First Bloganthropy Awards Winner Announced
I am so pleased to share the following news:
Tonight, at the Child’s Play Communications Dinner’s On Us event for mom bloggers in New York City, Katherine Stone, publisher of the popular blog, Postpartum Progress, was named the winner of the first annual Bloganthropy Awards. The event coincided with BlogHer, the largest annual conference of women in social media.
The Bloganthropy Awards recognize bloggers who have made a difference by using social media effectively to promote a good cause. Stone became an advocate for women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders after experiencing a severe bout of postpartum depression herself in 2001. Her feelings of fear and isolation inspired her to create Postpartum Progress, now the most widely read blog in the United States on postpartum depression (PPD), postpartum anxiety, postpartum psychosis and other mental illnesses related to pregnancy and childbirth. Stone received an honorary plaque, and a cash prize; a $1,000 monetary donation will be made directly to her cause.
The first annual award event was sponsored by Child’s Play Communications, specialists in connecting companies with moms, and Bloganthropy.org, a non-profit organization that aims to empower bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities. Give Health, one of Procter & Gamble’s social sustainability programs, signed on as the inaugural Bloganthropy Awards corporate sponsor.
We at Child’s Play are delighted to honor Katherine Stone and her blog, Postpartum Progress. Katherine has shown great dedication to illuminating important postpartum issues over many years and it is our pleasure to recognize and help support those efforts.
“Postpartum depression and perinatal mood disorders affect over 800,000 women annually in the United States alone. Increased awareness of PPD is critical to early diagnosis and treatment,” says Debbie Bookstaber, co-founder of Bloganthropy.org. “For six years, Katherine Stone solely supported Postpartum Progress, helping countless women through her efforts. She recently incorporated as a non-profit with the goal of expanding the organization’s reach and effectiveness. We hope that recognition as the first annual Bloganthropy Award Winner and the prize money donated by P & G GIVE HEALTH will help Katherine Stone to accomplish this worthy goal,”
Candace Lindemann, co-founder of Bloganthropy.org, added: “The Bloganthropy Awards enable us to applaud the work of these powerful women and to inspire others to express themselves using social media.”
In addition to Stone, four nominees were acknowledged for their unique contributions in the blogosphere. They are:
Kristine McCormick, Cora’s Story
Kristine touched audiences and developed a strong following by writing about the tragic 2009 death of her six-day-old daughter from an undetected congenital heart defect. This birth defect affects one in 100 newborns and can often be diagnosed in utero or at birth through simple, non-invasive tests. As a means of coping with her grief and educating parents-to-be, Kristine writes about her process, posts current information about congenital heart defects (CHDs), and advocates for universal screening for CHDs. (http://www.corasstory.org)
Maggie Ginsberg-Schutz, Violence Unsilenced
While researching and writing an article profiling seven survivors of domestic violence, Maggie, a freelance journalist, created Violence UnSilenced in February 2009, to shed light within the blogging community on domestic violence and sexual abuse/assault by giving survivors a voice. The site is supported by countless bloggers and also has been featured on iVillage, BlogHer, Momocrats, and mentioned in the Huffington Post, raising awareness of this very important issue. Alltop created a new domestic violence channel after learning about Violence UnSilenced.
(http://violenceunsilenced.com)
Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel and Beth Whitman, Passports With Purpose
Passports with Purpose unites travel bloggers through an online fundraiser each December. Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Michelle Duffy and Beth Whitman, the bloggers behind Delicious Baby, Nerd’s Eye View, WanderMom, and Wanderlust and Lipstick, respectively, launched a travel-inspired fundraising initiative in 2008. Participating bloggers procure travel-related items for an online random drawing. Using Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and other social media channels, Passports with Purpose earned $7,500 for Heifer International in its inaugural year and nearly $30,000 in 2009 to build a school in Cambodia. The goal for 2010 is to raise $50,000 to build a village in Southern India. (http://www.passportswithpurpose.com)
Megan Jordan, Velveteen Mind
Megan Jordan, a blogger and Gulf Coast resident, draws upon her personal experience of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, her lyrical voice, and her highly-engaged audience at Velveteen Mind to help others in her region rebuild. Forming a partnership with Tide detergent and its “Loads of Hope” disaster relief program, Megan hosted a holiday “blogging carnival” about the meaning of hope. Megan and several other bloggers joined the “Tide Loads of Hope” truck in New Orleans, providing laundry services to residents in need during the holiday season. (http://www.velveteenmind.com/)
Thank you to everyone who joined us at Dinner’s On Us to celebrate the Bloganthropy Award finalists and winner.
