a legacy of caring
INFANT WELFARE SOCIETY OF CHICAGO 3600 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647 773.782.2800 fax 773.782.5042 info@infantwelfare.org
CHASE COMMUNITY GIVING GRANT
We “counted” on our Facebook friends . . .
Even for the most technology-resistant among us, it’s pretty hard to deny the impact of social media on our everyday lives. Recognizing this fact, two years ago the Auxiliary established its own Facebook page, and shortly thereafter we were on Twitter as well.
Angela Crews, who coordinated both during her tenure as Auxiliary Corresponding Secretary, believes the social media is an important tool in sharing IWS’ story with others. “It’s sometimes difficult to get traditional media sources to cover the Auxiliary and IWS. Social media affords us unique opportunities to communicate quickly and at little or no cost with followers.”
So when Peggy Cleary, former Auxiliary Third Vice President, heard about a Chase Community Giving grant Facebook contest for charitable organizations, she saw a golden opportunity. She explains that Chase Bank was awarding $25,000 grants to the top 100 vote getters. She quickly took the idea to a very receptive Auxiliary Board who promised to share the information with their Chapter memberships. At that point, Peggy and Angela graciously agreed to chair our IWS Facebook campaign.
First, Angela worked with Chase Bank to make certain that IWS complied with its rules and regulations regarding the contest and that our pertinent information appeared on the contest site. Of course, the next -- and most important -- order of business was “getting out the vote.” Our Chairmen contacted members of the Board of Directors, Associate Board and IWS staff who quickly expressed their support and began encouraging their friends, family members and business associates to vote.
Our Chairmen say they quickly learned that it’s not enough to simply contact a few friends. It truly is about networking and encouraging one’s own friends and acquaintances to talk about it to their friends -- and so on and so on. Since we were competing against national charities with far greater name recognition, our task was that much more challenging.
Cognizant of that fact, Peggy says she decided to “call in the troops,” – that would be her daughters’ college friends. She called, e-mailed and texted them asking that they vote for IWS, further encouraging them to call their own friends to make that same request of them. Her daughters’ teammates, friends, sorority sisters -- well, pretty much everyone they knew -- heard about IWS and how important their votes were to our success.
For her part, Angela posted information about the Chase contest on other organizations' social networking sites, such as Make It Better magazine, Naperville Mom’s Network and Real Housewives of Hinsdale (a page with more than 2,000 fans.) She also networked with her neighbors and friends and began spreading the word among parents at her children’s school. Angela tells us she passed out flyers about the contest at sports games and PTA meetings – basically anywhere and everywhere she went.
As the deadline loomed, our Chairmen confess to being a “bit obsessed” about the contest, constantly checking vote totals. The day before the contest ended, they were disheartened to see that IWS was out of the top 100 charities. But thanks to some last minute “grass roots campaigning,” our vote total slowly climbed. Not surprisingly, Peggy and Angela were monitoring the count -- seemingly minute by minute, vote by vote. Thankfully, all that time and effort paid off with IWS placing 93 out of 100 charities, entitling it to a $25,000 grant from Chase Bank.
Certainly, the grant money is welcomed and very much appreciated. What also makes this victory special, in Peggy’s and Angela’s minds, is the fact that this was an “All-IWS” undertaking in which our members joined forces with the Board, the Associate Board and IWS staff members in embracing the challenge, working the phones, e-mailing, texting – and ultimately making it happen for IWS!
Equally significant is the fact that the Chase Community Giving grant contest raised awareness about IWS among people who were not familiar with the Clinic. It’s always wonderful to have the opportunity to talk about the Clinic and its important work on behalf of Chicago’s women and children in need.
We congratulate Peggy and Angela on their phenomenal work, and we applaud the outstanding efforts of our “friends and family” in making IWS one of the “Top 100” – fittingly enough in this, our centennial year!
On August 25th, IWS received a $25,000 grant from the Chase Community Giving Program. Pictured here are Executive Director Dr. John Wilhelm, former Auxiliary President Rosanne Merrill, 35th Ward Alderman Rey Colon, Auxiliary Member Kate Peot, JPMorgan Chase & Co. representative Mark Lester and Auxiliary President Lynette Paulsen. Kate Peot is a longtime member of the Oak Brook Chapter, and her grandson, Charlie Corrigan (not pictured), is associated with Global Philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase & Co.