.

9. PR women can do ANYTHING!

Never underestimate the power of a woman in PR. She knows how to do many many things in many many areas. She has connections anywhere and everywhere. She can make you look very good or very bad so stay on her good side!

10. Have fun!

We are in the best major around so make sure you have fun with it! No one can have more fun than us so keep a good attitude and spirit and do what you love.

Corporate Social Responsibility

International Dairy Queen, Inc. has been serving delicious food and treats since their founding in 1940 in Kankakee, Illinois. The Dairy Queen system is one of the largest fast food systems in the world with more than 5,900 restaurants in the United States, Canada and 20 foreign countries (dairyqueen.com).

The Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) creates real miracles by raising funds for local children’s hospitals. CMN hospitals represent the premier pediatric healthcare facilities in their respective communities, treating children of all afflictions, including cancer, birth defects, accidents and muscular and cardiovascular diseases. These hospitals treat more than 17 million children each year and are supported by their many sponsors, one major sponsor being Dairy Queen. The Dairy Queen system has been a proud national sponsor of Children’s Miracle Network since 1984 and has helped raise over $77 million dollars in 25 years. (chidrensmiraclenetwork.org)

Dairy Queen gives to CMN in many ways, a few being by hosting special events, collecting spare change and selling paper Miracle Balloons. Dairy Queen’s major annual CMN fundraiser is known as Miracle Treat Day and is held every year in August. On this day, portions of the proceeds from Blizzard sales benefit the children’s hospital in your local area. This year’s Miracle Treat Day will take place on Thursday, August 5^th and will once again prove “miracles do come true”! “Helping Kids One Blizzard at a Time”, is the motto Dairy Queen uses for Miracle Treat Day. For the last three years, Miracle Treat Day has encompassed both Canada and the United States. In 2009, the Dairy Queen System raised approximately $4.5 million just in Blizzard proceeds from this one-day event. A successful Miracle Treat Day combined with the sale of Miracle Balloons and canisters helped raise nearly $5.7 million for children in the United States and Canada. (miracletreatday.com)

Dairy Queen quickly learned the importance of social media when they increased their sales from Miracle Treat Day 2008 to 2009 by 50% from Facebook, Twitter, a DQ Corporate blog and a blog for the Blizzard Fan Club. www.miracletreatday.com allows visitors to log on and make a “promise” to eat a DQ Blizzard. Their name and pledge will be displayed on a floating Miracle Balloon on the home page. This website also allows visitors to make a direct donation to CMN and easily access their website as well as watch success stories for children helped by CMN.

The Miss America Organization is also partnered with CMN and often assist in the promotion of Miracle Treat Day by serving at a local franchise or participating in the media promotion such as TV and radio interviews. Miss America 2009, Katie Stam, served Blizzards in 2009 at the DQ in Orlando. “I am honored to be a spokesperson for Children's Miracle Network to promote Miracle Treat Day, as I know this event will do so much to help children in local hospitals throughout North America,” said Katie.

Dairy Queen also supports scholastic achievement for students of all ages. They offer opportunities for tours of the restaurant for students in grades 1-4 and teach the importance of cleanliness and hard work, along with making their own DQ cone. Dairy Queen also provides discount cards for students in high school or college. They often donate a frozen cake or other products for local school activities. Support Community is one of Dairy Queen’s values and it states, We believe in giving back to the communities in which we live, work, and do business.

To assist in the Haiti Relief, 45 DQ Employees volunteered at the Feed My Starving Children as a branch of DQ Cares at a site in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit. During two days, they packed a total of 78,336 meals for families affected. Dairy Queen also made a donation to Feed My Starving Children to help defray the cost of ingredients and packaging the food. (dairyqueen.com)

Dairy Queen loves to provide their customers with promotions and discounts. By joining their Blizzard Fan Club, you will be sent a coupon for a free Blizzard with the purchase of another and also receive coupons on your birthday. Today nearly 2.3 million members are apart of the Blizzard Fan Club and the numbers are still growing. Throughout the year in this club, members receive six free Blizzards. In honor of the Blizzard’s 25^th Birthday, Dairy Queen is hitting the road to distribute more than 75,000 free new Mini Blizzards, which will be available in stores in August. The Blizzard mobile will include activities, games, music and a chance to win prizes, all while raising awareness and funds for Children’s Miracle Network (businesswire.com). This event will be heavily promoted on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. As a continuation of this event, from April 19-25 Dairy Queen locations celebrated Customer Appreciation Week where customers could buy one Blizzard and get a second for only 25 cents.

The International Dairy Queen Company is a very generous one and loves to give to their customers, community and Children's Miracle Network.

