Jodi’s Voice was set up out of tragedy. It was named after Jodi Sanderholm, who was murdered by a stalker that had been watching her for ten years.

Jodi was only 19 when she died – which meant she had been watched by her killer since she was only nine years old.

Sadly, this is commonplace among stalking victims. Many victims begin being stalked when they are young. In Canada, for example, 11% of women aged 15 and older have been stalked. In the U.S., 14 in every 1,000 women of 18 and above are victims of stalking.

And these are only the reported ones.

Sadly, for Jodi, it was too late, although her memory lives on in her family. Her sister gave birth to the family’s first grandchild while Jodi was missing, and her brother became a police officer to help others.

And through the organization Jodi’s Voice, we can help make sure Jodi’s tragic death is one that helped change the way the law deals with stalkers.

How You Can Help

On June 23, Jodi’s Voice will be having a massive event in Las Vegas called Fight Stalking in partnership with Sky Combat Ace. Celebrities from the world of entertainment will be going up against each other in aerial combat. Supporters of each celebrity can back their champions with donations and messages of support, and the funds raised will go to Jodi’s Voice.

For 12for12k, we’re looking to achieve the following, and this is where we need your awesome support! Between now and June 23, you can help in these ways:

• If you or someone you know has been the victim of stalking and you wish to share your story, share in the comments (anonymously if you prefer) or on our Facebook page.

• Add a 12for12k Twibbon to your Twitter or Facebook profile picture. Details can be found here along with instructions on how to change your picture.

• Write a blog post of your own, and either share your story or link back to this post to highlight what we’re trying to achieve for Jodi’s Voice.

• Make a donation to Jodi’s Voice, a full 501(c)3 registered charity (we’re talking with a few organizations to make a matching grant). You can use the ChipIn widget below, and it will go direct to Jodi’s Voice and you will receive a tax receipt (payments can be made via Paypal or credit card) – just click on the green ChipIn button. You can also embed the widget on your own blog by using the Copy option.

• Embed the video below on your blog or share the link on Twitter and Facebook, and help raise awareness of some of the statistics around stalking.

These are just a few ways you can help. You can also share this with your friends and family, and we’ll be giving you more details soon on the event and other ways to help, as well as follow our 12for12k Twitter stream or Like our Facebook Page for more information.

Thanks guys – you’ve always been amazing in your support, and Jodi’s Voice is a cause that can really make a change with your voices too.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This post is on behalf of Justin Goldsborough.

You have probably heard about the devastating tornadoes in Joplin this week that completely flattened three miles of a 15-mile city. 400-plus injured and 140-plus confirmed dead so far. It’s a horrible tragedy, but we can help through Blogworld Cares (#BWECares).

This weather disaster has created an overwhelming and devastating situation for the people of Joplin and hits very close to home for me, having grown up in Kansas City, Mo. And unfortunately, it’s just the latest in a series of weather disasters we’ve seen devastate people and their homes in Alabama, St. Louis and other cities across the country.

So, how can you help? Here’s what we are asking:

• Write at least one blog post the week of Blogworld promoting awareness of #BWECares and helping tornado victims through awareness and donations – we’re trying to raise $5,000 by the end of the week. All proceeds benefit the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

• Share tweets/Facebook posts about #BWECares throughout the week of Blogworld to promote helping tornado victims.

• Ask your blogger friends and others to join the cause and share #BWECares with their online communities.

The people affected by these tornadoes have had their lives turned upside down, yet they are trying to persevere and rebuild. We can help them do that and make a difference if we work together. Thanks for your time and attention. I’ve included a sample tweet and Facebook post to make it easier to share the #BWECares message. Hope you find it helpful.

