Social Change | Kyle Chowning

Shaun King Launches HopeMob

January 6, 2012 By Kyle Leave a Comment

This week, my friend Shaun King, launched a new social giving site called HopeMob. It’s a big deal and has already found success.

Take the story of 12 year old Jessie Rees. Her hope was to have 50,000 people ‘LIKE’ her Facebook page before the disease that was overtaking her young body won. Unfortunately, Thursday morning, she lost the fight, but her hope lives on. As of Thursday night, she far surpassed her hopes and she now has well over 57,000 fans. While you may think this effort is futile, one look at her Facebook page and you can see the hope that his “mob” of people is having across the world, but most importantly to her family.

Today, hope gets drowned out, but when a mob of people come together, it cannot be ignored. It’s a force to be reckoned with.

I applaud Shaun and the vision he has for giving hope across the world. Not because he’s found success, but because he’s offering something that so many people have given up on long ago: hope.

Below is an article that details the vision and mission of HopeMob as posted on the HalogenTV.com site. It also explains Jessie’s story.

I hope you’re inspired to be the change you want to see in the world.

Social good entrepreneur Shaun King launched a new social giving site that unites strangers for one cause. Much like a flash mob of hope, HopeMob pulls together people’s kindness to help one person.

The HopeMob campaign is currently raising funds through Kickstarter before its March 2012 launch.

“HopeMob is going to change people’s lives,” King said in his Kickstarter campaign video. “People are falling through the cracks of the government. They’re falling through the cracks of social services. You and I are going to find them and tell their story. We’re going to mob them with hope.”

Here’s how it works:

Users can register for HopeMob by creating a username and password. After registering, HopeMob will give each person 50 story points. Using story points, participants can help boost a story up in HopeMob’s “cause queue” until it becomes its one and only featured story with an international audience. The queue will be filled with real-life stories — families who’ve lost their houses, family with special needs children — anyone who’s needs a helping hand.

Jessie Rees was one of those recipients of hope. At 12 years old, she lost her battle with brain cancer on Jan. 5. Thanks to the countless HopeMob volunteers and backers, they spent weeks to make many of her wishes come true. One of Jessie’s wish was to have 50,000 Facebook fans. Together, they made that goal happen, and many others.

via Shaun King Launches HopeMob | Halogen TV.

Filed Under: Social Change, Social Media Tagged With: hopemob, shaun king

Tweet Toffee Giveaway

February 8, 2010 By Kyle 5 Comments

Update: I’m giving away 1/2lb of Toffee to the first 5 people to place an order and leave a comment on this post.

Today, I am launching a new series called Entrepreneur Spotlight. It’s where I will highlight a brand, company or idea that I’ve stumbled upon along the way that I want you, my readers, to know about. Having been an entrepreneur for over 10 years, so I know how much it has meant to me to get a push or a mention here and there from a friend or colleague. With that being said, I introduce…

Tweet Toffee

Six months ago, Ben & Sarah Tweet found themselves in between jobs and needed a way to make ends meet. After writing down dozens of different ideas, they landed on what they thought would be a sweet idea…toffee. Fast forward to today, they’ve built a thriving small business and now offer eight different types of toffee: (if you’re looking for the giveaway, jump to the bottom.)

Mocha Bianca – White chocolate covered Tweet Toffee and topped with chopped dark roasted coffee beans which are expertly matched with chocolate
Toffeopia with Almonds – Dark chocolate covered Tweet Toffee drizzled with white chocolate and caramel, then set off with a smattering of crushed malted milk balls and chopped almonds
Toffeopia with Coffee – Dark chocolate covered Tweet Toffee drizzled with white chocolate and caramel, then set off with a smattering of crushed malted milk balls and perfectly matched coffee beans
Peanut Butter Toffee – Peanut butter swirled in milk chocolate with a smattering of chopped peanut butter cups atop our famous toffee
Coffee Toffee – Dark chocolate mixed with perfectly paired coffee beans
Classic Milk – Our Classic Milk Chocolate Toffee features delicious sliced dry toasted almonds atop wonderful Milk Chocolate
Classic Dark – Our Classic Dark Chocolate Toffee features delicious diced and toasted pecans on top of decadent Dark Chocolate and is one of our fan favorites!
Notta Nut - Classic Milk Chocolate Toffee features delicious dry toasted almonds and is one of our favorites!