Promoted Tweets

Twitter announced on April 13 that they will now be launching promoted tweets on Twitter.com. Sponsored advertisements will now be allowed to be displayed on the top of the search result pages. This means that Twitter will now be able to deliver contextually relevant ads to users. Some are skeptical about this because they are afraid Twitter is shying away from their original feel but others see this as an opportunity for advertisers to send a message to a broader more targeted audience. Just as Facebook's side ads appear, you will be able to "X" out ads that you do not like or do not appeal to you. Twitter says the same rule of 140 characters will apply to their advertisers because this is an important part of their site. This will cause those advertising to be very specific and to the point.

I see no harm in adding advertisements. Almost every website now has advertisements on the side and most people do not find them distracting. I have found numerous ads on the side of Facebook that have appealed to me because they take context clues out of your profile to target you. I believe it will be more difficult for Twitter to do this because you do not actually have an information section, just a short about me. This will give advertising one more inside perspective to social media. I think sponsored tweets will eventually become very popular and beneficial to everyone interested in advertising.

"Why Not!?"

In my Advertising Copywriting class we had a potential new public relations professor come speak about "Why people do not do what we want them to do", when you are calling them to action in a form of public relations.

The first reason is because "They Cant". They either do not have the financial resources or the time to do what you are asking them to do. You need to make it simple so many people can react to what you are asking of them, whether that be making it a necessity rather than a want so they can afford it or making it worth their time so they will set aside time to get it done. It is important for people to put what you are asking of them on a high priority and make it necessary for them.

Second, "They Don't Want to". What you are asking of them seems uninteresting and not worth their time or efforts so they will not do it. As I said before, you must make it a priority to them so they will actually want to go out and act on the call to action. You do not want someone to look at your product or event and be uninterested by it. You want your target audience to feel like they MUST act and act now.

Third, "Nobody asked them". Make your call to action fitting for your target audience. Make them feel as it they are wanted and needed. If you appeal to a tiny market, not as many people will feel targeted and not very many will act. You need to make it as broad as possible while still reaching the same target.

I really enjoyed this presentation because usually you only think of how to get people there but you do not really stop and think why they are not actually doing it. These three categories are great things to think about before you plan event or try and sell a product because if you avoid these three, you will most likely have the perfect outcome!

Summer Internship

Well I finally nailed one! After many sent emails and two interviews, I have taken a Summer internship with Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro, GA. I am really excited about this opportunity because I will be allowed to get my feet wet in many different aspects of public relations and advertising. I am not exactly sure what my specific jobs will be but I do know that I will be writing press releases, photographing events, finding ad placements and working various events. A good thing about this internship is that we do not work on Fridays so I will be working 27 hour weeks which will equal 7 hour days, not bad! One event I am extremely excited about working is the Farmer's Market in Statesboro. It happens every Saturday in the Spring and Summer and is a great time for locals to come shop around and mingle outside. I love this part of Statesboro and it will be great that I get to work it. My boss seems very helpful and will be a great mentor so I am looking forward to working under him. Ogeechee Tech is a great school and I am excited to represent them this summer. I already have purchased some cute internship outfits so now I am really excited! For more information on Ogeechee Technical College click here!

Chick-Fil-A Spirit Day!

The Gamma Sigma Chapter of Phi Mu Fraternity hosted a Chick-Fil-A Spirit Day in Milledgeville, GA to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. It was a WONDERFUL success bringing in over $700 for CMN! We got to keep 10% of all receipts collected at Chick-Fil-A that day. Our girls worked shifts from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and collected receipts, bussed tables, refilled drinks, opened doors and danced by the road to generate traffic. We had a table in the corner of the restaurant where people could drop their receipts or give a donation, we also had glass jars at the registers, and we also had girls by the drive-thru window grabbing receipts from those people. We had so many generous people visit our table and we also collected donations. To promote this event we made a Facebook group and I designed this lovely picture shown as the promotion picture. We all changed our default pictures to this picture on Monday. We made flyers and 1/4 sheets to pass out at a table by the A & S Fountain on Monday. We also stuck flyers on cars (not a good idea GCSU was not happy). We personally invited each member of Panhellenic to come as a Greek Sisterhood Night between 6:30 and 8:30. We had many girls from other sororities come and support us and we are so thankful for that! The Marketing Director of Chick-Fil-A was very proud of us and wants us to do another Spirit Day in the future. CMN is such a wonderful organization so it was easy to get people excited about giving to it. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported Phi Mu and the

Children's Miracle Network!

