I (Heart) PH: Philippines Benefit Concert

HEY Y'ALL. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

On Monday, August 6, 2012 Tropical Storm Haikui hit the Island of Luzon, Philippines triggering disastrous flooding with more than 808,697 persons affected and displacing over 250,200 people to evacuation centers. Since then, several other storms have impacted metro Manila.  For this reason, our team, Project Overflow is mobilizing once again to produce a benefit concert, “I (Heart) Philippines”—and we need your help.

OUR GOAL IS SIMPLE.

Raise an overflow of support for those devastated by the 2012 typhoons in the Philippines.

COLLABORATION FUELS OUR EFFORTS.
Project Overflow proudly presents "I (Heart) PH" featuring Mitchell Grey, Triangle Offense, Giselle Sera Josef, VCR band, EXP from Movement Crew, & Joe Nunez Photography on September 28, 2012, 7:30pm at St. Clements Church (Hall) 271 Lafayette Avenue Hawthorne, NJ 07506. 

TAKE ACTION. 

A $20.00 ticket feeds a family of four, impacted by the floods.

Reserve your tickets online or donate.  Any amount will help and is tax deductible.  Donate online via http://projectoverflow-efbevent.eventbrite.com/

100% of the proceeds go directly to relief and rehabilitation programs in Manila, Philippines. 

WE’D LOVE TO CONNECT.

Drop us a line. Stay in touch.  We’re looking forward to connecting with you.

Find and Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/projectoverflow

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/projectoverflow.

Email Enrique for more info: ecarlos@projectoverflow.org

Common Responses to Tragedy: Tropical Storm Sendong

In the last few years, several large natural disasters devastated the Philippines like Typhoon Ondoy. Most recently, Tropical Storm Sendong slammed Cagayan de Oro. As a result, there are equally several natural responses. Here's a few I've observed:

Naysayers

It's the same thing all over again. They should have invested in flood levees. Those people should know better. That donation money never goes to the right individuals. My contribution doesn't get very far. It's all a scam. They got what was comin'. The government is out of whack. Why am I reading this post? You get the point.

Information Transfer

It's content around the water-cooler. We're compelled (smh, omg) and feel for victims and survivors, but that's about it. We go back to our offices, homes, churches and life goes on.

We empathize by sharing. Increasing awareness towards helping a tragedy seems like the right thing to do. A few likes here and there and we're done. Here's a few headlines we use for the posts:

• Let's continue to pray for them.
• Have you seen this video?
• How tragic!
• I can't believe this is happening.

Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with sharing info. It increases awareness for help, but seldom is there any ownership of responsibilities. At most, it requires a group of movers.

Movers

The ability to foresee and plan is imperative. In fact, it is necessary. However, there are times when unexpected twists come along despite preparation. Movers plan for detours. Not only do they transfer info, they share knowledge and provide opportunities to help.

Like my friend, @jaylegaspi says, "sometimes we are the greatest answers to victims' prayers and needs". The Red Cross is a group of movers that are great in responding to tragedy. Here's more info, http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow.

In addition, the UNICEF Philippines site is available for donations here, https://donate.unicef.ph/emergency-donation.php.

Who's on your list? If you have movers in your area or know of individuals/organizations contributing to this latest tragedy, let me know.

Fire, Fire!

If you’re a web developer, designer or part of the system development life cycle process, it is not uncommon for us to be simply digesters of direction. Besides, our work demands adaptability and change, right? If content is incorrect, we fix it – on the fly. Of course you can, it’s easy!

Add this div here. Build this table there. Write this code. It should be client-side vs. server side. The list goes on.

But, it’s not easy. You know that. Furthermore, this type of “do it now” thinking begs the question – what are you putting off that needs to be accomplished today? When you say yes to “fire, fire, fix it now”, another task suffers. While multi-tasking is highly sought out in resumes, reality is, you can only work on one task.

Whatever that task is will require your undivided attention. So, how do you prioritize?

You've got two options. Extend the deadline or decrease the requirements.

