Behind the Button

Buttons of Hope Go Global

New York, Boston, Rochester, Seattle, San Francisco, Sydney....yawn yet another global effort to honor and support a friend/colleague by wearing photo buttons. WAIT did you say Sydney?? as in Australia? ...no my friends this effort by Text 100 to honor their friend Lisa was much, much more ~ for heaven's sake she's dating Twilight's Rob Pattinson....duh!

Kidding aside I think what Lisa's friends at Text 100 pulled off is one of the coolest Behind the Button stories ever epitomizing the promise of these powerful little buttons! Support a friend ~ promote a cause ~ create some SMILES ~ change "a" world ~ all with a little bit of plastic, paper and metal!

I'll let Alicia tell you in her words what all this means to her and hundreds of Lisa's coworkers (around the globe)!

"Our beloved colleague and friend, Lisa, was diagnosed in August with stage four lung cancer. All of us who know her have endured the initial shock of seeing someone so healthy and full of life stricken by this awful disease. Since then, she has both inspired us with her courage and filled our thoughts daily as we strive to fill a void left by having such a positive and vibrant person temporarily taken away from us as she fights the battle of her life (key word here being "temporarily" because there is NO doubt that Lisa is going to beat this.)

When we learned of the Free to Breathe National Walk, without hesitation, current and former colleagues and friends from across the globe signed up and organized walks to show our love and support for Lisa and rally behind the noble cause so that someday no one will have to go through what Lisa is now enduring.

Walks were organized in New York City, Boston, Rochester, NY, Seattle, San Francisco, and even Sydney, Australia in honor of Lisa. All in all, we raised over $14,000.

What provided the comic relief we all needed, were the buttons you created for us. While we may have outed her secret crush of Tween heartthrob, Rob Pattinson, it was totally worth it for the collective smiles it brought to everyone’s faces, including Lisa herself. We learned of your company through the Free to Breathe website. Once we read of your work with charities and non-profits including the portion of the proceeds you donate to the causes, we knew that if we were getting buttons, they were going to be through you! Thanks for working with us to create the buttons especially on short notice, they turned out great!"

What a story! I'd like to say Godspeed to Lisa - you have a lot of people who care right there beside you - LIVESTRONG! And to everyone at Text 100 I hope you'll do what you do best ~ join me help spread the word about this "overlooked" disease lung cancer - and this story, Lisa's story. Follow Buttons of Hope on Twitter @buttonguy and become a fan on Facebook and then together on your Twitter, your Facebook let's spread the word around the globe!
Text 100 walks for Lisa *click on an image to enlarge

Who is on your button?...photo buttons are a powerful fundraising idea

People ask YOU about your cause...that's why photo buttons are such a powerful fundraising idea!

Erin Dennis gets around (in a good way)! Erin, a busy mom gets around to the supermarket, the Target, her church and school... and everywhere Erin and her girls (above) go people ask about Ellie Potvin! Why would a friend, family member or total stranger ask Erin about Ellie Potvin?

Because Erin is wearing a photo button with Ellie's 1000 watt smiling face and people can't resist asking Who is on your button? And every time they ask - Erin is ready to share her personal version of Ellie's story. 

I don't think Erin is using the button as a fundraising tool but if she were you can see how powerful a fundraising idea it is. Think about it...the hardest part (it's just human nature) of fundraising is asking for a donation - even just starting that conversation can be uncomfortable for many people..and yet with a button pinned to her shirt or her purse or knapsack - people start the conversation, they ask Erin. The other amazing - powerful thing to consider is that without the button none of these conversations would have happened! 

This is what Erin had to say about wearing the button...

"I've been asked about the Ellie Potvin button in many places - the bank, my church, the supermarket, Target, at the YMCA - people ask me all the time about the button - one mom even purchased one. Ooh - I forgot. I also wear my button to work - I teach at Community College. The students ask about Ellie every week we meet. One of my students even brought in a gift for me to give to Ellie!"

So next time you're looking to spread the word about a cause, honor a friend or raise money for a charity - consider making & wearing a custom photo button right here @ Buttons of Hope. Photo buttons may just be the most simply powerful fundraising idea...ever!

** Erin's kids weren't the only ones at the Miley Cyrus concert - here's Ellie (left) with her twin sister Grace and Ms. Montana and her button!

Everyone has a story...

....and they want to share IT! Everyone participating in a charity fundraiser has a story to share (often more than one) whether it be; Susan Komen Race for the Cure, Relay for Life, Memory Walk, March for Babies or Walk to Cure diabetes. There are literally millions of stories to tell!

Are you helping make their story part of your cause?

*watch for more more slides from the upcoming Buttons of Hope presentation and e-book of fundraising ideas. And please (I'm very proud) check out the short but sweet video "Could a photo button really change the world?" at TiltingatWIndmills.posterous.com

"I want to take in as much as I can" Jake Olson

If you wonder (as I do) if there are people left to truly believe in - genuine people, heroes - the answer is yes and here's proof!