ShopLocalMilledgeville.com

On Saturday, March 13th my public relations group consisting of me, Courtney and Cara, set up a booth in the Milledgeville Mall to promote Digital Bridges' new venture, www.shoplocalmilledgeville.com. We arrived at 9 a.m. and set up a very professional looking table that enticed others to come and see what was going on. The event ended around 5 p.m.. We made promotional material to distribute such as flyers and posters and also had an interactive game for people to play. We filled a glass jar with pennies that represented the number of local businesses in Milledgeville and had people guess how many local businesses they thought were in Milledgeville. We had a little over 20 people play the game and in return they received a Chick-fil-a coupon. We also had the people fill out a survey of what they did and did not like about shopping in Milledgeville. Of course we had candy on our table which helped entice people in and keep them there. Over all I believe it was a very successful event. We talked to many people and really promoted the new website. Everyone seemed interested and I think that once the website gets up and going it will be very beneficial to everyone in the Milledgeville-Baldwin County area. Digital Bridges has a lot to work with from our group and will be able to keep this project successful. Our group did an awesome job and achieved our goal.

Phi Mu Fraternity Celebrates 158 years of sisterhood

The ladies of Phi Mu Fraternity at Georgia College and State University celebrated their National Founders Day on March 4, 2010.

The Gamma Sigma Chapter of Phi Mu began the celebration by supporting National Badge Day on Monday and wearing pink to campus followed by a Founders Day Ceremony, "Pink & Pearls", with the local Milledgeville Alumnae Chapter. With old stories and dessert, these women were able to bond over many generations of sisterhood. Phi Mu is the oldest sorority at GCSU and has been on campus for 36 years.

"It was really interesting to hear what Phi Mu at GCSU was like in the past and it makes me excited for so many more memories we will get to share together," said Brenda Bryant, an active member in Phi Mu Fraternity.

On Thursday, March 4, Phi Mu hosted a Rock-A-Thon on the GCSU campus and collected spare change for their national philanthropy, The Children's Miracle Network.

Gamma Sigma President, Brooke Brookins said, "Rock-A-Thon is a creative way to benefit CMN and get the students at GCSU involved. This is our second year hosting a Rock-A-Thon and all the Phi Mu's love participating."

Phi Mu Fraternity is the second oldest secret society for women, and was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga by Mary Dupont Lines, Mary Myrick Daniel and Martha Hardaway Redding in 1852. Phi Mu has chapters across the United States and nearly 150,000 collegiate and alumnae members. Phi Mu provides personal academic development, service to others, commitment to excellence and lifelong friendships through a shared tradition. Phi Mu encourages our members to imagine, believe and achieve their aspirations.

The Founders' Day Challenge

In honor of Mary, Mary and Martha, Phi Mu Foundation is launching its first ever chapter challenge virtual campaign. Their goal is to raise $18,520 in the month of March in honor of our Founder's Day on March 4th. The Foundation asked every Phi Mu to give up one dinner out to eat and donate it Phi Mu Foundation. They made it very simple by going to www.phimufoundation.org or Phi Mu Foundation's Facebook page and click the GIVE NOW button. Phi Mu Foundation supports leadership, scholarship and philanthropy. Their slogan is Women Helping Women...Sisters Helping Sisters. I personally thought this challenge was unattainable and did not believe it could be made in one month but boy was I proven wrong. Today is March 7th and we have already surpassed our goal! I attended Phi Mu Leadership Academy this weekend in Peachtree City where all current chapter presidents, one emerging leader and chapter advisor attended a leadership seminar. Before we arrived in PTC the Foundation had already raised $6,000. They made a presentation and asked us to give that day and boy did we! Three leaders from each Phi Mu chapter together raised $13,134.98 making the current total $18,670.50! We passed the goal within 30 minutes. Of course Phi Mu Foundation does not want to stop there and will continue to ask our chapters to give because they give back so much to the collegiate chapters but it is amazing to me that that much was raised in so little time. This challenge was great PR for Phi Mu Foundation because many collegiate members did not know what the money they give to the Foundation goes toward and now that all chapter presidents are fully informed they will take the information back to their chapter and ask them to give. A part of this challenge is that National Headquarters is bringing in a trained Foundation member to speak to every collegiate chapter across the US and better inform them. This will take a lot of money and time planning this travel but they believe it will be worth while to be personal with the girls. I love everything Phi Mu Foundation stands for and I am happy to donate my money to help my sisters today as well as tomorrow.

