The fundraising efforts of two NGO founders intersected in a bar on Bleecker Street recently, when Orphans International Worldwide came face-to-face with The Cambodia Project.
I thought I was the only NGO founder in the Village until I ran into Jean-Michel Tijerina, founder and C.E.O. of the Cambodia Project.
Luckily, I was dressed as Elvis, and had an entourage of two dozen other Elvi, so I won. His group was more multi-cultural, however, so it was close.
What am I talking about? Every year a group of Elvis impersonators visit various pubs on Bleecker Street en masse to raise money for kids. This event even has a website.
Last year they chose my charity, Orphans International Haiti. Although they usually change charities each year, somehow OI Haiti was chosen again this year. So, naturally, OI created a website for the event as well.
Linda Stanley, OI America's director, noted that OI's web 2.0 presence included a v-blog, Facebook Charity Events Group, and a video clip.
The modus operandi is simple: four bars contribute hundreds of dollars each for the Elvi to appear, while the happy crowds in each bar -- and tourists on the sidewalks between -- pose for pictures and kick in more hundreds of dollars.
The Elvis bar crawl went to several bars, including Wicked Willie's, Thunder Jackson's, 1849 Bar, and the Bleecker Street Bar. One night on the town netted about $2,400. That's approximately $600 per bar.
The Cambodia Project builds sustainable communities through secondary education in developing countries, beginning in rural Cambodia.
The Cambodia Project operates with a team of 84 from New York, most of whom are Columbia University graduate students who volunteer with the organization.
The Cambodia Project pub crawl was a fundraiser for their 2009 summer field mission, when 20 members will work in holistic education, comprehensive health, energy and environmental sustainability, as well as economic growth. One woman with their group was a social worker preparing to work with the Cambodia Project for the summer.
Jean-Michel, their C.E.O., was as surprised to run into me as I into him.
"I had never been on a bar crawl to directly solicit funds," said Linda Stanley, "and I was happy to see that complete strangers would listen to our story and seemed happy to give for orphans in Haiti. We hope they will all now go to our website and see that we are real people working very, very hard to sustain these children to adulthood," Linda added.
Scott Knoll, one of the Bar Crawl's founders, said, "It still amazes me how the sight of dozens of Elvi walking in the Village not only draws attention, but also seems to genuinely make people happy and ultimately generous. In short, everyone can relate to Elvis and we hope to leverage this for great causes like Orphans International Haiti."
Lindsay Mure-O'Neill is one of the leaders of the Elvis Bar Crawl. "It was time again for a little less conversation, and a little more action."
Many Orphan International interns participated in the crawl. Esmeralda Garcia is studying in New York. Zoe Stroebel-Haft is preparing to spend her summer as a volunteer with Orphans International Tanzania at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Vanessa Kim worked on the event's publicity.
Grace Pan, a pharmacy student from Northeastern University, created much of the marketing materials. Stephanie Liu, a graduate of Carleton College, created videos of the Crawling Elvi that were sent to supporters.
I have now been to Haiti about 16 times. I have known our 12 children there for years, and they know me as "Uncle Jim." As I watch them grow up, I feel a sense of pride and happiness that not even wearing a silly Elvis costume can diminish.
Every semester we pay about $3,000 for our children living outside Jacmel, Haiti, to go to a good school. This semester the bar patrons of Bleecker Street picked up their tab.
Twelve children in Haiti and countless more in Cambodia will become better educated on their path towards becoming global citizens as a result of revelry in New York.
I am most happy when I am face-to-face with our kids. But I have to admit that coming face-to-face with New Yorkers who care about our kids touches my soul.
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With Grace Pan. Edited by Karen F. Davis.
Follow Jim Luce on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jimluce
