Cultivate & Motivate
Learnings, teachings, and tips & tricks on social impact, volunteerism, and creating lasting change in communities around the world.
Adopt a Shelter Pet Day with Savy Leiser
April 30th is Adopt a Shelter Pet Day. We interviewed Savy Leiser, author, influencer, and animal lover, about their advocacy and how others can get started in social impact.
April 30th is Adopt a Shelter Pet Day. We interviewed Savy Leiser, author, influencer, and animal lover, about their advocacy and how others can get started in social impact.
Savy Leiser of Furever Home Friends
According to NationalToday.com, Adopt a Shelter Pet Day was officially recognized as a national holiday in 2013. The goal of the holiday is to encourage people to adopt animals from shelters as shelter pets make great lifelong companions. This day also raises awareness of the need for volunteers at animal shelters, as the shelters are quite often understaffed and in need of more resources.
Savy Leiser is one such advocate of this day who is using their influence to better the lives of shelter pets everywhere. Leiser is an author, influencer, and animal lover based in Chicago, Illinois. They are the host of a podcast entitled “Your Morning Guru” as well as the YouTuber behind the “Savy Writes Books” channel. Leiser is also the proud owner of a small business, Furever Home Friends, where they sell picture books and plushies based on real-life shelter pets. These books teach the importance of caring for pets while advocating for the adoption of shelter animals.
“I was going through my own journey of seeking help for mental health issues at the time, and it made me realize how much we humans really have in common with our pets. I wrote a story about Chewie, and before I knew it, the dog stories had grown into a series.”
Leiser started Furever Home Friends because they’ve always had a passion for writing. As a kid, their mother would ask them to write stories about their rescue dog. When they finished college, Leiser started to revise the old drafts they had saved from past projects. Upon adopting their dog, Chewie, in 2016, they learned about Chewie’s past and some of the emotional and psychological issues he had. Leiser says, “I was going through my own journey of seeking help for mental health issues at the time, and it made me realize how much we humans really have in common with our pets. I wrote a story about Chewie, and before I knew it, the dog stories had grown into a series.”
In regards to Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, Leiser wanted to clarify that “giving pets a good home is always a net positive, whether you adopt or shop.” However, they prefer adopting over buying from breeders or pet stores because oftentimes, shelter pets, especially those with trauma, are overlooked in favor of purebreds. “There are plenty of good reasons to shop, [such as] finding a pet that is compatible with your allergies,” says Leiser. “However, sometimes shopping from pet stores ends up financially supporting "puppy mills," which are big breeding farms that mistreat the animals in order to produce as many pets for a profit as possible.” Doing your research is imperative when looking for a new pet.
Leiser encourages influencers wanting to get started with advocacy to find causes that are close to home, both literally and figuratively. They say starting local is helpful because “you can often get to know the [volunteers and coordinators] face-to-face.” Picking a cause that is personal will be more meaningful and feel more authentic to you. Leiser became involved more deeply with shelter animals because they shared a connection with Chewie, their rescue dog. While you may not have direct experience with a cause, one of your loved ones, someone, or something in your nearby community might. Taking a minute to look around and see where you can help could be the start of something entirely new, exciting, and impactful.
Thank you so much to Savy Leiser for their interview! You can follow them at their social channels below:
YouTube: SAVY WRITES BOOKS (https://www.youtube.com/savyleiser)
Website: https://www.SavyWritesBooks.com
Instagram: @SavyLeiser @FureverHomeFriends
Twitter: @SavyLeiser @FureverBooks
Giving Back Represents the Best Way to Move a Brand Forward
It’s 2022, and it’s very easy to think of all brand spokespeople as inauthentic corporate shills, and brands themselves as enemies masquerading as friends. We’re constantly inundated with #ads and sponsored posts, and even the bad guys spend millions of dollars to make us think they’re the good guys.
Creating Authentic Social Impact When Our Online World Seems Fake
It’s 2022, and it’s very easy to think of all brand spokespeople as inauthentic corporate shills, and brands themselves as enemies masquerading as friends. We’re constantly inundated with #ads and sponsored posts, and even the bad guys spend millions of dollars to make us think they’re the good guys.
As a marketing and advertising executive with 15 years of experience creating branded content, I’ve always wanted to create campaigns that gave back, but never knew where to start and how to ensure the message was authentic.
At first glance, it’s easy to be overwhelmed at the prospect of how to make this all come together, but the formula for an authentic and meaningful social impact campaign is actually very simple:
Cause + Content + Call To Action = Social Impact Media
A great example of social impact media in action is being executed at this very moment- the American Cancer Society and the NFL working together to give one lucky fan a VIP experience at Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday. Through the league’s Crucial Catch program dedicated to fighting cancer and promoting early detection, fans can enter a sweepstakes by donating at least $10 to the American Cancer Society, with one lucky winner getting tickets to the big game, roundtrip airfare, lodging, and a meet-and-greet with a huge star.
The surprising twist? That star is TikTok legend Addison Rae. By enlisting Rae to promote the cause, the NFL and American Cancer Society are appealing to a younger generation of fans that may not otherwise have early cancer detection on their minds. Boasting over 5 billion likes and 86 million followers on the platform, she provides an avenue to a huge swath of followers to promote the NFL’s cause, and offers an authentic voice in the fight against cancer. Early cancer detection is something very near and dear to Rae, as her grandfather, affectionately called PawPaw, battled and overcame a bout with cancer when she was a young child.
How did this campaign follow the simple cause + content + call to action formula?
The NFL identified a cause they cared about, early cancer detection.
They then partnered with the American Cancer Society in order to create a call to action, encouraging donations to be entered into a sweepstakes in order to win a VIP Super Bowl experience.
They created content by partnering with a social media star who can authentically speak to their cause, amplifying the message and taking the campaign to new heights.
The result will be undeniable: a greater donation to the cause, a brighter light being shined on the NFL, and a more meaningful impact-based campaign.
We’re in an era where brands are forced to navigate how to give back in a climate that is many times fraught with inauthenticity and corporate posturing. As a result, it’s easy for media planners to experience paralysis by analysis overthinking what causes and advocates are authentic to their mission.
As this NFL x American Cancer Society x Addison Rae execution shows, as long as a cause is authentic and a brand wants to make an impact, creating a meaningful campaign is many times much easier than we think.
Jon Widawsky
Director, Client Development
Cluster for Change