What I love about this story is that they took something that they were were passionate about, gave it a name and started marketing it.

Want to try some yourself? I know there are a lot of options so if you need a place to start, do yourself a favor and order Toffeopia with Coffee right now. If you can’t choose just one, then take advantage of their Sweet Sampler. Seriously, you’ll thank me.

The best part is that my friends at Tweet Toffee have extended a 10% discount to my readers. To take advantage of this discount, use the promotional code “kylechowning” when checking out. Don’t wait too long. the offer expires in 60 days.

To get the party started, I’m giving away five (5), 1/2lb packages of toffee to the first five people who place an order. To enter, leave a comment on this post with your name, email address, what kind(s) you ordered what date & time you placed your order. All orders will be verified.

And there you have Tweet Toffee. A sweet story, from some sweet friends to please your sweet tooth.

Filed Under: Featured, Social Change Tagged With: entrepreneur spotlight, toffeopia, tweet toffee

Don’t just take pictures, give them

October 9, 2009 By Kyle 18 Comments

In August of this year, I sat down with Jeremy Cowart, a well-known and respect photographer, and we shared a meal while he told me about this idea he had. He wanted to rally photographers across Nashville, and maybe even the US, to come together on 12/12/09 and give portraits to people who were unable to afford it. His idea was called Help Portrait and his slogan was, “Give pictures, don’t take them.” Immediately, I was drawn to the idea and volunteered to help.

In late-August, the Help Portrait website was launched in conjunction with this video:

Today, just 44 days since we launched the concept, here’s what’s happened:

well over 30,000 views of the video
35,277 unique visitors to the www.help-portrait.com website
3145 people have signed up to learn more
3312 Twitter followers
3456 Facebook “fans”
1318 people have signed up to participate
217 locations around the world and at last count over 30 countries

WOW! Who knew that this simple idea would turn into a worldwide event?!?

Today, I had the pleasure of joining 15 photographers and a makeup artist to do a trial run at the Nashville Rescue Mission. To put it simply, today was amazing. We saw and heard stories that I’m sure we’ll never forget.

One lady, after getting hair and makeup done, stood in front of the camera and started crying. She said, “I’ve just never felt special before.”

A 53 year-old man stood in front of the camera, noticably excited. When asked, he said it was the first time he’d ever had his picture taken. EVER.

One guy must have had a hundred pictures taken of him. Clearly, this was a gift to him. He couldn’t get enough of it.

And on a different note, when I walked around and asked onlookers if they wanted their picture taken, one guy said, “What would I do with it? I don’t have anybody to give it to.” Another said, “I haven’t had my picture taken since going into the military in 1971.” When I encouraged him to have it taken anyway, he simply said he wasn’t interested. I wondered why?

What I learned today is that Help Portrait, something a handful of us have been trying to organize for 44 short days, isn’t an idea, or a movement, or about taking pictures. It’s about telling people that they matter. Lee Ann Dichtel, our liason for the Mission said it best when she said, “You have no idea what you’re doing for these people. Most of the time, when people see them walking on the road, they turn around and go the other direction. So to give them the opportunity to look them in the face and show them how beautiful they are, means a lot.”

Again, wow!

I’m honored to play the role that I’ve been graciously given in the Help Portrait story. I can’t wait to see what happens on 12/12/09.

Filed Under: Social Change Tagged With: help portriat, jeremy cowart, lee ann dichtel, nashville rescue mission