Finalizing Guest List for Dinner’s On Us!
On August 5th, Child’s Play Communications is hosting Dinner’s On Us. Like our past social media events, the dinner, scheduled to take place in NYC the evening before BlogHer, is designed to be an intimate gathering of leading bloggers and a select list of top sponsors, which this year include Nickelodeon, Cuisinart, Baby Boom, Cold Stone Creamery, K’NEX, Hershey’s/Kraft, Giddy Up, Backyard Safari Outfitters/Zillionz, California Strawberry Commission and Toyota.
Most importantly, at Dinner’s On Us we are presenting the first annual Bloganthropy Awards, to recognize those who have used social media to help a worthy cause. The event will also feature drinks on the rooftop at a location convenient to BlogHer as well as a lovely meal.
SPACE IS LIMITED. If you have received an invitation and have not yet RSVPd, please do so now. If you have not received an invitation and would like to be on our waiting list, please send your name, the name of your blog and your contact information to childsplay@childsplaypr.com.
Dinner’s On Us will be a very special event, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Child’s Play Hosts Pre-BlogHer Dinner’s On Us/Bloganthropy Event
On August 5th — the evening before BlogHer 2010 begins– Child’s Play Communications will host a more intimate gathering, Dinner’s On Us, where 100 leading mom bloggers and 10 sponsors can easily network and learn about what each has to offer the other. As an added attraction, the event will also feature the first annual Bloganthropy Awards, designed to recognize bloggers who have used social media to support good causes.
This will be Child’s Play Communications’ fourth major mom-blogger event. (Click here for information on our last one, the LA Bloggers Brunch.) The agency will treat blogger guests to an elegant and authentic NYC night out–drinks, with a view, on the terrace of a lovely location, followed by a great dinner buffet, the awards presentation and the opportunity to connect with fabulous sponsors interested in creating relationships. Sponsors to date include Nickelodeon, Toyota, Cuisinart, Giddy Up, K’NEX, Baby Boom, Hershey’s/Kraft, Backyard Safari Outfitters/Zillionz, The California Strawberry Commission and Cold Stone Creamery.
Companies: For additional information, contact Julie Livingston, (212) 488-2060 X 12, jl@childsplaypr.com.
Bloggers: We have a few spots left for guests. Because we want to give exposure to our sponsors, we are inviting moms who do product reviews to attend. If that describes you and you’re interested, please forward your name, blog name and contact information to childsplay@childsplaypr.com.
Dinner’s On Us will be a unique and exciting event. We look forward to seeing you there!
50 Mom Bloggers Attend Our LA Brunch!
What a day in LA!
On April 13th, Child’s Play Communications hosted its third annual Bloggers Brunch – and its first on the West Coast. The Los Angeles event, designed to connect companies with mom bloggers in an intimate atmosphere conducive to conversation and personal connections, featured a panel presentation by leading West Coast mom bloggers, titled, “Connecting with Moms in Social Media.”
Speakers included Jill Asher, Silicon Valley Moms Blog; Ciaran Blumenfeld, Momfluential; Caryn Bailey, Rockin’ Mama and Maryanne Conlin (MC Milker), The Not Quite Crunchy Parent. I had the opportunity and the distinct pleasure of serving as moderator for this great group of women, all of whom offered terrific, thoughtful and highly useful advice to an audience of corporate representatives mixed with other mom bloggers.
The morning presentation was followed by an elegant brunch in the sun-filled courtyard of the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, where 50 West Coast bloggers enjoyed each other’s company and engaged one:one with top-of-the-line sponsors including Bandai, Cold Stone Creamery, Dyson, Nickelodeon, PajamaJeans, Pottery Barn Kids, Summit Products and Toyota. Temptress, meanwhile, provided makeovers to all our guests. The sponsors offered wonderful giveaways and an amazing array of raffle prizes, from baskets full of toys to shopping and spa gift certificates to vacuum cleaners to a year’s worth of free ice cream. Guests also had the opportunity to test drive cars.
