Strength in Numbers

The power of the RT..

This week was a great week for you, the Santa Army and for a few young ladies that could have used some help.

When deciding what cause to advocate for I often will take into account the fact of who the person or persons are, what’s the need and is there a way to help the situation. I came across an article in the Vancouver Province newspaper the other morning regarding a couple of young girls in my local area that had fallen victim of a scam on Craigslist. The two girls had spent $500.00 on a couple of tickets to the “One Direction” concert in Vancouver that they had found on Craigslist. Yes, my first reaction is probably the same as your “why are you buying off Craigslist, what were they thinking “? Then as I read down the article I learned that the tickets were so good of a reproduction that a ticket broker had a hard time telling that they were fakes. That’s not what got me, it was the fact I read these young ladies 13-14 yrs old had managed to show initiative drive and dedicate all of their chore money, babysitting money and other various monies that they had earned and saved to this concert and to see their heroes. Thinking to myself I realized yes, the girls were somewhat naive when making such a big purchase on Craigslist but damn it they did everything right up to that point. We all try and teach our children that if you work hard and save your pennies you will be rewarded in the end, that’s what I teach and have been taught anyways. That’s the reason that I wanted to help. So the tweeting and Retweeting began a relentless assault on everyone I could think of that may be able to help. Finally a response from “@StubHub”. Sorry if I flooded your TimeLine.  

This morning I was thanked by a follower for what had happened with the girls and they quoted an article in the paper.  Did not even know it was written! http://www.theprovince.com/touch/news/Good+samaritans+help+scammed+teenagers/8675203/story.html?rel=838332

I would like to think that advocating for these girls made a difference in the outcome. I alone could not and will not take the credit for all of  what the girls have received in lieu of what they have gone through, it was collective group effort but I will give the credit to the power of social Media and recognize the tremendous strength and power just a simple “Retweet” and the participation of a group of people (Santa Army) can have on a person or person’s life that may need help.

Some of the special people I would like to thank for their efforts in helping these Girls

@theprovince   @ Stubhub    @catusclubcafe    Bank of Montreal    @realmaryagnes

I am positive that there are many more and I wish I could thank everyone personally.

On a final note I would like to thank @purdysChocolate for their commitment to community and the extremely generous experience there were able to provide for one of my clients.  I inquired to Purdy’s on behalf of my client, a young man who has Cerebral Palsy and is a HUGE fan of Purdy’s Chocolate, the representatives of Purdy’s were gracious and accommodating and my Client was granted an interview and tasting experience this week. This is prime example of why it is good to give back to your fellow man and your community.  My client stated to me that he will never forget how nice everyone was and for the ability to learn more about his favorite chocolate. They created a fan for life and a SMILE just as big.

Thank you again everyone who commits to kindness and is willing to help the #SantaArmy or anyone else do good deeds for others “ GREAT WORK , ALL OF YOU”

Your friend

Fraser Valley Secret Santa@fvsecretsanta