Patrick O'Connell

10,000 Blankets is up and running

Thanks to a final push by my good friend Jeff Leitner, 10,000 Blankets is up and running. A group of us have been at work on this for a long time and it's so great to finally have it finished. Go ahead, check it out. And more importantly, donate a blanket.

Family to Family

Here's a way to help people who really need it.

I found this link on Seth Godin's blog and thought I'd pass it along. Not only is it a good idea, but it's a really unique way of helping people.

The Government Wants to Know More About 10KB

The government wants to know more...about 10,000 Blankets that is. Actually, this is good news because it means we are all the more closer to becoming a 501(c)3 organization.

We are not interested in cash contributions to 10Kb--we want NEW BLANKETS. We agreed, however, that having this status would provide our little organization room to grow. The government wants to know budget projections and some of our goals for the organization. This is so that they can clearly identify us a a 'public charity' (which we are) and not a private foundation (which we are definitely not).

Jeff and I are going to meet this weekend about this topic and do some planning. Our website is almost ready so we should be up and running very soon.

Don't worry, I'll let you know the details and of course I am going to ask for blankets.

Free Nonprofit Stuff

Here's something I found on Seth Godin's blog. It's a free one page guide on Web 2.0 stuff for non-profits. Download the PDF.

Ten Thousand Blankets Update

It's been awhile since I've given you an update about 10,000 Blankets.

We're almost there. The good news is that we are close to having the website up and running. John B. and Brian N. have put a great deal of work and effort into this side of the project. Once we've got the website up, we're going to start collecting and distributing blankets. We have big plans for this enterprise.

I was reminded of the need for our services earlier this week. I met Roger, a homeless man. He's in his late 20's and living on the streets since he was laid off of his factory job in Aurora. I found him sitting against a lamp post in front of the Starbucks I visit every morning. He had a sign that read: Hungry. The cold was brutal this week in Chicago and all he had was a coat, hat and gloves. He had taped the holes in his pants with duct tape. He said that he's been riding the L trains to stay warm. I talked with him awhile, gave him some breakfast and promised him that I'd bring him a blanket.

A blanket is such a simple thing and yet for Roger, it's what he desperately needs.

I'll keep you posted about our efforts.

Ten Thousand Blankets progress report #1

Jeff and I met with John Thursday night and hammered out more of the details of the 10,000 Blanket website. We will have a real site on our hands once everything is in place. We are grateful to John for his thoughts about the design and his willingness to help our cause.

I spoke to Brian today who has agreed to help us with the front end of the website. It's quite exciting to watch our organization begin to take shape. There is still much to do but I can sense that this is going to be something truly special once we have it up and running.

I'll do my fair share of marketing the organization on my blog so those of you who haven't heard for 10,000 Blankets, stay tuned.