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Dear :
Hello and happy new year! We're pleased to welcome 2008 with our first newsletter -
highlighting some activities of the past year and inviting you to be in touch with your news, your successes and your challenges. By George &
Company operates on the premise that gaining public awareness and activism requires much more than a good, or even brilliant, message campaign.
And on the promise that we'll do everything we can to understand the audience and the context before creating or recommending anything
brilliant
enough to crash through our cultural clutter. It's all about knowing the landscape and knowing you. Have a look at what we've been up to
and
call us to discuss your current initiatives. It's going to be a busy year - with the presidential campaigns opening more eyes and engaging more
potential activists than even other lucrative moments. Think hard about your efforts and make the most of this opportunity. We hope to hear from you soon! In the meantime, here's a
handy one-page calendar
for you
to download and print*, with our best wishes for a fantastic 2008. With best regards from
Bari and the By George Experts.
*For best results, print at 100% and use a glossy paper if you have it.
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AMERICANS FOR FAIRNESS IN
LENDING:
Client AFFIL is the collaborative
effort of numerous national consumer advocacy organizations. While the
advocates
are busy fighting to regulate the banking and lending industry and to support the consumers who've been hurt by subprime mortgages and abusive credit
cards (among myriad other lending abuses), AFFIL
is building public awareness by shining a spotlight on predatory practices
and unifying the call for reform in one consistent voice across America. Our communications strategies for
AFFIL include college student outreach via an online video parody; an endorsement campaign aimed at the general public and signed onto by numerous presidential
candidates, partnering with the acclaimed documentary Maxed Out by writer/filmmaker James
Scurlock; ongoing proactive media relations; and dramatic PSAs in national print publications. www.affil.org
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A hilarious parody of Ashton Kutcher's popular "Punk'd"- this equally irreverent :60 video warns young people that credit card freebies come at a
high cost. Produced with Blue Horizon Media in Montreal, we posted and disseminated the message across numerous social networks and sparked it to go
viral.
"F$#%'d " is now cruising the internet warning college students and more to watch for tricks and traps - and to take action to stop the runaway train
that is the US credit and lending industry. www.affil.org/ybf
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Here's a beautiful example of the art of designing a web site that captures the true personality of a business. Ogden's is a
landscape design firm that has a personal relationship with every client and creates outdoor spaces that reflect the personality and wishes of the
people who live in them. The By George & Company team includes director/strategist Bari George, web site designer Ben Hillman, web
producer
David Borgesen, and photographer Christopher Smith. www.ogdens.com
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Raising funds for the cure. Something is getting in the way of finding the cure for Parkinson's Disease. Research is held captive by questions of
profitability, and treatments have been nearly stagnant for decades. Eugenia Kaye, whose husband is one of the growing number of young onset
Parkinson's patients, has dedicated herself to raising money for the riskier and underfunded research that is the path to the cure. She created
PD Hope as a method of inspiring a community of one million PD patients, family, friends, caregivers and medical experts to raise the needed
research funds - one small contribution at a time. PD Hope works closely with the research experts at the Michael J. Fox Foundation to identify
the most promising research, the research passed over by the investors and most needing support. BG&Co experts Bari George and Bev Neufeld are
working with Eugenia and the young onset Parkinson's community to build a comprehensive online fundraising environment and to create and promote a
campaign that will engage the entire PD community. The next few months will bring changes to pdhope.org. We hope you'll be watching and
supporting our efforts. www.pdhope.org
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"Facebook with a conscience." By George & Company is working closely with the social entrepeneurs at rethos.com to encourage issue-based
non-profits to join this social
activism network where members connect based on the causes they care about. Non-profit organizations are invited to become partners with
Rethos, to establish profiles, invite and organize members and activism, inspire debates and raise awareness of issues and solutions. View the
amazing Rethos Manifesto. To find out more about becoming a
nonprofit
partner, please contact Pablo Salzman. Visit Rethos, sign up and ally with Bari here.
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LI2DAY BREAST CANCER WALK
This 35-mile 2-day event raises money to help the women, men and families who are currently fighting breast cancer on Long Island. While
research is underway to figure out why breast cancer rates on LI are so high, how to stop it and how to treat it - thousands of people are fighting
for their lives right now. LI2Day exists to help these people to focus on their treatments and recovery by funding medical expenses, meals,
transportation, babysitters and all kinds of support. We've raised over $1.5 million in the first four years to help our family, friends and
neighbors. It's all about community helping community. By George & Company produces the LI2Day Poster Project featuring original artwork
created for and donated to LI2Day by local artists. Find out more about LI2Day and the Poster Project here.
Congratulations to owner Gayle Brandel and the rest of the talented staff at Professionals for NonProfits. PNP has just opened a new office in
Newark, New Jersey. Pleased to be part of the urban transformation that is Newark, PNP brings hiring expertise to the nonprofit community
throughout New Jersey.
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INTRODUCING
NEW BY GEORGE & COMPANY EXPERTS
Geoffrey Knox is the President of Geoffrey Knox &
Associates, where he
creates
communications strategies
on social and political issues. Geoffrey has worked with a diverse list of clients and issues and has significant expertise in the areas of women's
reproductive health and rights, child welfare reform, sexuality and HIV/AIDS.
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Celinda Lake and her firm, Lake Research, study public
attitudes and translate research into strategic actionable advice. Her extensive experience in the nonprofit, policy and political sectors guides
accuracy, flexibility and creativity while overcoming reliance on assumptions. Celinda is one of the most respected pollsters in the country. Her
reports are quoted in the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and more. Celinda presents statistics and provides expert commentary
regularly on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News and NPR.
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Christopher Smith is an accomplished freelance
photojournalist and commercial photographer and has been
based in New York City for fifteen years. He works regularly for the New York Times and has been published in numerous magazines including Time and
Fortune.
Our experts are senior
level
communications specialists who are
committed to coming together and contributing their expertise in the
best interest of
the issues and organizations we all care about. We couldn't be happier to welcome Geoffrey, Celinda and Chris to the By George & Company Roster
of Experts.
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KUDOS To By George & Company Experts
Scholastic Books just published "How
Strong Is It?", the second in a series of four imaginative books for
curious early readers by Ben Hillman.
Photojournalist/filmmaker Brian Palmer is busy finishing
his film FULL DISCLOSURE based on his time embedded with the US Marines. You can read
Brian on Mother Jones and on Huffington Post, and
contribute to the film.
Lisa Santandrea is completing her Masters degree in the
history of costume and when not writing is working at the Metropolitan Museum.
Andy Clayman and his Mediaworks team developed Smart Agent - which uses artificial intelligence for online natural language
conversations to answer customer questions. Check it out here.
Alice Leeds is the lead publicist and media manager for the West
Memphis Three - three men convicted and sentenced (one to death, two for life) as teenagers 15years ago with mounting DNA evidence of their
innocence. Their
story has been featured in two HBO specials, Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost 2. Among others, Alice has brought their story to
Larry King, World News Tonight, Anderson Cooper 360, the NY Times, LA Times, and People Magazine.
OTHER COOL STUFF
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Download quick view 2008 Calendar here
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Endorse the Principles of Fairness in Lending here
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Build your vocabulary while you support local food economies in developing countries here
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Discover Mr. Picasso Head here
Drop us a note. We'd love to hear
about your current efforts. In the
meantime, all the best.
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