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What Charities Can Learn From the Marvel Universe
Thursday, 6th September 2018 at 8:26 am
Alecia Hancock
Charities wanting to grow their cause can learn a lot from Marvel superheroes, writes Hancock Creative director Alecia Hancock.
If you want to grow your cause's impact, you could do worse than asking Spider-Man. And, for that matter, Deadpool… and Ant-Man, Wolverine, Captain America – even Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy!
Basically, if you want to grow your cause, you can learn a whole lot from Marvel.
Marvel, of course, are master storytellers. They have, over the years, nailed the origin story, using it to create multi-dimensional characters with flaws, imperfections and incredibly loveable traits. As a worthy cause, this is exactly what you need to do.
You need to give your cause an identity – one that your audience can relate to, laugh at and empathise with. Do this, and the hard work of brand-building is as good as done.
Sound too simple? Well,it is, but telling your story honestly and authentically – while also having the ability to laugh at yourself and admit to your mistakes – takes a fair bit of guts. This is where we can all learn from the characters created by Marvel.
Let's break this down. Do you think we'd be cheering Spider-Man on if we didn't know about his youth, his relationship with his aunt and uncle and his understanding that "with great power comes great responsibility"? Of course not! Without the back story, he'd just be a strange chap in a fancy-dress costume.
Would we feel an affinity to Hulk if we didn't know that his Hulk-ness was the result of Bruce Banner being hit by gamma rays while trying to save teenager Rick Jones? Nope! And what about the genetically mutated Wolverine? It means so much knowing that James Howlett initially saw his wolverine status as a curse, but reframed the story so that his curse became a powerful tool for good.
That's where you – the worthy causes, charities and not for profits – come in.
That's where you can really learn from Marvel! That's how you can tell your own story. Take a step back and consider the origin of your cause. HOW did it start? WHY did it start? WHY do you continue to fight for your cause?
Let's take a look at a few superheroes I know. The Kids' Cancer Project started on an ordinary day in the late 1980s, when Col Reynolds was driving his empty tourist coach past the Children's Hospital in Camperdown, Sydney. After stopping to let two youngsters with bald heads cross the road, he parked and went into the hospital on the spur of the moment.
Touched by the spirit of everyone he met that day, Col started his personal mission to help kids with cancer in any way he could. THAT is an origin story, and it's awesome. That is a story that needs to be told, over and over.
Then there's Orange Sky Australia, the mobile laundry service for people experiencing homelessness. Orange Sky was founded in a Brisbane garage by two 20-year-old mates, Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett, who had the idea of restoring a bit of dignity to people doing it tough. In late 2014, the boys installed a couple of washing machines and dryers in the back of their old van and visited parks around Brisbane to wash and dry clothes for free. Another brilliant story, another cause we will happily get behind.
And then there are the stories that come from the darkest of places. The Saba Rose Button Foundation was formed after 11-month-old Saba was left severely brain damaged from the flu vaccine. When Saba received compensation for her injuries, the Button family made the decision to create a foundation for other children who needed intensive rehabilitation. Today, they dedicate their lives to improving the lives of children like their daughter. From the darkness, came light.
Similarly, there's the Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation. Its own origin story is heartbreaking: eighteen-year-old Thomas Kelly was walking through Sydney's King Cross on a night out with his girlfriend in July 2012, when he was hit in an unprovoked and cowardly attack.
His family were at home watching TV when the call came from St Vincent's hospital. By that time, Thomas was already undergoing emergency surgery. Two days later, there was no choice but to switch off Tom's life support.
As a legacy, The Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation was set up to reduce violence associated with alcohol in our community.
These organisations are able to make a huge impact to Australian families because of their willingness to share their story, however devastating. As hard as these stories are to tell, they're incredibly important in growing a cause's impact. The stories affect us, impact us, inspire us.
Every cause has a story to tell. Every cause has its WHY, otherwise it wouldn't exist! The trick is to tell the story honestly and authentically. If you do this, we promise that you'll have a Marvel blockbuster on your hands!
About the Author: Alecia Hancock is the director of not-for-profit educators Hancock Creative. Want to learn more about how to tell your story to raise funds and grow your impact? Come along to Change the World, a free marketing for NFPs – www.hancockcreative.com.au/ctw
Alecia Hancock | @ProBonoNews
Alecia Hancock is an entrepreneur, educator, and director of Hancock Creative.
