Edelman Vancouver gives big to nonprofits

For the past four years, Edelman Vancouver, an independent public firm, has been launching an incredible corporate social responsibilty contest for local non profits called the Little Give.

Little Give provides three nonprofit organizations a multi-disciplinary Edelman team for 48 hours of public relations and social media creation and development, as well as $2500 in aid.  Little Give has been so successful that their Montreal and Toronto offices have jumped on board to take part.

This year, my organization, Passion Foundation was one of the three winners, along with PALS Autism School and St James Music Academy of the DTES.

The timing could not have been better for Passion Foundation's growing journey to support the social development of young women. With the recent Vancouver Sun editorial and article on active community roles empowering young women in BC and the commitment of reaching out to 400 hundred girls and young women in British Columbia by end of 2012.
The win was exactly what was needed.

Passion Foundation walked away with a guerilla-style awareness campaign called Change for a $100. The campaign illustrates that it costs $100 to put a girl through a life changing Passion Project over eight weeks. The 10 dynamic Edelman employees created an interactive Facebook page, updated the front page of the Passion website, creating a slideshow, and customized our PowerPoint deck in 48 hours.

The team added another surprise and let me know that they also connected with a local designer, Clutch Designs, who has made a commitment to help raise awareness and funds for Passion Projects by creating a unique piece of jewelry in her collection.

Those who know me know that I am never without words. Saturday afternoon when Team 3 presented what they created for Passion,  I was left speechless. 

Being able to be part of this experience was life enhancing. Watching the team work through the 48 hours and seeing the fruit of the creative energy and impeccable team work was moving and inspiring. The team committed to the cause and moved people from all walks to be part of the Passion Community. 

Paul  Welsh, Co-General Manager of Edelman Vancouver shared how inspiring it is every year to be part of the Little Give and how touched he is to see what the teams create for the community. He wasn’t the only one.

It’s companies like this in Vancouver that really shift communities.

A sincere thanks to the Edelman team. Passion Foundation is looking forward to sharing upcoming successes.