By Jinny Wong
If you thought that a honed sense of humour was just good for a few laughs, think again.
Early this month, Gulf Restoration Network official Aaron Viles was pleasantly surprised to find that someone tweeting as @BPGlobalPRdeposited $10,000 into the organization’s Paypal account. The donator refuses to be named publicly but calls himself “Leroy Stick (aka a guy in his boxer shorts)”.
The money was raised by selling T-shirts simply decorated in dripping black paint with the words “bp cares”—a direct satire about the way BP has been handling the disaster.
He told the Huffington Post that he “started @BPGlobalPR, because the oil spill had been going on for almost a month and all BP had to offer were bullshit PR statements. No solutions, no urgency, no sincerity, no nothing. That’s why I decided to relate to the public for them.”
@BPGlobalPR began with just a few followers and a guy with a knack for jokes. As his popularity grew to the thousands—he decided that this would be a greatway to raise money for an organization that is actually doing something to help out this catastrophe.
Order your very own “bp cares” tee
To find out more about Leroy Stick and the amusing back-story to that name, visit: http://streetgiant.com/2010/06/02/leroy-stick-the-man-behind-bpglobalpr/
Donate directly to the Gulf Restoration Network, or to send a message to BP calling on them clean up their mess.
This is a great example of how someone can utilize social media to make a difference. To do the same for your cause, please visit:http://blog.powerofthehour.ca/2010/01/social-media-and-the-common-good/
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