Photo above from Shot@Life Campaign literature. I adore this photo of the beautiful children who look so happy despite their poverty.  They are still just kids.

So what does it take to be a Shot@Life Champion?  What exactly is a Shot@Life Champion?  Why do I care?  Why should you care?

Over the next month, I am going to walk you through a series of posts leading up to the big launch of the Shot@life Campaign during the UN Global Immunization Week (the third week of April).  Here is post one in the series.

Back in January, I had the pleasure of attending an amazing event hosted by the UN Foundation to train, educate, motivate and inspire 45 men and women from around the nation.  The cause was simple:  Providing vaccines to children in developing nations.  The task was large:  Educating, promoting, advocating and fundraising for this amazing new initiative which would be launched in a few short months.  We were called “Champions” because we were the ones who were going to champion the cause from the ground up.

Why did I want to do it?  Simple.  Because I care.

As a mother of two children in a country where we have access to many things, I felt it was important to give other people around the world the same “Shot at life” that we have.  Yes, there is a great lack of food, safe drinking water, education, money and other basic things.  Yet vaccines are the one thing that for a small amount of money can have an enormous impact and save millions of lives.  As a person who is committed to volunteerism and giving back, the opportunity to work with Shot@Life seemed like the perfect fit.

I attended the summit, met amazing, inspirational people and left feeling even more committed, passionate and excited about my cause.   It also felt good to be working as a team towards achieving the same goal.  Teamwork was something I had left behind from my days in Corporate America and it felt good to be back.

So what has the last few months been like?  Busy, exciting and life-changing.  Here are some of the steps I’ve taken to promote my cause and prepare for the huge launch week, the third week of April:

• Established my own fundraising page on Crowdrise. Click here to see.  I love the way Crowdrise works!  You can add your info, share with others and fundraise individually or as a team.  Plus it is easy for people to contribute.  All you have to do is click the button that says “Donate” and voila!  Money is going to Shot@Life to help vaccinate children around the world.  (Just remember, anything helps and a mere $20 provides the four vaccines necessary to immunize one child for life).
• Have written Letters to the Editor and contacted local media.  This has been the hard part.  Unfortunately I haven’t had anything published….yet.  I feel slightly defeated but that will not stop me from trying.  I will pester them using my sales tactics until at least a small blurb on Shot@Life gets published!  (Too bad the media just wants the blood and guts kind of stuff, and the scandals.  Then again, that is why I blog.  To share more inspiring stories than what we read every day in the paper).
• Started planning the BIG event!  Yes, April 25th I am crazy enough to be inviting over 100 women in my community over to my house for a Shot@Life fundraiser.  Fellow blogger/founder of World Mom’s Blog Jennifer Burden ran the pilot party and it was a huge success.  I am going to do one myself by offering “Shots” of life for sale (shots of wine, desserts, etc) and all the money raised will be donated.  I am planning on a huge success yet I am relatively new to orchestrating a party and event of this size!
• Requested meeting with my local member of Congress.  I submitted the paperwork and am aiming to meet with our Congressman Keith Ellison, the second week of April.  Thankfully the UN Foundation has done some advocacy training with us so I feel more confident about doing this kind of work.   Now I just need to get a confirmed date!
• Met with local vendors asking for donations.  One of the best things about living in a city of this size is the community.  I feel like I know everyone and went to some of my favorite restaurants, bakeries and wine shops to ask for donations.  We’ll see if it pans out.
• The third week of April:  I am going to blog, advocate and promote Shot@Life like crazy.  Remember the green t-shirt I was wearing?  I plan on wearing this baby all week long!

Stay tuned….

For more information, please visit Shot@Life or check out my Shot@Life page on thirdeyemom.