Sample tweet:

#Joplin is wrkng 2 rebuild after the devastating tornado. We can help. Pls share, donate 2 #bwecares. http://bit.ly/iiReQO #bweny

Sample Facebook post:

24 minutes. That’s all the warning Joplin had before an F5 tornado devastated 3 miles of their 15-mile city, flattening everything in its path. The people of Joplin need our help, but they aren’t the only ones. Tornadoes have turned peoples’ lives upside down across the country this year. And Blogworld (#BWECares), wants to help. Please donate, help spread the word by sharing this with your networks. Thanks! http://bwecares.causevox.com

Best,

Justin

Click here to view the embedded video.

A lot of the times, people give X amount of money to their favourite charities, and that’s it for another year. Nothing wrong with this – it’s better than not supporting and, like anything, every little helps.

But there are some long-term (and potentially more beneficial) ways you can help. And the best part is, it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

Volunteer Your Services

One of the biggest issues for many charities is administrative costs. This is what can turn a $100 donation into a $50 or $60 dollar donation instead. So what if you could offer your services to counter these costs?

• If you’re an accountant, can you help with their tax returns or financial books?
• If you’re a taxi firm, can you offer to take staffers of the charity to the airport?
• If you’re a painter, can you give their offices a fresh lick of paint?

Part of any successful organization is keeping morale up. By taking away the stress of day-to-day stuff, you’d help keep morale up immensely. And you could write off your services as a tax loss (much like you might do with your donation).

Be a Connector

The greatest way for a charity to find more supporters is to know more people. Yeah, I know, I sound kinda dumb and like I’m stating the obvious – but so often we miss the obvious and try to reach for the clever instead, when we don’t need to.

Can you be a connector, and introduce people of influence in your circle of friends and colleagues/connections, who in turn could introduce their friends and connections?

• Do you know people who could offer their services?
• Do you know any local media that may be interested in covering your chosen charity’s story?
• Do you know anyone that can offer meeting space for workshops?
• Can you put smaller charities in touch with organizations that offer grass-roots support?
• Or online – can you help connect with like-minded folks and people that have the charity’s cause close to their hearts?

We often think there’s not a lot we can do for charities except donate. Yet often, even that’s hard to do due to financial circumstance. But time, connections and input can have a far more impactful and longer reach than any donation we could offer.

We just need to think of how we can bring value.

How about you? What ways would you suggest, and what resources have you found useful to help your favourite or local charity?

image: Ready Subjects

So it’s been a bit of a while since we last shared anything on here. Originally we decided to take a breather and re-energize, after what was an amazing inaugural year for the 12for12k project and our supporters.

That breather turned into a slightly longer rest period than expected, as personal needs and workloads took away the time from everyone involved with 12for12k. But, these things happen – and it’s simply made us more energized and focused for the next stage in the 12for12k journey.

Which brings us to now.

We’ll be relaunching properly on June 1, and the first charity organization we’ll be supporting is Jodi’s Voice.

As you can see by the logo at the top of this post, Jodi’s Voice is dedicated to increasing awareness and support for stalking in the U.S., which affects more than 3.4 million people every single year.

Jodi’s Voice was born from tragedy.

On January 5, 2007, Jodi Sanderholm was murdered by a stalker who had been stalking her for ten years. Jodi’s death led to Jodi’s Voice being born, and we’re humbled to be working with Angela Daffron and Jodi’s Voice to help in any way we can as our first project in 2011.

We’ll be sharing more details soon, along with how you can help and some of the events we’ll be either arranging or supporting, so please feel free to subscribe to our blog, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the latest updates. You can also subscribe to our newsletter by filling out the form below.

In the meantime, it’s great to be back. It’s been way too long, and it’s time to set the 12for12k army in motion again.

Ready to fight the good fight?

Special thanks goes to Adrian Meissner from Boundless, who drove TWO HOURS to come and talk to all of us about the incredible work they do.

Also many, many thanks to Allan and Yvonne Isfan for providing their beautiful home for the show, to Cheryl Gain of Ottawa Tonite for organizing everything, to Bob LeDrew for providing Ottawa’s most comfortable House Concert chairs and for his ongoing support, to Jamie Calder for providing a big long ethernet cable for the live stream, to 12for12k’ers Jon Aston and Richard Marti for spreading the word.

