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Posts tagged ‘#social46’

Jan 30

Super Bowl XLVI – The things you’re missing.

I mentioned a week or so ago that I am part of the #Social46 group. We were selected by the Super Bowl Host Committee as individuals with a large influence in social media. We are tasked with promoting everything from events and parties to weather and parking alerts. The Host Committee wants this Super Bowl to be the most connected Super Bowl ever and they have done an awesome job of it so far. The Social 46 group is just one avenue.

I have written a couple of guest posts for do317.com on the parties coming to town. But what I want to focus on here are the things you may not know about. For example, did you know that Indianapolis has worked with all the wireless carriers to increase bandwidth in downtown Indianapolis? With all the visitors and guests, they wanted to make sure that people’s phones would still work and the best part? Indy gets to keep that after all the hoopla has died down. But that’s not the only example. The things that this city has done in preparation for the big game not only have a positive impact on the community now, but will leave a legacy for us for years to come. Read on my friends.

SUPER CURE:

Did you know that Indianapolis hosts the only repository in the world for normal breast tissue? The Komen Tissue Bank has been collecting samples since 2005 and actually is the first to collect both healthy and diseased tissue from the same woman. This past weekend, the Super Cure donation event brought in more than 700 women to donate breast tissue. All the spots were “sold out” within 90 minutes. As Allison Melangton, President of the Super Bowl Host Committee told the Social 46 a couple of weeks ago, a cure for breast cancer will be found in this city (I get chills every time I think about that sentence). And the Super Cure push not only made more aware of what this incredible center is doing, but also drove more donations than ever. If you are interested in donating breast tissue, there is another donor event here in Indy on March 10th.

LEGACY PROJECT:

Landing a Super Bowl here in Indy took a new stadium, expanded convention center and a new airport, amongst other things. But one thing that really impacted the decision to grant Indy the spot was when IPS Superintendent Eugene White told the panel about the Near Eastside Legacy Project. Reaching over 40,000 residents and children, the proposal was packed with a punch and helped clinch the bid. And work began immediately. The Host Committee produced enough money to pay three full time staff members to oversee the Legacy Project and committees were formed. Over $9M in federal grants were secured, Lilly gave $5.5M and United Way pitched in for $1M. Over $150M invested in housing revitalization including new, affordable housing for seniors and low income residents, the rehabbing for over 30 abandoned homes and even a health center, a community center and a grocer. And in October, over 2012 trees were planted in the neighborhood. And the pride and joy of the Legacy Project is the Chase Legacy Center. Funded privately for about $11M, this facility will allow residents and children to participate in various programs including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Indy Children’s Choir, the Y and the Indy Symphony. In addition, it will serve as a fitness center. But the structures, the housing, the trees are just part of what the Super Bowl did for this area of Indianapolis. It changed the perception of the Near Eastside and has caught the attention of new donors, new partnerships that before never existed for this struggling community. For more info on The Legacy Project, check here.

Chase Near Eastside Legacy Center

SUPER BASKETS OF HOPE:

This coming weekend, 7,000 hospitalized children will receive gift baskets. These kids, all located in one of the 32 NFL cities will receive gifts that offer fun, entertainment, inspiration and hope. Collaborating with the Host Committee,  Riley Children’s Hospital and Tony Dungy, the Basket of Hope project brought together volunteers, NFL players and NFL coaches to reach out to these sick kids. The baskets were assembled here in Indy and shipped to the teams, who distributed and delivered them. Pretty awesome. Pretty. Freaking. Awesome.

SUPER SCARVES:

When Allison took the job as CEO of the Host Committee, she was barraged with calls. People wanted to help and volunteer and be a part of this awesome event. On a whim, one day, she suggested that people could knit scarves for the volunteers to wear during what surely would be a cold Super Bowl week. What started as a little project to involve people across the country, turned into a behemoth! Over 13,0000 scarves have been sent to Indianapolis, each one with an accompanying note from the person who created it. Mine is from a woman in Zionsville. One note talked about how knitting the scarf gave her something to do while she sat in the hospital alongside her sick husband. And isn’t it pretty cool to see people walking downtown wearing their Colts-colored, unique, handmade scarves? Awesome idea, Allison.

My Super Bowl Scarf!

Jan 22

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The opposite of writer’s block

I have the opposite of writer’s block tonight – my brain is on overload but yet I have a sense of clarity on the things I want to discuss. If I wrote all the things down floating in my head, we’d be here all night. So instead of doing free writing like we used to in high school english, I decided to organize these thoughts as teasers of blog posts to come.

  • #Social46 – I couldn’t be more excited about being part of this team. If you live in Indy and are active in Twitter, you’ve heard of it. Basically, it’s a team of 46 Indiana residents who supposedly have the most influence in social media (according to Klout). We were corralled together by the Super Bowl Host Committee last Thursday with a unique opportunity to help make the 46th Super Bowl here in Indy the most connected Super Bowl ever. So we will tweet and Facebook and blog and evangelize all the happenings around Indy over the next two weeks. We can respond to questions. We can organize tweetups. The world is our oyster and I have to say that this group is pretty impressive. I’m really not sure how I made it amongst them but I am thrilled. And I take the responsibility and this call to action seriously. I will be writing a post about all the cool things happening here in Indy (and have already written a couple for do317′s blog), but until then, follow me on Twitter for periodic updates. Also, be sure to follow our #social46 and #superbowl hashtags for realtime updates.
  • So far this year, I lost my car key at 100 Acres which required two stints with roadside assistance, a tow truck and a LOT of money. I also lost my iPhone (it was stolen?) and tracked it to a methadone clinic causing me to almost break into a car. Both of these are just great stories. I promise to tell them soon.
  • Marathon training – this new program is HARD. You are going to hear a lot about marathon training over the next 13 weeks leading up to Race-apalooza. My body has got to get into racing shape before the marathon – half marathon – 50K three week race binge I have committed to.
  • I am doing Crossfit. I started earlier this month and am getting into a 2-3x/week routine with my coach. Caitlin is amazing – she’s gorgeous, ripped and encouraging. I do miss Sarah over at Transformation Fitness but I was bored with our workouts and wasn’t feeling the ROI was worth it. NO LIE: these crossfit workouts are the hardest things ever. Sometimes only 12-15 minutes of solid exercise and yet I am pooling sweat, can’t breathe and occasionally want to vomit. But it’s fun and every day is different. In addition to these crazy workouts, Caitlin wants me to do the Paleo diet in February. It means meats and veggies, of which I eat very few typically. It will suck. But I am considering it. And if I do, trust me, you’ll hear all about it.
  • I turn 31 in a few weeks. I remember worrying about turning 30 as it seemed so old. But I embraced this age and it was one of my favorite years, hands down. It’s definitely worth a little recap as I embark on the next one.
  • Aaaaannnnnd….A post you won’t see: Most of you don’t know that this wasn’t my first blog. In fact, I have been blogging about the books I read for years over at Meggie’s Book Club. But I made the decision last week to let go of this site. It’s not fun anymore – it’s a burden. And when I told JD this he laughed as he said “I am pretty sure you don’t need to give a farewell post” and he’s right. No one read that blog- it was really more for me to catalog the books I have read and my thoughts on each. Now I’ll probably just tweet about them. :)

So keep checking back. I’ve got some great stories brewing in this head of mine and as soon as time permits, I’ll put them to paper. 2012 hasn’t started off as my favorite year so far, but as my CEO says, if you want to predict the future, you have to invent it. So I’m gonna. And then I am gonna to write about it.