GCSU Purple Glove Dance

Relay For Life in Baldwin County has reached a new level and it includes dancing around in "Purple Gloves". A national campaign that benefits 4THEFIGHT against cancer will donate $5000 to the group or organization with the winning "Purple Glove Dance". The contestants must upload their video to Youtube and the video with the most views wins $5000 donated to their local Relay For Life. A few Georgia College & State University students came together to film GCSU's efforst in winnign this contest. This event was great PR for Relay For Life because it gives contestants an interactive way to get involved and support the fight against cancer. The people who headed it up at GCSU got many RSO's involved and I personally believe that the video is wonderful. Everyone I know at GCSU got very involved in the filming and excited for what the video represents. I really hope Baldwin County Relay For Life wins this money because our video has a very good message and did a great job promoting what the true meaning of Relay is about. To view the GCSU Purple Glove Dance, click here!

Real World 2010

On Friday Feb. 19, the Georgia Chapter of PRSA hosted Real World PR for members of PRSSA at the Loudermilk Center in Atlanta. It was a day for PRSSA members to gain insight from professinals who already are working in our fields of interest.

It started out an early morning departing from the Milledgeville Starbucks at 5:30 a.m. and driving two hours. We arrived to breakfast and an opening session which was a general overview of what the day would entail. They gave us a few key points for meeting professionals. First, always smile. Second, have a great elevator speech that includes who you are and things you do. Third, take notes on the back of the business cards so you will not forget what you two talked about. Fourth, network with your peers. There were students from all over the southeast there and it was a great opportunity to learn more about what they are doing in their classes and with their internships.

We later had our first session and the one I attended was entitled, "Agency or Corporate". Agency was described as a 24/7 job where the employee can always contact you. You have weekly meetings with your account team but other than that you are working on your own client. Corporations is more about how important PR is to your business to ensure good communication. Both are very fast pace, entail a variety of things, require working with perfection and can be unpredictable. Some other valuable information they shared was you need to stay at a business for at least three years. If not you will seem uncommitted. They said quality writing was very important and also be a good reader. Learn how to write short sweet sentences. I learned about becoming APR certified and how important it is. "PR is a management function, not a marketing function." I do not believe I am cut out to work in an agency. Everything is too cut throat and fast pace for me and I like to focus on one thing and perfect it rather than jump from client to client.

The second seminar I attended was "Focus on Healthcare, Nonprofit and Government". I learned that will all three of these you are presented with a lack of resources. You use what you have. You do however have a lot of ownership in how you want to take the PR. It is important to be a sponge and soak up all the information you can because you may not be familiar with the section of work you do and need to be familiar with the terminology. It is important to make friends with reporters so they will go to you for information. I like the pace of the Nonprofit because it is for a good cause so it is not as cut throat as some of the other sectors.

After this session we ate lunch and listened to Sean Cassidy speak on the evolution of entertainment and celebrity PR from publicity to brand building.

After lunch we had resume critiques and sat at a round table with a professional about what a good resume should look like. Unfortunately our table leader was not very helpful but I did get a girl's awesome resume who was at my table and I will play off of hers for ideas.

Over all I had a great experience at Real World PR 2010 and learned a lot of valuable information. Public Relations is such an exciting field to work in and I am excited to be apart of it and see where my future will take me! #RW2010

Ms. GCSU Campaigning

It's that time of year again when banners hang, Facebook groups are made and tables by the fountain are abundant, Ms. GCSU campaigning. Sororities and large RSO's at GCSU take this week to campaign for their candidate and try to get their member to be GCSU's homecoming queen. In my personal opinion the campaigning at Georgia College is WAY over the top. Most schools make a Facebook group and stickers and call it a day, but not GCSU, we must think of slogans, and make it a cat fight to see who will win. Chalking the sidewalks causes the most controversy and thankfully GCSU decided to make it illegal to chalk this year which I know all sororities were thankful for. Phi Mu has big shoes to fill because our Keri Allgood was Ms. GCSU last year and we would love to carry on the title. In Phi Mu this campaign is the job of the Public Relations Chairman but it literally takes the whole sorority to get the job done. My roommate is a candidate so I have done a lot of the campaign work for this year's Ms. GCSU elections. As a PR major I know what needs to be done and in what fashion so I do not mind taking it upon myself to get most of the work done. Her name is Emily Brown and her slogan is "Brown for the Crown". We also have used the UPS logo and said "What can BROWN do for YOU?" I have designed many of the flyers and posters she is using in her campaign as well as the Facebook group. Although this is stressful for me, Emily deserves to win and it is all worth it. I hope Saturday at the Basketball game when they announce the winner her name is called and all of our hard work will have been worth while. Good luck to all the candidates and let the best PR win!