Pick one, not both.

Stacked on new requests are existing milestones. If you choose to maintain the deadline and requirements along with what’s being worked on, something will break.

This is tough. It requires hard conversations which means you have to either extend the deadline or decrease your requirements. It may even require speaking with your manager about an unsustainable workload which he/she can help align.

What's on the line? Remember, your job matters. The work is important. Like the great philosopher Smokey the Bear says, "only you can prevent forest wildfires". When you say yes to another fire, something else will burn.

Decrease the scope or extend the deadline. What's it going to be?

Know Thy Niche

Early critics said Transformers 3 was worse than its predecessors. Despite the reviews, I along with my 80s geek friends watched and loved the movie.

Because of its roaring plot? Nah. Was it because the robots had a deep sense of emotion and connection when talking to humans? Nope!

The movie wasn’t for “everyone”, but still hit a $1 billion. To date, Transformers 3 became the third U.S. major-motion-picture released in 2011 to hit $1 billion in global sales. Mr. Bay knew his niche and delivered a summer blockbuster.

You’ve got your niche. What will you do? Thy geeks await thee.

Thanks Michael Bay.

When you’re out

You can’t possibly be available 24/7, but here are a few points for managers on how to be reachable even when you’re out.

• Communicate where you’ll be. If you’re out of the office and/or in all day meetings, tell your team early in the day or even the day before. Sharing your calendar is a plus. This eliminates all the “where is he/she?” banter.



• Stop shining the crystal ball. Your teams, however talented, are not mind readers. Set expectations and define roles/responsibilities clearly before you leave. No direction is like bad direction, only quieter and more annoying.



• Let go and delegate. Like it or not, you make the big decisions which makes you a bottleneck. However, decisions without you will need to be made. Empower your direct reports to make those decisions without having your seal of approval on everything. Besides, you hired them right? This not only creates an environment of trust, but helps develop leaders within your team and organization.

Assume that

• every member of your team knows their role
• process "x" produces outcome "x"
• requirements are clearly understood
• your turn...

What you do matters. Stop assuming.

Still picking up sticks

Despite similar political tensions 9 years ago, a common purpose united us keeping our differences secondary. The tragedies of 9-11 met its biggest match when people shared one vision.

God bless those who fought and are still fighting through the rubble. We won't forget. More reasons why we should never forget, here, and why I still continue to pick up sticks.

Love & Haiti

We're at it again.

Project: Overflow is proud to present “Love and Haiti”, an evening of music, dance, and fashion, which will take place at 7 PM on Sunday, May 9th, 2010, at the Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, Brooklyn. This awareness- and fund-raising event, spearheaded by community workers and featuring local artists, offers a gesture of solidarity with the Haitian people.

By building a coalition with Haitians and Haitian Americans, Project: Overflow seeks to benefit those afflicted by the 2010 earthquakes and to advocate alongside them for widespread social and economic justice in their nation.

All funds made through ticket sales will directly benefit United Initiatives for Peace, which will hold a Youth Enrichment Camp this summer “to offer Haiti’s youth a positive, educational, healthy, and fun environment where confidence, creativity, and hope can be unleashed.”

Check out www.projectoverflow.org for details.

Passion and Fear

This feed is from Seth Godin's blog. A breath of fresh air.

Sunny Bates on Linchpins, Passion and Fear from Seth Godin on Vimeo.

Gmail merges duplicate accounts

I like simple. Especially when it deals with contact management.

Gmail finds and merges duplicate contacts. Brilliant.

Here's how:

1. Open up Gmail.

2. Click on the "Contacts" link in the left navigation.

3. Your "Contacts" frame will open.

4. To the right of the screen, you'll find a button that says "Find duplicates".

5. Click on "Find duplicates". Notice all duplicates listed.

6. Select/Unselect contacts of choice. Then click "Merge".

That's it! Another great addition from the Gmail team.

For more details, go to the Gmail blog here.

Project Overflow 2009 Highlights

Thanks to our friends from Sinegang.tv for Project Overflow 2009 highlights.

