Monday, November 18, 2013

KidLit for the Philippines, an on-line Auction/Fundraiser

When the earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan, I was impressed by the KidLit4Japan fundraising efforts spearheaded by Greg R. Fishbone in an on-line auction. Later, Kate Messner ran a highly successful online auction called Kid-Lit Cares to benefit victims of superstorm Sandy. To say the KidLit community is supportive of those in need would be an understatement. The donations and bids in both efforts were amazing.

As I watched news of the devastation in the Philippines, I knew I had to do more than just send a check and be done with it. The Philippines is a country near to my heart- I lived there for a year as an exchange student and still have friends and "family" there. In many ways, I "grew up" in the Philippines.

So I reached out to both Greg and Kate for guidance. Each has been gracious and supportive of my efforts. They've given me advice, shared tips, and helped with "back end" logistics. They even agreed to let me copy their guidelines to save me from having to reinvent the wheel.

And so began my journey of building an on-line fundraiser.

Next, I  messaged some illustrator friends to see if they might design a logo/button for the Facebook and Twitter pages and for participants to place on their blogs and websites. I had multiple responses within minutes. Some offered to submit button designs while others offered pieces for the auction.  Within a couple of hours of sharing my idea with a few people, I had more offers of donations coming in and I hadn't even set up my systems, yet.

KidLit peeps are amazing.

If you're not an author, illustrator, agent, or editor, etc, don't fret! You can help by bidding on items and spreading the word as widely as you can once this all goes live.

If you are a KidLit person and want to make a donation, PLEASE don't email me, yet. With Greg's help, I'm setting up an on-line form to streamline the process. I'll send out donation guidelines via SCBWI Yahoo! Groups, post them on Facebook, and make an announcement here once everything is in place.

ADDED 11/19. Want to donate? Read more on my donation page.

In the meantime, you can follow this blog (on the right sidebar enter your email address and click submit), "like" the Facebook page and follow the new Twitter account to get announcements. You can also use the hashtag, #KidLitPhil

Thank you, in advance, for your support. Stayed tuned for more information in the next day or two.

Have you run an on-line auction? Do you have advice to offer? If so, please leave a comment or email me. michelle(at)michellecusolito(dot) com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Again, the donation page.

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