If you were to line up all the causes I wish I could support more, Homelessness comes to the front.  It’s not that I think it is more or less worthy than others, but it feels like something we should be able to make more progress against.

Every time I go into my neighborhood QFC, I pass between 1 and 3 homeless people asking for money.  One man stands at the front of the store with a “Homeless Vet” sign, one woman sits across the street by the parking lot and occasionally there is a representative from “Real Change.” Clearly, we can do better than this as a society.

Now, there are a couple of problems that we all face.  If we write big checks to a charity that helps with homelessness, we don’t know where the money goes and if it is being used to help people get out of their situation or just make their situation more tolerable.  If you give money directly to a person, you don’t know if they’ll spend it down the street at 7-11 on a bottle of Boone’s.

So here’s my dumb idea that will likely offend a bunch of people.

I would like to try to focus some efforts on the homeless who are closest to climb their way out.  The  people who have cleaned themselves up, paid their debts to society or taken other steps to get back to a position where they can succeed.  There are plenty of people who just need that little burst of cash to get the first and last months rent, a nice set of clothes, a moped or bus pas, or whatever is keeping them just 1-2 degrees from that point.

So how do we do this? I’d like to propose a kind of combination of Anonymous LinkedIn and Kickstarter managed by some reputable organization.  In this system, i could look at the anonymous profiles of  everyone who is applying for personal donations and what they will be need the money for.  They set personal goals and achievements that they need to hit.  With each success, they get closer to collecting their donation from me and the others who are rooting / supporting them.  The reputable organization then makes the purchase of the apartment, clothes, car, whatever on behalf of the client.

So in a nutshell – the homeless person “earns” the money they need by achieving some set of goals and objectives, people like us get to choose the unnamed profiles we want to support based on our preference, and there is a group in between making sure everyone stays anonymous in the process.

I can already hear the 100 reasons this is unfair to a whole set of people and not a solution to a massive problem.  But I’m not trying to boil the entire ocean here.  I’m just trying to help a few people out.  Anyway, that’s my latest dumb idea.

Catherine has been volunteering for a little while with a group called Teen Feed.

Now, for a little while there, I didn’t spend too much time thinking about what Catherine was up to. But I have had the great opportunity to volunteer with her a few times in the last few weeks, and want to relay a thought or two.

It’s hard to find something much more disturbing than a room full of 18-25 year olds with no home, no food and a pretty hopeless outlook. If someone is 40, you can put some level of blame on them for being in the spot they are in. But it’s kind of hard to fault an 18 year old.

For about $100-$150, a Teen Feed organizer puts together a menu and buys all the groceries for about 50-60 people. Anywhere between 4 and 8 volunteers take over a kitchen of a neighborhood church, and prepare the meal. The kids arrive at 7pm, and dinner ends promptly at 8pm.

The kids who show up for the free food have no place to go, and in some cases no other food to eat. Some just spend the entire hour taking advantage of the heat and chairs they are allowed to rest in. But they are all polite, thankful, and just happy someone cares.

I’m going to write more about this over the next few weeks. But I really want to commend the volunteers of Teen Feed, and urge you guys to consider Teen Feed when you are considering where to donate some of your time or money. In my mind, 18-25 year olds are still save-able. We should be working on ways to do that.

Congrats to @Roosiehood.  What started as a little project to raise a few hundred bucks for local food banks is taking on a life of its own.

#ParkaParty is in full effect in the Seattle Twittersphere, and shows no sign of letting down.  If you haven’t jumped on board yet, this article from MyNorthwest.com should explain it all.

Now I’m just waiting for my #ParkaParty avatar to arrive…….

In the meantime, here’s a fun little Flickr slideshow from the web site to show some of the folks who have donated.  

If you don’t know the name Dick Friel, well then you simply need to re-evaluate how much money you give to charity, because it’s not enough.  There’s a small number of A-list auctioneers in this town, so if your event was any good, you had about a 1 in 3 chance of seeing Dick and Sharon Friel at the mic.