We were so pleased to have such a great turnout of bloggers and sponsors alike, and I would like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks to speakers, sponsors and guests. Based on the numbers of bloggers who attended, the quality of the sponsors and the feedback from both—in person and on Twitter — I’d have to say this was our best Brunch ever!
For photos of the Los Angeles Brunch, please click here. Video coming soon!
We’ve got more Bloggers Brunch events and other great mom-focused social media activities planned for 2010. Be sure to get in touch if you’d like to know more about them (sa@childsplaypr.com). Hope to see you there!
Stephanie Azzarone
President
Child’s Play Communications
135 W. 29th St., Suite 701
NYC NY 10001
Specialists in reaching moms
Phone: (212) 488-2060 x 11
Email: sa@childsplaypr.com
Website: www.childsplaypr.com
Blog: MomMarketTrends.com
Twitter: ChildsPlayComm
California, Here We Come!
Our April 13th Los Angeles Bloggers Brunch is just around the corner and, happily, all the pieces are falling into place. Fifty great mom bloggers will be joining us at The Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach for a lovely meal, mixing and mingling with other bloggers and an up-close-and-personal look at what some top brands have to offer, including Bandai, Cold Stone Creamery, Dyson, Nickelodeon, PajamaJeans, Pottery Barn Kids, Summit Products and Toyota. Some of the highlights: the opportunity to test drive cars, enjoy on-site makeovers, and win raffle prizes including gift cards and baskets valued at $500 and a full year’s supply of ice cream for free!
The Brunch itself will be preceded by a panel presentation titled, “Connecting with Moms in Social Media,” featuring a terrific group of mom bloggers offering advice on how marketers can work most effectively with moms in this space. Speakers include:
- Jill Asher, Silicon Valley Moms Blog
- Ciaran Blumenfeld, Momfluential
- Caryn Bailet, Rockin’ Mama
- Maryanne Conline (MC Milker), The Not Quite Crunchy Parent
I will have the pleasure of moderating the panel.
We still have a few spots left for companies who would like to hear the presentation. To join us, register here!
This is Child’s Play Communications third annual Bloggers Brunch.Visit Mom Market Trends next week for photos of the event and a summary of key tips from our speakers.
Child’s Play Hosts LA Bloggers Brunch, April 13th
We had so much fun before, we’re doing it again!
I’m pleased to announce that on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 in Los Angeles, Child’s Play Communications will hold its third annual Bloggers Brunch, an ideal opportunity for companies to connect directly with leading mom bloggers in an intimate, relaxed atmosphere, conducive to conversation and personal connections.
As with our most recent Bloggers Brunch, a standing-room-only event held last November in New York City, the LA Brunch will kick off with a panel of leading mom bloggers, who will discuss best practices for reaching moms through social media – blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Sharing their insights, panelists will discuss how the “momosphere” has changed, as well as current trends and issues that impact their interaction with the corporate world today. They will also answer questions from the audience.
The morning panel presentation will be followed by a noon brunch at which sponsors may exhibit their products to up to 50 mom bloggers, for review. The low-key format and limited number of exhibitors (no more than 10) together provide the perfect setting for sponsors to establish relationships with our guests.
This is Child’s Play Communications’ first West Coast Bloggers Brunch. The agency’s most recent New York Bloggers Brunch attracted bloggers with an audience of 1.2 million moms. Please click here for a description, photos and video of the 2009 event. For more details on the 2010 Bloggers Brunch, including the speaker panel, please click here.
We invite companies to attend the panel presentation and/or to become a Brunch sponsor.
To register for the panel presentation only, companies should click here.
To sponsor the event, please contact Julie Livingston, (212) 488-2060 x 12, jl@childsplaypr.com
Mom bloggers who would like more information about attending, please send your blog address and contact information to childsplay@childsplaypr.com. There is no charge for bloggers to attend the Brunch.
Space is limited, so marketers and bloggers alike, please secure your spot at the 2010 Los Angeles event on April 13th as soon as possible. Early bird discount deadline for sponsorship and panel attendance: March 12.