Super Bowl XLIV took place Sunday, February 7th resulting in a win for the New Orleans Saints. Apart from the hype of the game, the Super Bowl advertisements are one of the most anticipated events of the year. People love to critique and evaluate the ads they saw, and some go as far as voting for their favorite. The number one advertisement for this Super Bowl was one for Mars Snickers. Of course from paying millions of dollars for your advertisement, the companies expect good returns and for Go Daddy.com this was exactly right. Go Daddy reached an all new record from their Super Bowl commercials this year although some of the ratings were very poor from their two commercials that aired. Go Daddy had some of the most internet traffic after their commercials were aired and reached their personal record of having the most new customers than any other Super Bowl Sunday. Go Daddy also was a trending topic on Twitter the night of the Super Bowl. It amazes me that although the commercials were not highly rated, they still generated interest and traffic to the website which is what Go Daddy was aiming for. These commercials are not just advertisements but also a form of PR because they are talked about for months after and generate constant traffic to your business. Although these placements are very expensive, if you advertisement is good, or in this case just interesting, you will get the results you want to see.

Twitter Challenge

My Public Relations Campaigns class has been assigned a "Twitter Challenge" for a week. From Wednesday to Wednesday we are to tweet at least 35 times which is a minimum of 5 times every day. This will be difficult in itself because most of us have only had Twitter for a semester and I just cant think of 5 things to say on Twitter in a day but I am trying very hard! In addition to the first challenge we also must follow at least 25 more practitioners of public relations and social media and try to engage in a conversation with them. I have tried to do the 5 tweets a day and right now I believe I am on track but it is so hard to keep up with! The second part of the challenge is even more difficult because not many PR Professionals want to follow me! I will try and add them and then I get no response. I currently have 84 followers and if you ask me, thats not to bad! I do believe Twitter is a great social media tool because there is so much you can do with it. I recently created a list for all of the Phi Mu's at GCSU, only one from my class is following it so far but hey, more might soon! I love to see local businesses and people I know join Twitter because I would much rather follow someone I know than a stranger in cyber space. Well wish us luck on this challenge, hopefully we will all pass with flying colors and don't end up "tweeted out"!

Haiti Earthquake Relief

Mobile giving for the Haiti Earthquake Relief has reached over $30 million in donations. This money has been donated from Americans and Canadians and it is very simple by the Mobile Giving Foundation. You can donate money by texting a keyword to a designated short code via a mobile phone, a micro-donation of $5 or $10 can be made to aid the millions of people affected by this tragedy. 100% of your donation goes to the recipient charity, and the donation appears as a charge on your carrier bill, standard rates may apply. Tweets such as "Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to @RedCross relief" helped make others aware of ways to donate.

It is amazing to me that by simplifying the way people can donate money, numbers fly through the ceiling! Standing in front of a mall with a bucket asking for donations is no longer the way to go. People like for things to be short and sweet and the Mobile Giving Foundation has done just that. I really like this form of PR because it is actually benefiting people in need. This campaign has shown us that people are willing to give, you just must figure out a way that is convenient for them.

I felt most inclined to donate to and promote the Children's Miracle Network fund in Haiti. This special fund will directly benefit pediatric hospitals in the Children’s Miracle Network that are supporting the Haiti crisis relief efforts. Here are just a few examples of how Children’s Miracle Network hospitals are supporting Haiti relief and the type of care that will be supported by the Children’s Miracle Network Haiti fund:

-Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh accepted more than 50 Haitian orphans into the hospital; all are triage patients.

-The US Department of Health and Human Services has asked Le Bonheur Children’s in Memphis, Tenn. to provide two pediatric medical teams to assist in Haiti – a surgical critical care team and a critical care transport team. The hospital is also sending supplies and pharmaceuticals to Haiti.

-Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, R.I. sent two craniofacial surgeons, one of which previously spent a year working in Haiti. Medical supplies - including surgical packs, gauze, scalpels, sutures, anesthesia, gowns, surgical drapes, and more - have also been provided to the area.As part of Orlando Health-Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is collaborating with the US Department of Health and Human Services and other organizations to provide support and care to evacuees coming to Central Florida who need medical treatment.

Phi Mu's philanthropy is CMN so this is very close to my heart and I am very happy to see this up and thriving. You can donate $10 to the CMN Haiti Fund by texting "HAITICMN" to 85944.

When you Google search "Haiti Earthquake Relief" it actually scrolls through tweets of people talking about the Haiti Relief Fund. It is so cool that we not only have access to this type of technology such as Twitter, but you can actually see what people are talking about. This technology has been a huge help to the people of Haiti and I am so glad that so many people find the need to give.