Ondoy Relief Concert Success

The support we received was tremendous. The crew, artists, and sponsors were motivating and proved just how much people can do together. I enjoyed every minute and learned so much.

All the proceeds from the concert will go directly to survivors of typhoons in the Philippines through the Ayala Foundation USA. AF USA will then course a percentage of funds to Liberty Christian Baptist Church, currently operating relief programs through rehabilitation programs. The remaining funds will go to other regions of Cainta selected by AF USA.

Pastor Arnel Villanueva from Liberty Christian Baptist Church at Blk. 155 lot 19 Karangalan Village Gate 2 Cainta Rizal 1900 will assist typhoon survivors by:

Rehabilitation and emergency relief operation

• Purchase of rice and canned goods inventory
• Purchase of clothing, utensils at $10 per family

Feeding program for children/youth

• $5.00 feeds 50 children
• Your generous gift of $20.00 per ticket feeds 200 children
• One whole meal every Saturday

Cash assistance for livelihood

Entrepreneurship program which educates and invests those seeking to start their own business as a source of livelihood

• Concession stands
• Minimum capital of $100 payable without interest
• After 5 months, the money will be a revolving fund for other start-ups

Your decision to drive through the weather, to pour hours of time through volunteering... simply inspiring. Thank you so much.

Stay tuned for a special Christmas announcement, pictures, and video highlights (thanks to sinegang.tv).

Upcoming Typhoon Relief Events

Thanks to INQUIRER.net, Global Nation for sharing Typhoon Ondoy relief events. Keep these going, we need to help.

Here's a clip.

RUTGERS FUNDRAISING SHOW: On Friday, Nov. 7, 8-11PM Rutgers Association of Philippine Students, with assistance from the Filipino League at Seton Hall and Sensitive Guys with Guitars, will present **TYPHOON ONDOY FUNDRAISER** featuring dance and music at Rutgers University. Performances by RAPS Dance Troupe, RAPS Cultural Dance Troupe, FLASH Dance Troupe, Danny Katz, Jay Legaspi, Matt Sia, John-Flor Sisante, and John Violago is scheduled. The benefit show will be held at Busch Campus, ARC 103, the student center on Allison Road. Proceeds to go to Ayala Foundation USA for the Philippine Typhoon Relief. For more info, contact Jay Legaspi at jay.legaspi@gmail.com or Amanda Yu at amandayu.email@gmail.com.

PROJECT OVERFLOW: A benefit concert for survivors of Typhoon Ondoy, Friday, Nov. 13, 7:30PM at The Elk's Club Paramus Lodge @2001 at 200 Route 17 North, Paramus, NJ. Artists featured include Jay Legaspi, Giselle Sera Josef, Triangle Offense Rap Trio and Rhythmology Dance Group. Sponsored by the Ayala Foundation USA and the Vine's Church Ministry, proceeds are help the people of Cainta, Rizal, Philippines. Let's make this Friday the 13th bring luck and relief to the Philippine typhoon victims!

Helping Survivors of Typhoon Ondoy

Spread the word and do your part to help survivors of Typhoon Ondoy.

See you there!

Catalyst - An incredibly powerful moment

Need I say more? From Catalyst leader, Brad Lomenick.

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.

Couldn't be there this year, but this is what it's all about.

Womensphere Summit & Film Festival

Analisa Balares is a wave maker in solving global and local issues. Let me invite you to her Womensphere Global Summit 2009 and inaugural Womensphere Film Festival on Saturday, October 24 in Tribeca, New York!

The Summit will feature over 30 inspiring speakers, cross-industry networking with several hundred women leaders and emerging leaders, over 15 world-changing non-profit community partners, and will also feature award-winning women-produced/women-directed social issue films at our inaugural Womensphere Film Festival with works by acclaimed filmmakers like Abby Disney and Kim Snyder. We will cap the day with networking with speakers and book authors, a wine tasting and chocolate tasting.

For more info, go here, and here.

