The giving money to charity idea…

SO.

Okay, twitter world, you guys are a powerful force to be reckoned with. I mention one of the things I was planning on doing to an internet peer I haven’t spoken to in a long time, and then you guys just turn into a bunch of awesome people and make this donation goal of mine into a viral campaign.

Let’s go back to holiday season of 2009, on my comic site, punksandnerds.com. Around that time, my grandparents’ friends’ grandchild died of Leukemia. Let me cut and paste what I wrote back then:

“This is all related to the type of charity I want to raise money and give to. And let me explain that too: My grandmother died of Leukemia in 2005, at Punks and Nerds’ peak. What was sick in the head was that I had more fans offer condolences than most of the people I considered friends at the time. I’ve honestly had people say things like, “Your grandmother’s death means nothing to me” and “Everybody dies. It’s not worth crying over, move on.”

“I do not care what kind of person you are, and if you think like that, that’s fine. It’s okay… But that is no way to talk to someone you call a friend, or at the least, someone who calls you one. But it was one of the harshness of realities I experienced. The family life opened my subconscious a bit, and made me realize I was taking my online comic life too seriously. I had to change mentally, become healthier within, mature, and understand that life matters too much than to become upset if there’s people on live journal, that never met me, saying nasty things about me, simply because of what I post under my comic strip at the time (like this). Life is too special to stress out when viewership numbers go down. The amount of readers is only just a way for a lonely person to try and feel acceptance where it lacks in other places in life, after all. I didn’t have acceptance in some places in life, But I had acceptance in places that matter. Family and the close friends that counted. I know why all these things affected me the way they did, but we shall keep that story untold for now.”

“What matters is that the family situation changed things severely for me.”

“Back to the charity… I have heard my deceased grandparents’ friends’ grandson has passed away at 19, from the same Leukemia my grandmother had. Nineteen guys. That’s our age group. Sometimes I think too logically, thinking that there is cause and effect for things in the world… But when a 19 year old passes from an illness… What is the reasoning? There is none. He didn’t have a chance to live life. My characters that I have created are living a fuller life than he was given. And that upsets me. Punks and Nerds has morphed into a story of growing up and learning how to deal, but it’s something this guy won’t get a chance for.”

“So that is why Punks and Nerds’ charity will be towards Leukemia. Because my grandmother’s death triggered a change in me to improve, and this kid’s death is going to help remind us to live.”

But unfortunately, that charity drive didn’t really go very well. My audience has shrunken compared to what it was in the past, so revenue I made during that month wasn’t a lot. Some people were good souls that trusted me and gave me money to support the cause, but in the end, it wasn’t much.

And here’s the thing… There are tons of charities in the world, but were also stuck on hard economic times. I realized that asking some people for money when they are struggling to either keep their job, or find a job, is not going to turn around great results.
I realized then, “You know what? This doesn’t have to be a holiday specific thing.” And decided that I’ll work to raising money for the entire year of 2010.

In January I began making videos using blip.tv. When they throw commercials at the start of my videos, I get pennies per view. And I realized that might be the easiest way to raise money, by just having people view these videos I put up. I want the people to view these things anyway, so I might as well be charitable with the profits I’m earning off of them.

My goal of raising money for 2010 then felt more possible. Because now all I had to do was simply make more videos worth watching, and then by the end of the year, give a good chunk of the profits to the charities I wanted to. To Jake Wetchler’s family, to Haiti, or even to sick puppies.

No one has to donate anything, no one has to feel uncomfortable because we’re in the middle of poor economic times… All they’d have to do is watch something online, and hopefully get entertained by it. I thought, “Yeah, that could work.”

And I pretty much kept this idea hush-hush until I mention it to one person, and she was like “I can make this into a big success!”
Now a bunch of you people are being very cool and are tweeting about it, and I thought it was really important to write something official about it, so that you don’t feel like you’re going to the site to try and help out, and the only one who is benefiting is my wallet. Ha ha ha, that’s not the case. Do not worry, I am living life where I work for happiness, not for money.

Jake’s website is at: www.dontletthecancerwin.org
That’s the main charity I’ll be giving to by the end of the year, but companies like ASPCA and something for Haiti will not be ignored.
If you want to read my old Punks and Nerds blog posts where I originally came up with the ideas, here they are:
http://punksandnerds.com/?p=129
http://punksandnerds.com/?p=192

And now you know. Cause knowing is half the battle.

-J