Your Country Needs You!!! (Yes I'm Talking to You)

Okay maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. Well, I’m confident that your country does need you but I just used that title to get your attention since it’s really me that needs you. You see, I’ve always believed in the efficacy of social networking media, especially since its use and impact are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Tweeting, blogging, Facebooking (who knew such words would become part of our lexicon just ten years ago?) have all opened doors to myriad opportunities to connect with a world that might otherwise not even know you exist. Social networking media has, in some instances, been responsible for connecting business partners who live half-a-world away from each other and didn’t even know each other existed until they “friended” on Facebook or “followed” one another on Twitter. More than at any point in time since I’ve been a user of social networking media though, I need to flex the full might of its benefits.

I’ve always had a burning desire to contribute to impacting the lives of myriad people who can in turn impact the lives of others (why else would I have pursued the torturous vocation of pastoring?) I’ve always wanted to see a community transformed for the better because of something I contributed to that community, and now there’s a very real opportunity of which you can be a really meaningful part, as well as follow its success at no cost to you beyond the click of a keyboard button. The What? Pepsi came up with this incredible idea to give away $1.3 million every month in support of community development projects for the entire 2010. The Why? Because Pepsi figured that a great way to help fulfill dreams while transforming communities for the better, was to financially support viable projects that people were passionate about. The How? They invited submissions of various projects in various categories which they screened and then made available for the public to vote on. The projects in each category with the highest number of votes would be awarded the cash : A cool $1.3 mil every month!

The minutiae! There are award categories for $250,000, $50,000, $25,000, and $5,000. Each month the top two vote getters in the $250,000 category each win that amount, while the top ten vote getters in each of the other categories each win those respective amounts. Go here if you’re really interested in the technical details. Your project can benefit education, neighborhoods, the planet, food & shelter, arts & culture, and health. Our project, called Primal Purpose, uniquely benefits, education, neighborhoods, and food & shelter, and we are running in the $250,000 category. Go here to read up on our project details. Now here’s where you come in. The plan is simple: The only way to win is to get the highest number of votes! This is clearly not rocket science: If every one of my social networking friends, and every one of their social networking friends went here and voted for me once a day for the entire month of September, I’m all but guaranteed to be one of the two finalists in the $250,000 category. It really is that simple! Success is not determined by Pepsi (the hurdle of just being able to submit my project among thousands and possibly millions of others was hard enough as I’ve been trying since February), but by you, the voter.

So, will you help me, and consequently help a community and their kids, who otherwise would not be able to afford it, potentially get a great education through earning athletic scholarships to college? The possibilities are endless, as one of these kids might just turn out to be the next Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs, or even the next Jerry Rice, or Emmitt Smith simply because they were afforded an opportunity. If you’re willing to do this with me, then all you have to do is simply go here and vote once every day for the entire month of September. Also, If you would, encourage your social networking friends to jump on board too! Imagine how much of a difference we can make if we can get tens or even hundreds of thousands voting each day. Since voting is only open to people living in one of the 50 States and D.C., those of you who live outside the country can still contribute by encouraging your friends resident in the U.S.A. to vote daily. I’ll be posting regular updates here so that you can keep track of our progress as well as developments happening with Primal Purpose. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity and I’m so grateful that you’re considering partnering with us in this. I love social networking media!