Analisa Balares is a social entrepreneur and CEO of the independent media organization and leadership network Womensphere. For over two decades, Analisa has been committed to women’s leadership development, entrepreneurship, innovation, sustainable development, and education. She has produced, directed, and co-produced over 100 conferences, summits, events, and media around these topics.

CC's and other people's mail

Sometimes I don't know why I'm cc'd. Clearly I have no value to contribute to the chain, which leads to an intrusive inbox of "stuff". The same is true for lists. To date, I still receive mail addressed to the previous owners of my house.

As a brand, you've lost track of your customer (previous owners), and you've turned off new prospects (me). Obviously, a change of address is not important. Multiply that by the rate of people moving to new addresses within your target demographic.

No one likes other people's mail.

We can point fingers, but let's take the high road. Try these.

1. Track customers who've moved.

2. Partner with unintended recipients to match addresses.

2. Involve the postal office. This will help their data too.

Now we can all be friends.

Typhoon Ondoy - Project Overflow Artists

On September 26, 2009, Typhoon Ondoy brought torrential rainfall to Metro Manila in only a few hours. Rains caused severe flooding resulting in a climbing death toll forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their communities.

We're here to help.

Join us on Nov 13, 2009 as we support survivors of Typhoon Ondoy, featuring…

Rhythmology
www.rhythmologydance.org

Giselle Sera Josef

Triangle Offense
www.triangle-offense.com

Jay Legaspi
www.twitter.com/jaylegaspi
www.youtube.com/jaylegaspi

Project Overflow Benefit Concert
Date: Friday, November 13, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Elk’s Club Paramus Lodge #2001
Street: 200 Route 17 North
City/Town: Paramus, NJ
Tickets: $20.00

All proceeds will be sent to survivors of Typhoon Ondoy, particularly in the Cainta region where support is greatly needed. This event is generously sponsored by our friends from the Vine's Church Ministry and Ayala Foundation USA.

Save the date. Do your part.

Contact Mary Suzanne de la Cruz, marysuzanne.delacruz@gmail.com, for tickets. Seats are limited.

Typhoon Ondoy: Project Overflow Updates

Project Overflow is underway. It's amazing what a group of people can do for a great cause. Thanks to all who helped us find a venue. Here it is.

Elks BPO No 2001
200 N State Rt 17
Paramus, NJ 07652-2902
(201) 262-5533

Save the date.
Friday Nov 13, 2009 from 7-10pm.

Remember to support this event also:

NYC Tri-State Young Professionals for Ondoy Relief
Date: Friday, October 9, 2009
Time: 6:00pm - 9:30pm

Location: Red Sky Bar
47 E. 29th St. at Park Ave.
City/Town: New York, NY
Phone: 9175336433
Email: rcg124@gmail.com

Our goal is simple, to raise support for victims of Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines. Do you part!

Typhoon Ondoy

On September 26, 2009, Typhoon Ondoy brought torrential rainfall to Metro Manila in only a few hours. The rains caused severe flooding resulting in a climbing death toll forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their communities. I plan on doing something about it.

For the next few weeks, several of my colleagues have joined resources to launch a Benefit concert. Our main performer is Jay Legaspi featuring amazing talents (secret for now, but you will be pleased). The event is scheduled for Friday, November 13th, 2009. Doors open 7:30-10pm. We are in the process of locking down a venue and will have info shortly.

I've seen video postings and status messages asking where to help and how. This is AN opportunity. It is a way to help. It is not THE opportunity. There are many others partnering to help. We are simply responding within our demographic.

Regardless of where you help, just help because when it becomes a ME thing, it is no longer a THEY thing. We are doing this for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. This isn't a self promoting event. It's about our brothers, sisters, cousins, you name it.

I'll leave you with this quote from Rick Warren, "We have been given influence to speak up for those who don't have it." Perhaps this is our time to speak up.

For info on how to help, contact Mary Suzannne, marysuzanne.delacruz@gmail.com. We're challenging artists, event coordinators, and technicians.