And, between yesterday afternoon and today,  we raised about $200 for Boundless and introduced a bunch of new people to the good work of Boundless and 12for12k. Yay!

It takes an army of people to make events like this happen, and I’m grateful to everyone who took the time to listen and share.

Here’s the recording of the show….sorry, the first part got cut off due to UStream issues….

For more information on tonight’s performers, visit lindsayferguson.com and www.myspace.com/kenvoita.  You can also catch a sneak preview here. Adrian Meissner from Boundless will be on hand to talk about the good work they do!

Please spread the word! Many thanks to Ottawa Tonite for their support and for inviting 12for12k to participate!

**Donations using that widget to your right are welcome and greatly appreciated!**

As a special addition to the evening, we’ll also be raising some money and awareness for 12for12k’s April Charity, Boundless. Adrian Meissner from Boundless will be on hand to talk to the audience about the great work they do, and I’ll be there too to share the message about 12for12k.

If you are in Ottawa, I hope you can make it! The show starts at 7pm ET, and you can purchase tickets here.

If you’re not in the Ottawa area, all is not lost! We’ll be live streaming the show on this site and also over at www.ottawatonite.com, the web site that is hosting the concert.

Special thanks to Cheryl Gain of Ottawa Tonite and 12for12k’er Allan Isfan for putting on this terrific event!

Here’s a special sneak preview of what you can expect on Friday night!

So we feel it’s only right to recognize that, and this regular snapshot will do just that.

First up is J A Heinlein, who describes himself as a “Publishing & Marketing Professional. Proud Father. Mid-life Adventurist. Social Media Enthusiast“. J A (or Jay) is the Principal of Heinlein Publishing Services, a publication group that aims to provide expertise and resources to help produce and market published material.

If you look at Jay’s Blogger profile, you’ll see he’s a prolific reader of both printed and web media across many categories – always the sign of a great publisher. He’s also a classic rock fan and that’s never a bad thing!

A loving family man, Jay has been a 12for12k supporter for a while now and always shares with his other connections, as well as on his blog. We’re more than happy to have Jay as our first featured supporter, and hope you’ll check him out too.

• Jay on Twitter:
• Jay on Facebook:
• Jay on LinkedIn:
• Jay on YouTube:
• Jay’s blog:
• Jay’s company:

Thanks Jay – and here’s to our next featured supporter soon!

Established in 1984, Boundless is dedicated to improving the lives of marginalized youth, adults and children at risk through a unique combination of counselling, social rehabilitation, alternative education and outdoor adventure.

Working in partnership with Ontario-based community agencies, mostly from Toronto, their program strives to prevent crime, promote alternatives to drug abuse and strengthen the bonds of families and communities ravaged by poverty, violence and mental illness across the Canadian province.

As well as their outdoor programs, Boundless also run community leadership initiatives, the issuance of high school credits, counselling/tutoring and social rehabilitation training. Their mission is to employ a non-traditional approach to education that is sensitive and motivating, and which builds the focus, vision and independence of participants.

Boundless works in close collaboration with roughly 50 agencies that represent health care providers, children’s mental health agencies, community centres in at-risk neighbourhoods, drop-in and recreation programs.

Their programs include:

• Youth. Supporting at-risk youth to complete their high school education and integrate into the community.
• Family. Supporting parents and children with social skill development and decreased aggressive behaviour.
• Mental Health. Using social rehabilitation to help those suffering mental health issues to feel less isolated and become more independent and healthy.
• Aboriginal. To help native youth in foster homes and receiving treatment for substance abuse to re-acquaint with their culture and nature, in collaboration with Native Elders.
• Acquired Brain Injury. A dedicated program centre to help sufferers of acquired brain injury to rehabilitate into everyday life through work, fitness, education and friendships.

As you can see, Boundless isn’t tied to one cause, but helps across a huge amount of need. 12for12k is delighted to be supporting them for April, and extremely grateful for any support you can offer for this wonderful organization.