Tags : Alecia Hancock, charities, Marvel, superheros,
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2 Comments March 8, 2013 at 11:30 am
No Subway Service Between St. George and Union Stations on Sunday
This will be the second of four expected weekend subway closures in March.
By Steve Kupferman
The TTC is still replacing a bunch of aging signals and relays on the University subway line (which turned 50 last week). And so, just like last weekend, there will be an interruption in subway service. Everything between St. George and Union stations will be shut down, starting Saturday at midnight. Service will resume on Monday, at 6 a.m. (Last weekend's closure was for both Saturday and Sunday.)
Embedded above is a handy explanatory video, in which TTC CEO Andy Byford and Corporate Communications Executive Director Brad Ross try to make viewers feel like this isn't that big a deal. Which, really, it isn't, because the Yonge subway line will still be running normally, and shuttle buses will be stopping at all the closed stations.
The TTC expects to close the University line for two more weekends after this one while they complete their signal work. For more details, you can take a look at their press release.
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Filed under Brad Ross, public transit, Andy Byford, news, service interruptions, subways, TTC, university line

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Détail n°: Attractive house in the Etruscan olive and wine area, 7 km from the sea.
Annexed building with independent entrance and composed by 1 room of 35 sqm, 1 apartment of MQ. 50, 1 three-roomed apartment of 52 sqm.
The rent with an income of 1.000,00 euro monthly.
The property is located on a plot of 13.000 SQM, annexe building, house, shed and pool.
On the ground, there are 60 olive trees, fruit trees and a natural pond.
30 km from the centre of Rome.
Very close to Ceri -old village.
Ceri is a small town in the Lazio (central Italy), a part of the comune of Cerveteri, in the province of Rome. It occupies a fortified plateau of tuff at a short distance from the city of Cerveteri.
Inhabited before the 7th century BC, the town's native population changed several times, from Etruscans to Romans. Numerous tombs from the Etruscan and Roman periods can be found in the area.
The town as it looks today was founded in 1236 when the inhabitants of its Caere neighbour abandoned the former to be better protected by rock formations. To this, they gave the name of Caere Novum (simply Ceri, not to be confused with another neighbour, Cerenova), in order to distinguish it from the ancient city, Caere Vetus (today Cerveteri). In the same period, the castle was constructed for the defence of the town.
Since the 14th century, Ceri became the property of some of the greatest Italian families: from the Anguillara (of which the greatest exponent was Renzo da Ceri) to Cesi, the Borromeo, the Odescalchi, and ended with the Torlonia, who are still owners of a large part of Ceri.
These two large Etruscan cemeteries reflect different types of burial practices from the 9th to the 1st century BC and bear witness to the achievements of Etruscan culture. Which over nine centuries developed the earliest urban civilization in the northern Mediterranean. Some of the tombs are monumental, cut in the rock and topped by impressive tumuli (burial mounds). Many feature carvings on their walls, others have wall paintings of outstanding quality. The necropolis near Cerveteri, known as Banditaccia, contains thousands of tombs organized in a city-like plan, with streets, small squares and neighbourhoods. The site contains very different types of tombs: trenches cut in rock; tumuli; and some, also carved in rock, in the shape of huts or houses with a wealth of structural details. These provide the only surviving evidence of Etruscan residential architecture. The necropolis of Tarquinia, also known as Monterozzi, contains 6,000 graves cut in the rock. It is famous for its 200 painted tombs, the earliest of which date from the 7th century BC.
The Lazio region of Italy is home to the country's capital city, Rome. There are more than 5.5 million people living in this part of the country. The region is located on the western coast of the country and shares border s with Tuscany, Marche, Abruzzo and Umbria, amongst others. Rome is the largest urban area in the region and most other towns are small. The region is divided into five provinces for administrative purposes.
The climate of the area is mostly mild, with warm summers and mild winters. Summers see very little rainfall, with the highest levels in November and December.
Many people choose Rome, both as a retirement destination and for work. The city has everything that is needed for daily life. There are quieter districts of the city which are ideal for those who want a quieter retirement, although the city offers many opportunities for a busy social life. The rural areas outside the city and in the other provinces are ideal for those who are looking for a traditional Italian way of life.
For those who want to establish their own business in the region, there are many options. The city of Rome has established businesses which are for sale, although there are opportunities for those who have a trade to establish their own business. In the rural areas, there are properties which are suitable for conversion to small hotels or B&Bs, and there are many properties with land for those who want an agricultural based business.