Writing Samples

YYY Proposal for Marketing Plan – XXX Company

In the few years since its inception, XXX Company has established itself as the name behind the Philadelphia queer community’s most popular, diverse, and forward-thinking party for women. Much more than a celebration, XXX Company provides its fan base the opportunity to become more involved in the community, by offering volunteer events and a special party which focuses on benefiting local nonprofits.  Not only has XXX Company earned the accolades of Philadelphia’s queer community as a provider of truly unique events, but the co-founders have been featured in several widely-distributed publications, as well as personally recognized by Mayor Michael Nutter as distinguished community leaders.

The next step is finding a way to harness the buzz and incredible fan base that XXX Company has achieved.  By kick-starting its current marketing strategy, XXX Company can become a major name in exhilarating queer parties with a significant connection to community improvement. YYY is poised to provide the tactics and tools needed to make this happen.  Through a cohesive online strategy, we can at once articulate XXX Company’ goals and mission, and reflect its unprecedented success and local impact.  To leverage its considerable social media following, the website will undergo improved functionality which will allow the XXX Company fans to engage in a constantly evolving conversation that comes from every new event. Building clear channels between the website and social media outlets will make information about new volunteer events and parties immediately available and relevant to the community.  This up-to-the-minute sharing of new material will also allow XXX Company to reach new demographics beyond its already extensive local following. YYY is ready to harness the power in today’s constant virtual conversation, and take XXX Company to the next level.

ABC Charity Blog Posts

“Peanut Butter Jelly Time”

For as long as I can remember, “peanut butter and jelly” has been an iconic combination – a beautifully matched pair against which all other pairs should be measured. With a little research, I found out that peanut butter was first invented as a health food – an easy to digest form of protein for people who either couldn’t afford meat, or oddly enough, couldn’t chew it. The peanut butter of the early 1900s likely was more of a gritty peanut “paste” and was not an object of foodie fandom.
When World War II hit, peanut butter and jelly were both items in a soldier’s ration box. The way the story goes, the soldiers used the jelly to sweeten the ultra-healthy peanut-paste sandwiches, and boom – a star was born! When the servicemen returned home, they all hollered, “We want peanut butter and jelly!” The industry answered, Peter Pan and Skippy were born, and somehow cheap, healthy, and delicious all converged to create a food icon.
It wouldn’t be long before two slices of bread became old news and PB&J found its way into far more interesting vehicles. Bars, cookies, smoothies, pies, you name it!  Not only are peanut butter and jelly endlessly versatile ingredients, but they themselves offer a modicum  of variety – chunky, smooth, natural, strawberry, raspberry, grape.  There is practically no way to get bored with these flavor combinations.
These days, war rations are not a relevant issue, but finding affordable and nutritious food is a prevalent concern.  Kids are tough to please, money is tight, and pressure on families to “do it all” is higher than ever.
ABC Charity is sensitive to the needs of the community, so one of our many ways to lend a hand is the Love campaign.  Every time we get a “like” on Facebook between now and Valentine’s Day, XXX Grocery Store will donate 1 jar of peanut butter or jelly to us. Last year this campaign did amazingly well. In just 14 days, we secured nearly 3,000 jars of PB&J for those in need but we can do better.  It’s just a click!   And each click will help another person in need in the Delaware Valley enjoy something tasty, something nutritious. This is a sandwich whose history is rooted in a time when everyone had to pull together, because there was practically nothing to go around.  Trust me, there’s plenty to go around these days – we just need to get it to the people who need it.  Let’s spread that love!


“Tis The Season”
The holidays are undoubtedly a special time for many people.  You get together with family and friends, uncles and grandmas fly in from all over, you spend days cooking elaborate meals and chasing the dog out of the kitchen.  It’s stressful, hectic, but ultimately satisfying and heartwarming.  We’re getting together for the sole purpose of being thankful.  We’re gathering around a table because we want to take a minute to think about just how lucky we are to have what we have, and to have each other.
With this in mind, it’s no surprise that we also think of those who have far less.  Those who struggle each day for not only food, but shelter, love, or support. At a time when the oven and cupboards and guest rooms are full, our minds go to those who have nothing, and we want to give. What better time than the holidays?
We here at ABC Charity are in the business of collecting from those who have, and giving to those who have not enough, to put it simply.   This time of year, we hear from lots of people who want to take a day out of their busy lives and help someone else.  It’s wonderful – committing a selfless act is important for everyone to do now and again.  But I have noticed a trend, especially around this time of year.  People come from the woodwork and want to help on Thanksgiving or Christmas, but no other day.
I understand the feeling – you have so much, and you want to make things better for someone who has so little.  But this situation begs the question – where do those who have so little go on the other 363 days of the year? True, the winter is tough on people whose finances are strained – higher heating bills eke in on the monthly food allowance for many.  But the middle of summer is just as tough on a struggling family as November is.  Hunger isn’t a seasonal issue, it haunts our neighbors and friends and those we haven’t met all the time, without discrimination.
My plea to those of you who want to help during this time of year is simple.  ABC Charity distributes food all year.  Our nearly-500 member agencies serve food to their clients all year.  The soup kitchens and homeless shelters that provide temporary relief for those in need are doing so all year.  Philadelphia and New Jersey need you all year.  Along with volunteering this holiday season, I beg you to also try Thanksgiving in April, or Christmas in August.  Mix it up – I promise you that a selfless act in the middle of summer feels just as good as it would this Thanksgiving.
So come when you can.
We’ll be here.

