#MakeItBetter Goes Local
It’s been a rough couple of months so far for everyone. Small businesses have been hit particularly hard, and we can speak from experience. Despite this, we’ve been trying to stay positive for our clients, and make the case to new partners that we can get through this if companies can be brave and work together with their communities.
It isn’t always easy to stay positive—especially against a backdrop of so many brands and advertisers who appear tone deaf, or are telling us “we’re in this together” when we feel anything but.
We won’t let that get to us. We’ve seen so many videos of community resolve during this crisis. People are coming together. Italians are singing from balconies, bands are playing from rooftops, families are getting together for play reenactments (#MakeItBetter).
If they can do it, why can’t we? What better way to help set the example.
These times have kept us from doing some of the things we love and have disrupted the routines that keep some of us sane, but there’s always a silver lining to situations that feel hopeless. For us, creativity is generally the answer.
Setting Our Idea into Motion
We wanted to do something as an agency to support our own local communities.
So, we started an effort online to #MakeItBetter. The idea is to encourage people to bring joy to those around them. We might be under lockdown, but there are still so many opportunities for us to connect with family, neighbors and friends. It’s those little things that count during these times and bring us closer together when we can’t physically be there.
We started #MakeItBetter as a platform for communities to enjoy and share in the wealth of positivity that’s still circulating during this pandemic. We all need a moment away from the noise that comes with the breaking news cycle and this felt like a perfect way to spread some cheer and spark engagement.
But the digital component of our #MIB idea was just one part of our plan—we also wanted to get our hands dirty.
This past weekend, we set that plan in motion with the delivery of five 7x7 boxes of chalk buckets that we packaged together into roughly 500 mini chalk sets. It was our way of bringing a dose of joy to the local community in the most direct way we could think of.
Our founder, Tom Geary, hails from Alameda County, so we knew Alameda Island would be a perfect place for a test launch to bring color to an otherwise dreary time.
It was a nice day out and School of Thought hit the streets of Alameda, armed with plenty of hand sanitizer and customized chalk bags with stickers that said, “Let’s Make it Better!”
Tom’s family and neighbors helped us to cart around chalk sets in wagons, leaving bundles on stoops and doorsteps across the Island. We ran into people coming back from the grocery store or home from a jog around the block. Some families were home and popped outside with their kids to start chalking.
Everyone we met up with (from 6-feet away) seemed genuinely thrilled to receive such a simple gift. It was pretty heartwarming! It’s times like these that really have a way of putting things into perspective. It makes us stop and appreciate the little things in life that we have a tendency to take for granted.
These days, it feels like there’s very little we’re still in control of. Doing something that would benefit our immediate community felt like a way to get around that, and spark a few smiles.
Beyond that, it was just really exciting to get out of our house for a while. Let’s be honest: these days, delivering happiness is an essential service.
We’d love to take our chalk idea to the next level and see it spread across cities across California (or even the globe)!
Want to Help?
Get in touch with us if you want to help organize a chalk drive in your neighborhood. We also have a few chalk sets left to deliver in Alameda, so if you know someone who wants to participate, we’d be happy to connect.
We’re also looking for sponsors to partner with us on larger campaign ideas we have for #MakeItBetter.
We’ll be able to get out on the other side of this if we just keep our heads up. We’ll also need to support local businesses to help our communities thrive. There are plenty of ways to get creative during this quarantine.
Share Your Video!
Visit our homepage to submit your own “feel good” videos during the shelter-in-place, or learn more about the work we’re doing. You can also follow us on LinkedIn for more #MakeItBetter updates.
Let’s find ways to make it better!
