To Our 10,000 What You Can Do Fans

What is, "What You Can Do?" Is it a documentary? A how-to-get-involved tool? A public service announcement? A television show? A web series? What? Well... it's all of those things. On Facebook, we're a tool that gives like-minded people a place to share tips to help fight climate change or vote on his or her hot button issue. Our website, www.whatyoucando365.com, is our home. This is where we house all of our one-minute action videos. This is where you can look up simple, active ideas based on the issue of your choice. We've got close to 300 videos on there now - all with a wealth of information within a short amount of time. Our blog: whatyoucandoseries.blogspot.com is where you can find our extra feature videos and updates from the producers like me and Alicia as well as the series' creator, Jessica Arinella.

So why am I telling you this?

Good question.

We've recently reached 10,000 fans on Facebook. Yahoo! That milestone was really appreciated over here. 10,000 fans. That's more people than went to my high school (I think). Everyone likes a big number and 10,000, is a nice big number. Yet, for us, we want more than those awesome digits - we want what's behind them - you. As we grow, we want to make sure that you're on board with us. We want to make sure that everyone still knows what "What You Can Do" is at its heart.

So here it goes:

What You Can Do is a short form series that offers you one-minute ideas to help combat major world issues like climate change, domestic violence, poverty, animal cruelty and wildlife extinction. We also offer tips on how to support our troops, promote tolerance and help people battling hunger. We take ideas from some of the best nonprofits around and put them into a video for you. That, at it's very essence, is what we do.

Here's what we're not going to do - we're not going to judge you for some simple pleasures. We're not going to tell you that you can never take a long hot shower again. We aren't going to tell you that you can't ever buy those little snack packs that have more packaging but make it faster for you to pack your child's lunch. We aren't going to beat down your door if you drive to work instead of taking public transportation. The truth is, over here at "What You Can Do" we often talk about the things that we could improve on. Jessica has an addiction to paper towels, I love a long shower and Alicia loves to take a lengthy drive alone in her car. We are like you. Living our lives as best we can while hoping we can do something that makes a difference in the world.

So what if we all changed just a little bit? What if, for more days of the week, I kept my morning shower to a minimum? What if Jessica limited her paper towel use 80% of the time? What if Alicia went for a long walk instead of that drive every other time she felt the need? What if you...?

"What You Can Do" is built on the "what if" principle. What if you watched a video today and promised to do the activity that week? Would it alter the world immediately? No. Would it make a difference? Yes.

This is who we are. This is what we're about.

Now we'd love to hear from you. Watch a video. Get in touch with us. Join our mailing list. "What You Can Do" is growing but our growth isn't worth anything without you. And if you have any ideas or issues that you'd like to see covered, let us know. You never know, we might just add it to our series' roster!

Thanks so much for reading and I hope to talk with you soon,
Julie