Dear Chapter Members of because I said I would,
COVID-19 is the humanitarian crisis of a generation. This virus threatens to end the lives of our loved ones, devastate our emotions and take our livelihoods. It expects us to just break down and fall into civil unrest. Well, it has another thing coming. Human beings have conquered diseases far worse than COVID-19 and we are about to do it again.
As High School Chapter Members, you are the innermost circle of our supporters. I am writing to inform you that the entirety of the because I said I would movement is shifting its focus to fight our common enemy. If we really claim to be a social movement “dedicated to the betterment of humanity” then I guess the phone is ringing pretty loudly right now. I held a video call with various Chapter Leaders for their input on how our operations should change. Based on their feedback, this is how the High School Chapter experience is changing:
Changes we’re making
- A YouTube live stream hosted by me will replace our in-person meetings: This new, interactive experience will include live interaction with attendees, raffles and content made by High School Chapter Members. I have been working with a friend of mine who is a well-known streamer to create something I think you guys are going to like. A 60-minute live stream will take place every week!
- Group Volunteer Projects are becoming Individual Action Plans: We are still going to work to help people in need. That will never stop. We just have to make an impact as individuals now. You can earn Promise Badges for each Individual Action Plan you complete!
- All group gatherings are cancelled: If you saw my recent video on COVID-19, you’ll know how I feel about about social distancing. We all need to make the promise to stop this disease by ending meetings and gatherings.
This is NOT just you joining a live stream. In fact, if that’s all that happens, our movement will fail. High School Chapter Members play a huge role in this plan: How Chapter Members are involved
- Videos of Chapter Members will be featured on the live stream: This includes live interviews with you, recorded videos of your promises and clips of your perspective on what’s going on in the world.
- Create viral moments with your promises: Each week will call on all members to make and keep the same promise to fight the effects of COVID-19. Then we will all post about that promise we all kept with the same hashtag at the same time. If we do that, we have a chance to trend worldwide, which can get others to take action.
- Contests between different High School Chapters: Who is the strongest chapter of because I said I would? We will pit chapter against chapter to see who can make the most impact. Who will be the champion?
- Live chat moderators: We will be having live GIVEAWAYS, poll questions and other things that need your engagement.
- Offline action is needed: We need your help reaching out to local organizations and community leaders to make our unified efforts possible. There will be actions to take behind the scenes and we will need your help.
I’m actually excited about these changes. It’s a different approach, but I think this is an opportunity to get more students from your school involved. That is incredibly important in this moment since we will be focusing our efforts on COVID-19 response. I’m not going to just stand by and let this happen to our country, to my community or my family. I hope you feel the same way. Stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Alex Sheen, Founder
Note: We recognize some students may have a harder time accessing the technology needed to join these virtual workshops. We are actively coming up with ways to address these issues and ensure everyone can participate in some way.