The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that Mr. Friel has passed away at the age of 76.  I had the pleasure of working with him and his wife on the Cure Autism Now Auction back in the early 2000′s.  He was a genuine professional, with a jovial smile and demeanor that was all about business – the business of making money for charity.

I was naive to how auctions worked when I first saw him prepping.  He asked for the attendee list and list of items.  He then ran through his mental rolodex as easily as I remember baseball stats.  ”Oh, Mr. Brown loves vacations.  He’s good for $1000 every event so let’s save this Italy trip and focus on him.” “The Jacobsons would go nuts for this necklace, but they always leave by 9:00.  Let’s move it to Item 3.”   “I know Mike and John are Pearl Jam freaks.  Let’s get a bidding war on that studio session and then convince Eddie to let them both in.”  From a marketing perspective, it was a thing of beauty to watch.  And the winners were always the charities.  

Farewell, Mr. Friel.

Team "No Runner Left Behind" attacked the Beat the Bridge run for the 3rd time this weekend, and we’re proud to announce a clean sweep.  Everyone cruised across with no problems, (except for the guy pushing the baby stroller, which we are not counting as failure.)  In fact, we set a team record with everyone finishing between 42:00 and 47:00.

Make sure to book mid-May 2009 to join us next year for this event.  It’s a great time fo ra very worthwile cause.

In the 2007 Beat the Bridge Run, our small but dedicated 10 man team got 90% of us across the bridge in time (full story here.) While that’s pretty good, that is still leaving one behind and we don’t want to do that in 2008.

If you didn’t join us last year, you missed out on a fun Sunday morning.  So now’s your chance to join the 2008 team.  It should be a blast again.  I mean, I hate running more than just about anything (except eggs) and I manage to get through this 5 miles and immediately start looking forward to next year’s race.

It’s easy to join "No Runner Left Behind."  Just find one of the links I’ve conveniently dropped all over the post.  A few clicks later, you’re on the squad.  6 weeks left – better start training.

Maybe it’s because the new Yankees regime is headed by the Boss, Part Deux.  Or maybe they just seem softer now that Red Sox Nation has taken over the mantle of "Most Obnoxious Fans Alive."  But for whatever reason, the Bronx Bombers trip from Tampa to Virginia Tech to play an exhibition game and visit the student memorials certainly feels like altruism and genuine caring, not a marketing stunt.  Amongst all the hate and rhetoric being thrown around the political fields these days, it’s nice to read something like this ESPN.com article.

I don’t usually do this, but I’m plugging a charity fundraiser a friend of mine is hosting for another friend of hers.  The event benefits a guy who did not have health insurance, and suffered a pretty severe head injury. In a lot of ways, this is a unique fundraiser because you can actually see and meet the beneficiary of your generosity.  Heck, you can probably choose which bill you want to pay.  Here are the details:

Location: SodoPop – 2424 1st Avenue South, Seattle, WA US

Date: Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 8:00pm

Here’s a link to the evite.  And here’s all the info you need to know:

Hey all!  This evite is a two-for-one deal (1) Join us for a kickass party and (2) Support our dear friend Orion with some seriously steep medical bills.

The party: Killer bands.  Stellar DJ’s.  A charming MC to delight and entertain.  Drinks. Dancing.  Friends.

The background:  Orion (whom you may know from such favorites as North Hill Bakery, The Hopvine, Uptown Espresso, or just being an all-around sweet and stand-up guy) took a really nasty spill on his bicycle, losing several teeth and fracturing some bones in his face.  Without insurance…we’re talking about five-figure bills.  No joke- add insult to injury, squared.

The benefit:  Stunning art will be auctioned. Incredible gift certificates will be furiously bid upon. Drinks are hosted but all tips are donated to the cause, capiche?  So bring your checks and your cash, dig deep into your pockets, and with only a $10 cover for the best party in town, everybody wins.

