This holiday season, Content for Do-Gooders is giving away 52 hours of free content work. That’s right: 52 hours. Also, FREE. And you thought we were affordable before.

So, here’s the skinny:

Free content work could include…content strategy, information architecture (navigation naming and organization; page layout as dictated by content), content audits, social media strategy, copy writing, web writing or SEO.

Your business should apply if…it is dedicated to doing good. This means you, non-profits! Whether you’re economic developers, animal shelters, educators, fundraisers or environmental activists (etc. etc. etc.).

You could also apply if…you’re unemployed and want some help editing your resume, cover letter and/or online portfolio/LinkedIn profile/etc. We think part of do-goodery is helping folks like you out.

How to apply: send us an email and tell us about your business, your cause and why you do what you do. Let us know what kind of content help you need (if you don’t know, tell us that too!). And, of course, include in the email your phone number and any other relevant contact info.

We’ll be accepting applications through November 28. We’ll pick a few causes. And in December the content work begins.

So, what are you waiting for? Apply now (or tell your favorite charity about it!).

Sometimes when I’m out networking and I tell people what I do, I get questions about where they can donate, what organizations are doing really spectacular things. Recently I met a man who wanted to give 10% of his earnings over the summer to help with the famine situation in Somalia. I didn’t know where he could go specifically for that cause, but I did point him in the direction of some other do-gooder type business owners who might know.

Today, though, I rectify that. After reading Nicholas Kristof’s latest blog post, I’ve found a way for you to get involved helping Somali famine victims. And not only to get involved by donating…but also to get your funds matched so that they go farther.

So, if you are one of the people out there wishing you could help, but not knowing how…go read his blog post and follow his lead from there.

After a long, trying fight with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and a meticulous writing, editing and re-writing process, Tina Caskey’s new book is finally for sale! Detailing her struggles with doctors, medications, insurance agencies and, of course, her own health, this book is a road map for anyone who wants to take control of their health care or the health care of a loved one.

You can purchase When Something’s Wrong: How to Navigate the World of Health Care at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble online. Proceeds from the book (after taxes) will be donated to organizations dedicated to solving the problem of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

You can send Tina a note, find health care resources or read her blog at www.whensomethingswrong.com.

Congratulations, Tina!

Tomorrow, I am participating in the Blogger’s Day of Silence for Japan.

All that means is that I won’t be posting here (or on my other blogs). I’ll be taking a moment of internet silence for the tragedies overseas. If you’re interested in joining and/or donating, click the graphic above.

Love,

Gigi

When I was 16, I spent two months in the mountains of Northern Thailand teaching English, basking in a new culture and deciding who I was going to be. Smack dab in the middle of that trip, we had a one-week vacation during which we all traipsed down to the sandy beachfront city of Pattaya.

Now, Pattaya, unknown to our rather innocent teenage minds at the time, is considered the sex capital of the world. Every street corner, beach, bar and restaurant was teeming with girls. Often underage. Ever broken.

I don’t remember the details: how we came across them, how the conversation started. But someone in our small group struck up a conversation with three Thai prostitutes. After a few minutes of conversation, we asked if we could take them to dinner. And they told us their stories:

They had started young. They were trapped. They hated men. And, yet, they each had a foreign “boyfriend,” a man who they desperately hoped would eventually whisk them away, save them from this life. Of course, these charming “boyfriends” would never do anything of the sort. Pretty Woman is just a movie.

There have been many moments that have touched my life along the way, but this one changed me irrevocably. I had to help these women. I had to do something.

This, and so many other small moments along the way, is the reason for Content for Do-Gooders.

I love to write. I love strategy. I loved working for an agency–coming up with branding concepts, writing web content, telling the unique stories of each client. But I couldn’t settle for just telling stories. I wanted to tell the right kind of stories. Stories about companies who are doing good. Stories about how you and I can get involved–donate, volunteer, make a dent.

So, here we are: Content for Do-Gooders. Affordable content services (read: content strategy, web writing, copy writing, etc.) for people and companies who do good. For anti-slavery organizations, wellness professionals, economic developers, dog shelters and non-profits. Because social justice, better economies and richer lives are what really matter. And at the end of my life, I want to say that what I did really mattered.