So Long, Patch, So Long, Pepsi and What a Ride!

November 30, 9:01 p.m.

The month of November, 2011 will forever remain in my memory.  It is the month where I experienced practically every emotion possible: surprise, hope, anticipation, fear, anxiety, frustration, determination, discouragement, eagerness,  optimism and -- best of all -- pure and utter mirth.

SO LONG PATCH
 From November 5th through November 30th, the Belmont Shore Patch responded to my need for a platform to share my experiences as I worked to rally more votes for the entry I submitted for a new Scout Sea Base Kitchen.

Having this outlet gave me encouragement and a means to share and seek out more ways to find a community of support. That ended up spreading the word via thousands of Patch followers and others online.

The result?  Almost an entire month of significant involvement--and fun! A reason to scheme (the next day's post), to explore, to share.

SO LONG PEPSI

I must also thank Pepsi for coming up with such a fun, creative way to spend their advertising dollars.  We all know that a dollar donated towards charity goes a long way towards gathering goodwill.  Pepsi takes a big chunk of that advertising dollar and uses it to help charities across the U.S. and Canada.

An opportunity such as this gives the average person, 13 and over, a chance to dream up a project, to think big.  Everyone can submit a request for a grant.  Everyone has a chance to win. There were submissions for dogs, kids, cancer, lupus, the handicapped, schools ... much more. They were all good ideas, good projects.

The competition gives you a drive to find your communities.  As the average contestant finds, the single community the grant targets is either not completely networked or not big enough to gather sufficient votes to be at the top.  The applicants have to seek out their entire set of communities.  For me, it was my entire email list, family, friends, local Long Beach scouts, the Long Beach area Council and, later, scouts across the U.S. Long Beach residents and ultimately the Pepsi Refresh community itself. (I have promises of support for the next time I try, which won't be anytime soon, as December is the final granting cycle for this year's contests).

It gives your community a zero cost way to support you.  You have friends around you who will support you, but EVERYONE is looking for donations.  This way, there's no cost to you or your friends...Except, perhaps, to your dignity.

It gives you a chance to gather some attention around your cause.  This is probably by far, the most important result of the contest.  The potential of a large prize is newsworthy, is it not?  You are forced to seek out attention to your cause in the hope of bringing more votes to your effort. Hopefully some of this attention will help your cause.

So long Patch, So long Pepsi, and THANKS FOR ALL THE FUN!
Chowder: Woof! Woof!  Thanks, Patch for helping my mommy grow!

The next Pepsi Refresh voting grant contestants will be announced on December 1st. Does anyone in Long Beach have an entry submitted?  Need a daily platform? (Ask Patch!)