Please forward this evite, and we hope to see you there.  If you must send your regrets, you could also consider sending $!  Simply make a check out to "Relief for Teeth," and mail to our PO Box at:

Relief for Teeth
1463 E Republican
Mailbox B55
Seattle, WA 98112

So back in the 90′s, it started becoming en vogue for Corporations to donate profits to charitable organizations.  This started a very interesting debate about whether companies should simply deliver value to their shareholders, or be responsible for bettering the communities in which they belong.

An easy argument was to drop the charitable giving money into the overall Marketing budget and call it "Community Relations."  If a giant bank sponsors runs for Leukemia and Breast Cancer research, then one could argue the CPM was worth the donation.  It’s a pretty compelling argument that you can get a lot of community goodwill on your side, which then helps with non-tangibles such as recruiting, brand management and corporate morale.

Fast forward to 2007, and the magic bullet is in going "Green." Companies are denting their bottom line to use recycled paper, advanced heating and cooling systems, subsidizing public transportation for employees and other efforts.  And shareholders seem to be ok with that.

But what about Google’s latest announcement.   According to a Google release, "Google.org is committed to finding innovative transportation solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming…As part of this initiative, we are issuing a $10 million request for investment proposals (RFP). We plan to invest amounts ranging from $500,000 to $2,000,000 in selected for-profit companies whose innovative approach, team and technologies will enable widespread commercialization of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, electric vehicles and/or vehicle-to-grid solutions."

Now, you can look at this 3 ways:

1) Google makes $10 million in an hour, so it’s irrelevant to shareholders.  Great PR move.

2) This is a completely for profit effort for Google, stemming from their M+A group, and Google Shareholders should benefit down the road.

3) This $10 Million is nice, but why is an online search and media company investing in Transportation, something they could not possible know anything about?  Shareholders should be annoyed.

On a lighter note, what happens if Google ends up building the killer transportation app?  Will everyone be commuting to the Microsoft campus on the Google Mobile?

I’m on the East Coast this week visiting relatives and friends, and doing a little work along the way.  Watching all the July 4th fireworks makes it easy to think about who the "Average American" is. 

Now, in the tech world, it’s easy to forget that the Average American does not have a 130 IQ and make $100k a year.  In fact, most of the young admins and marketing coordinators in these places probably don’t even map to the needs and wants of the "Average American." 

I took a bunch of trains and subways this week, seeing people, and recalibrating my own view of who this Avg American is.  You see a lot of tourists, janitors, cab drivers, and unemployed folks in inner city neighborhoods if you walk a few streets from most train stations and subway stops.

But then today I helped my Aunt deliver lunch to 12 houses, since she is a Meals on Wheels volunteer.  These really are the people you forget about, for the simple reason that you have no way to ever see them.

I didn’t know what to expect as I walked to the front door of recipient #1, who my little card said was a 85 year old with a bad heart.  His door was unlocked and he gratefully commanded me to come in his house and set the lunch next to him.  The TV was on, and the house showed signs of a residence that doesn’t get cleaned very often.  And he was genuinely gracious in his thanks for the meal.  

Other stops during teh day switched between being more or less depressing.  There was a 50ish gentleman who easily weighed 500+ pounds, and I was left to speculate why his mattress and box spring was in his living room.  There was the 70 year old with Parkinsons who seemed physically well-off, but showed the signs of mental struggles, and I tried to figure out why there was a bath tub in his hallway.  Two people failed to answer the door, and I stood with feelings of paranoia and dread that someone was laying on the other side of the door calling for help, but I could not hear.

The whole trip took a couple of hours, and obviously jarred my brain enough that I decided to use space in a marketing and technology blog to discuss it.  So, I guess to attach it to the overall theme, I should say that when we think of who "The Average American" is, we need to make sure we calibrate the scale to keep in mind the people we never see – the poor, the sick, the homebound, the old, the people in mental institutions and the rest of those tucked away in corners of the city where we don’t go.  This "average" person is not a cell phone toting, broadband user sporting an ipod and ripping mp3′s from TorrentBox.

And in case you have 2 hours a month which you are looking to fill up with something rewarding and thought provoking, here’s a link to Meals on Wheels.