Not to toot our own horn, but Watermark is very proud to work so closely with Scottie Campbell, who, by day is employed by the Orlando Ballet, but is an incredible philanthropist and blogger in his spare time.
Mostly known in theater circles, Campbell has been a contributor to Watermark as a blogger for two years, and as a contributing writer for even longer. But through his connections in the entertainment industry and his dedication to helping others, he has helped raise money and awareness for a variety of causes.
Rather than assigning him more work for a change, we contacted Campbell about his good deeds and asked his take on how others can get on the charitable bandwagon:
SCOTTIE CAMPBELL: Your blog on WatermarkOnline.com, “Scottie Saves the World,” is all about philanthropy. What made you want to focus on giving back?
WATERMARK: Somehow I've always had the urge to give back in me, though it may not have been as obvious. Much of my background is in theatre and my motivation for getting into it was to change the world. It's a flaw in my character that I entered the field anticipating that my colleagues had the same altruistic, activist motives. What I found was largely the opposite, and I still work through a great deal of disillusionment with a craft that is so much a part of me.
When Watermark approached me to write a blog, I had just finished Bill Clinton's book Giving. I closed that book knowing I needed to do more; feeling like all of humanity would participate in the important project of improving our world, if they just knew some of the simple things that could be done. Maybe I could be the person to tell them.
“Scottie Saves the World” is more than two years old, and you've participated in dozens of charity-based projects in that time. In your view, which project has been the most successful and why?
Participating in Movember has easily been the most successful. I couldn't have asked for a better charity to help and I think SSTW supporters feel the same way. Through the uniquely masculine act of growing a moustache, men all over the world are calling attention to men's cancers. There's a camaraderie to it, yet at the same time it's silly. I've done it three times now and each time there are more and more people participating.
For SSTW, it started with me and just one god-awful Fu Manchu [style mustache], the next year we had a team, then this year we had events at Mother Falcon Clothing, Dechoes Resale, and an Orlando Derby Girls game. My wheels are turning to make our participation even better next year.
In this economic climate, there is tremendous pressure for people to work harder and longer for fewer rewards. How do you motivate people to spend precious off-time giving back?
You hit the nail on the head with “fewer rewards.” I think many of us are caught in jobs that aren't rewarding beyond paying the bills, so volunteering for a non-government organization can provide the rewards that you might not find in our career.
The economic climate has also provided us with some perspective, showing us how close we are to needing charitable services. There are families receiving the services of Coalition for the Homeless, for example, that never dreamed they'd need it until they lost their jobs and had the bank jerk their lives right out from under them. Hopefully we've all become reacquainted with a truth so correct, it's cliché: We're all in this together.
The only way I know to motivate people is to do what I'm doing and hope that it gives them ideas. Sometimes that doesn't work, but a lot of times it does. My partner Brendan and I keep our lives full with work, school, and projects, but we consider ourselves lazy.
Looking ahead to 2012, what new projects do you have planned for Scottie Saves the World? Which one are you most excited about?
I'm sure there will be some new things cropping up, but my main focus is on making some of the current projects better. A good example is The Do-Gooder's Coffee Klatch we started this year. It's a unique resource-sharing, networking gathering for non-profits and other do-gooders and, by all counts, it's been a success. More people need to know about it, so I want to look at ways of getting the word out. Beyond that, I want to find ways of getting people all over to have their own klatches.
What is the most rewarding feedback you've gotten as a result of a Scottie Saves the World project?
Somehow I forget that people read SSTW, so I'm always surprised when someone makes a reference to it and I can feel myself blush. I have a few people who actually greet me with, “Scottie Saves the World!” No feeling can replace people telling me that they are doing a fundraiser or volunteering because they were inspired by a SSTW project. Since that's the whole point, it's kind of funny that I don't usually know how to react and tend to wave off the notion.
If people want to contribute to, or benefit from, any upcoming projects, how can they do so?
Read my blog on WatermarkOnline.com, like Facebook.com/ScottieSavesTheWorld, or follow me on Twitter @CampScottie.