 

ABC Charity Direct Mail Copy

Holiday 2011

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sample,

Thank you! Your support of ABC Charity makes a vital difference to your Delaware Valley neighbors who don’t have enough to eat.

For many of us, the holidays are a time to celebrate with those we love. We tell stories and jokes at parties, we catch up with old friends – and we share meals around a table.

So many of our Delaware Valley neighbors don’t have enough food to eat, and this joyous time of year can serve as a painful reminder of just that.

Mr. and Mrs. Sample, I am sure you agree that no one should go hungry in our community – not this season, or any season. Your support and generosity make it possible for ABC Charity to be there when we’re needed most. With your help, we can be sure to provide men, women and children in need with the best possible holiday gift – a warm, healthy meal to share with one another.

We have so much to be thankful for this season. Please don’t let an empty holiday table stop families in need from fully celebrating this time of togetherness and joy.

Your support means so much to working parents struggling to feed their children... seniors living on fixed incomes... and all the hungry people we serve. With a gift today, you will help put food in their refrigerators, fill their empty plates, and give them a joyful reason to celebrate.

Thank you for making the holidays brighter for our hungry neighbors. We are truly grateful for your ongoing support. May you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday season!

Matching Gift 2012

Shelly, an outspoken mother of three put it to me best one spring afternoon while she waited in line at one of our food distribution sites for the first time: “Some weeks I work less, so I make less, so we eat less.  And there are so many people here like me…  Do you have trouble getting enough food to feed everyone?”

It pained me to nod in affirmation to Shelly – this year, the cost to acquire food and our operating costs are more than we budgeted for. National manufacturers have reduced their food donations to us. We try to be smart about our resources, and work as efficiently as possible, but it is getting more difficult to keep up with increasing costs.

While it’s tough for us, it’s even worse for the families we serve.  This economy has given many people smaller paychecks, and more reasons to line up at the food pantries and soup kitchens we serve.  Those organizations turn to us for the food they so desperately need, and it is harder than ever to meet the demand.

Fortunately, you have the opportunity to make this task a great deal easier. For a limited time, your gift to ABC Charity can have twice the impact!

A generous group of ABC Charity supporters have once again come forward to give you the chance to double your impact in the fight against hunger. They have collectively pledged $XX,000 to a fund that will match your gift, dollar for dollar – if you give by June 15^th.  That means you can make a $2 difference for only $1!

Please take the ABC Charity Matching Gift Challenge today and your gift of $LG will be worth 2x$LG.  With our ability to turn every dollar into enough food for 2 complete meals, your $LG will provide 4x$LG meals for hungry people in the Delaware Valley!

I am not writing to tell you that this situation is hopeless. In the past 28 years, we have seen as many hard times as easy ones.  But we have always refused to tolerate hunger in our community.  With you by our side, we will continue to feed the hungry, no matter how difficult the task becomes. Your help is paramount to this effort – thank you for your generosity and your compassion.

I have enclosed matching gift coupons to make certain your gift will go twice as far. Just indicate the amount you’d like to give on the enclosed reply slip and fill out your personal check for the same amount. Then return your check, your reply slip, and the corresponding matching gift coupon in the envelope I’ve provided.

Shelly is not the first person to come to us for help in feeding her family and she won’t be the last. If you can help us with a generous gift today, we can make sure we’ll always be there for the people who need us, come what may.

Thank you for being there for us. Thank you for being there to fight hunger.

Special Appeal 2012

Dear XXX,

Families, these days, come in all shapes and sizes.  Individuals are bonded together by blood or circumstance, but we continue to care for one another in loving, supportive groups.  Mothers, too, are as different as can be.  To mother, according to the dictionary, is to take as one’s own, to tend to, nurse, mind, or raise – something anyone with love in their hearts can do.

Sadly, children born into poverty are oftentimes raised by caregivers who are unable to nurse, requiring the purchase of expensive infant formula.  Many times, these caregivers are unprepared for the economic hardship this expense can create. In addition, because of the state of today’s economy, many families are faced with difficult decisions on how to provide proper nutrition to their children.  This can result in infants receiving watered-down formula, or being started on solid food before their bodies are ready. In short – these children are at risk of malnutrition.

While being hungry can be chased away with a filling meal, malnutrition stays with its victims for years, often forever.  Insufficient nutrition in the first 2 years of life can lead to years of struggle with depression, diminished cognitive development, contracted physical development, anemia, weakened immunity, and in some cases, an increased mortality rate in children up to 5 years old.

Though the simple act of writing this makes my heart heavy, I am writing because thanks to ABC Charity’s Healthy Baby program, you can help. For the past 12 years, more than 250 area churches, synagogues, and other faith-based communities have joined together to raise funds for this program, which allows us to purchase nutrient rich formula, which we can then provide to families struggling in our communities.

This Mother’s Day weekend, will you join us to make sure all babies have a healthy start in life? It’s easy to participate – just inspire your congregation to have a special Healthy Baby collection. We can even provide envelopes for you to hand out. Then, simply donate the funds to ABC Charity. I have enclosed a blue reply card for you to return by (this date), indicating how many Baby Manna materials you will need to complete your drive.

This year, as we give thanks for mothers of all shapes and sizes who have assumed us as their own, please remember the children who need your help. I hope you will commit to participating in Healthy Baby this year. If you have any questions, please contact (this person). Thank you for choosing to make this Mother’s Day special for so many women in the Delaware Valley by giving the gift of nutrition to the babies they love.