Lifeline for Assistance

We’re not one hundred percent sure what was first, and quite honestly we didn’t want to do the in-depth research, so we did the type of analysis we often touch on in these blog posts – by asking people in the airport and/or on the trian. The topic in question was, “What was the first ever Reality TV Show?” We were in the four passenger seat on an Amtrak train, and at first we asked two young ladies what their first recollection was. One said Amazing Race while the other said America’s Next Top Model. Then we checked with another gentleman on board and he responded with MTV’s Real World. We didn’t fact check their answers, but we’re assuming those were all pretty early!

Then again, what about trivia or game shows? Are those considered Reality TV? Those are unscripted, right? If so, you have to date back to Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Seeing how nowadays unscripted television is booming in popularity, we’re going to relate Cardz for Kidz! to a combination of those kinds of shows.

First, for some background, Cardz for Kidz! is what happens when you put an interest in impacting disheartened children and a passion for handmade artwork together. People stop simply being polite and/or courteous, but truly become compassionate and work together to make a difference in children’s lives across the globe. What originally started as just an activity for one group of young adults and children has grown into global corporations, groups of children, and families around the world joining in to make a difference. It’s hard to believe, but there are no scripts. This is happening in the Real World, around the world!

Also, as we always say, #everycardcounts. Therefore, every card is important AND we keep track of where every card is coming from. Still, there’s always a bit of intrigue at the end of the quarter since people are interested to see the Next Top 10. Originally, the role of the judge was much easier and there was less to choose from, but now that we’ve grown from the hundreds to the thousands of cards, we’ve had to work with creative directors to make that selection. What adds to the pressure even more so is that currently if the judges select their cards, these panelists will be invited to a special Cardz WITH Kidz event at one of our partner Children’s Hospitals. Thankfully, just like we hear Tyra is, our judges are qualified to pick America’s Next Top Artists.

Although it may seem like it’s “happily ever after” for our organization, there have been some difficulties along the road. For example, since this is one hundred percent free for everyone involved, Cardz for Kidz! isn’t able to do paid advertising. And because of personal preferences, we don’t like to constantly flood our contributors with email reminders and/or requests asking for donations and increased participations. One may say it’s not as difficult as climbing mountains, skydiving or other extreme events, but the participation influxes have been a challenge to deal with. That was the reason we made such a big deal about Arrowstream and Huron Consulting Group when they decided to join in since they’ve consistently made cards each quarter. Although we’ve been primarily targeting groups to make cards, Independent Artists, or people simply making cards in their free time, have been our top contributors. They have made at least twice as many cards as any group that’s joined in. Thankfully, with everyone joining in we’ve been able to reach all the check points and reach kids all around the world. We’re thankful that we’ve been able to hang in there and have also been doing a pretty good job at keeping up with this Amazing Race.

We did mention it on our social sites before, but we would love to consistently grow in many ways. We know there’s a looooong way to go, but we mentioned before that our dream would be to do more for the kids while they’re in the hospital (#perfectpair) and after they get out to help them in the long run in life (#whenwegrowup). While we feel blessed that we do have a partnership in each continent, we’d love to be able to cover all 50 states and have the majority of these cities covered.

If we achieved all of that, just like Wheel of Fortune, that’d be like hitting the jackpot! We know we’ve recently been adding on a couple more board members to the team to help contribute to answering some of the tougher questions (e.g. consistent way to get more cards in French). We understand that, similar to Jeopardy, it’s more of a team sport. One thing we know for sure is that we’ll need some help if we continue to grow. We’ll need more volunteers similar to the ones we currently have and also need more people to reach out to their contacts at hospitals/homes to see if we can start sending those kids our handmade cards. We just know that with our average quarter over quarter growth rate being 31%, who knows, maybe one of these days we’ll get what we want and we’ll be a millionaire in terms of the amount of cards we receive each quarter. But before we get to those stages, we’re reaching out to YOU, one of our LIFELINES FOR ASSISTANCE, so we can be prepared for expansion. Please help us connect to more hospitals/homes.

 

#lifelinesforassistance #upliftingspirits

To see more pictures and stories, please check out our website www.cardzforkidz.org; like us on Facebook; follow us on Twitter and Instagram; visit our Google+ or LinkedIn pages! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!