If you were loitering around Facebook Friday afternoon, then the chances are that you got to see our College Book Store manager Robert Jansen’s hard-to-miss shout out (a rather rare occasion) to over 1,900 of his Facebook friends:
“Please help Anna so she can return to Middlebury for the Fall Semester. As a thank you – you can earn a poem from her all the way to being her friend for life. Please check out the event, join the event, have your friends join too, and most importantly donate to this great cause!”
And more importantly, what followed was a link to a public Facebook event page named in bold capital letters “SEND ANNA TO SCHOOL” where Anna, “after debating on whether or not to do [it], ’cause it seems a bit low and desperate,” explains her financial situation and straight-up asks her Facebook friends for help:
“I am $3500 away from going to Middlebury in the Fall. The school costs $52 grand, so I’m not too far off. I am maxed out on loans, and so are my parents, so I’m reaching out to friends and family to try and do a little fund-raising.”
Anna digs poetry, and she seems to be a poet herself. As a way to say “Thank You!” to her generous donors and scholarship sponsors, she promises poems, pictures, poetry collections, and even framed poems (oh, that I like!) depending on the amount of tuition funds one decides to give her.
And there’s more. Anna writes:
“I have 360ish friends, and if I got $10 from everyone, I could go! But, I doubt that everyone on my friend list would/could chip in. However, its worth a shot, right?”
Unfortunately though, not everyone will offer help. That’s where Mr. Jansen (or Bookstore Bob) comes in. He is a co-admin of the Facebook event. Compared to Anna’s 360-something peer count on Facebook, Robert pulls 1,900 friends into the event, thus raising awareness for this cause to, thru simple addition, more than two thousand folks.
And really, who cares even if they don’t really know her? Help a Middkid out! It doesn’t have to be big, even. How about, say, five dollars? That’s like holding back on a trip to the Grille for a Love Me Tender or the Wilson Cafe for one of the Specialty Latte’s (and a cookie, yum), isn’t it? But I guess no pressure here.
This is an example of something deeper, more meaningful than the simple fundraiser. This is our community at work and Bob Jansen helped turn an appeal to a few friends into an appeal to Middlebury at large. But why? Is it online social media savvy, a simple act of kindness, or both?
You decide. As for me, here’s a slow clap for Mr. Jansen and a wish to see Anna here in the Fall.
Anna Gallagher is in the Middlebury College Class of 2012. If you’re feeling generous today, then why not log into Facebook and check out her page here!
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