Backgrounder & Ask for Personalities

Background & Theme

Thousands of our military members are currently serving or deployed, leaving thousands of military families without a loved one during the holidays. While it's important to recognize those who serve, we must not forget the families that serve with them. When you consider all of the wives, husbands, kids, siblings, parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles affected, there are millions of people with an empty seat this holiday season - at the dinner table, around the Christmas tree, at a school play, or just at home with their family.

Campaign Overview
Operation Appreciation 2012 is a place for people to say thanks to military families in various ways, including a pledge to say thanks, an event to give back, and a fundraising contest that benefits nonprofits that support our military families. All of these efforts are designed to demonstrate public appreciation for the families of our nations troops.

Effort #1: The Pledge

A pledge has been launched to rally the activists and Thank military families during the holidays. The pledge offers multiple ways for people to demonstrate their support. Within 24 hours of its launch, 11,000 people had taken the pledge. This traction, along with the support of Causes.com, has garnered a front page featured placement at Causes.com as well as exposure in its weekly newsletter to 2 million subscribers. View the pledge at: http://bit.ly/OpApp2012

Effort #2: The Event

An event to give back to our military families will be produced through Operation Appreciation 2012, and will be hosted by actor Geoff Stults and other unnamed celebrities (pending dates and logistics). Three events have been conceptualized and are up for vote by the public: 1. Welcome Party for a Relocated Military Child at their New School

2. Basketball Tournament for Military Kids 3. Welcome Home Party for Deployed Serviceperson & Family at NBA Game The National Military Family Association and Military Child Education Coalition - nonprofits that serve military families - will collaborate with ConvergeUS, a nonprofit founded by Twitters co-founder Biz Stone and TechNets CEO Rey Ramsey, to produce the event with the support of Live Pulse. View the events up for vote at: http://www.operationappreciation2012.com

Effort #3: The Contest & Fundraiser

The public votes on the events at the OpApp2012.com website through donations and social sharing. Votes are weighted to encourage financial contributions: 10 votes for every dollar donated. 1 vote for each social share.

Backgrounder & Ask for Personalities

All proceeds from the contest go directly to the nonprofit organizations involved. At the conclusion of the contest, the winning event will be announced live on the website by Geoff Stults.

Effort #4: Demonstrate Celebrity & Athlete Support

Demonstrate celebrity and athlete support through a mashup of short thank you videos that are displayed on the OpApp2012.com website and shared socially. Specific hashtags are used to drive traffic through the social media channels of the celebrities and athletes involved. As of 12/13/2012, the following people are involved in this cause: Actors/Actresses: Geoff Stults, Josh Duhamel, Jennifer Love Hewitt, David Boreanaz, Bryan Greenberg, Matt Czuchry, Jamie Chung, Athletes: Shane Battier (NBA), Stephen Curry (NBA), Reggie Howard (NFL), Shad Ireland (Triathlete), Shjon Podein (NHL) Entertainment: Ali Nugent (Miss Texas), Shannon Elizabeth (model) Musicians: Fergie, Nick McElroy Tech: Craig Newmark (Craigslist & Craigconnects), Rey Ramsey (TechNet), Patrick Gusman (ConvergeUS)

Desired Goals & Impact:

1. Demonstrate public appreciation military families by: a. Engaging the public, raising awareness and rallying the activists. Over 10,000 people have taken the pledge.

b. Encouraging people to take the pledge at Causes.com to thank military families and share their stories. Over 1,000 comments/stories have been left already. c. Showcase athlete and celebrity support. Over 20 athletes and celebrities have contributed thank you videos and are coordinating social media efforts with our team to maximize exposure.

2. Host and organize a future thank you event chosen by the public through fundraising and social media voting. The event will be hosted by Geoff Stults and other celebrities for military families. 3. Raise funds for the leading military nonprofits that support our military families every month of the year. Causes.com is facilitating online donations, and 100% of the contest proceeds go directly to the nonprofits involved.

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How You Can Help - Our Ask

Your participation is critical to the success and awareness of our efforts. We invite you to participate by: 1. Shooting a short thank you video that we will post on the campaigns website. This does not have to be professionally done, and can be filmed through an iPhone, Macbook, iPad, webcam, etc.

2. Spread word of the contest through your social media channels. The proper hashtags for spreading the word are provided below to make sure all of our efforts are concerted and coordinated. Further, we will report statistics back to you so you can see the direct impact of your efforts (traffic driven through Tweets, etc.). 3. Asking celebrities, athletes, and other personalities to shoot a thank you video as well. The more faces we have, the more awareness the campaign will raise. 4. Let us know if you want to be involved in the winning event.

Talking Points for Your Video

A generic video addressing military families is desired. There is no script; please feel free to express your thanks the best way you see fit, although the general theme of the video should be to thank military families for their sacrifices. Mention of Operation Appreciation 2012 is preferred, but not required.

Delivering Your Video & Getting It Online

Once youve made a video, please email it to ryan@impactenterprises.tv. We will then publish it to Youtube and the website, and let you know when its online.

Hashtags & Social Media

Please use the #OpApp2012 hashtag if you want to speak about the general campaign. If you are supporting a specific event, please use the following: #op12party - Welcome Party for a Relocated Child at their New School #op12bball - Military Kids Basketball Tournament #op12nba - Welcome Home Party at NBA Game

Links to the Causes

Please use the following URLs when linking to our causes: Pledge to Thank a military family during the holidays: http://bit.ly/OpApp2012. Website & Events: http://www.opapp2012.com Celebrity Thank You Videos: http://www.opapp2012.com/buzz

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Questions? Want to Discuss?

For any questions, clarifications, or problems sending a video, please feel free to contact: Production & Press Chris Rhoads Live Pulse chrisr@livepulseweb.com (301) 305-6290 Celebrity Recruitment Ryan Justis Impact Enterprises ryan@impactenterprises.tv (303) 717-5849 Sponsorship Opportunities Patrick Gusman ConvergeUS pgusman@convergeus.com (646) 835-9956

About the Organizations & Financial Beneficiaries

National Military Family Association: Military families serve our country with pride, honor, and quiet dedication. The National Military Family Association is the leading nonprofit organization committed to strengthening and protecting the families of the men and women currently serving, retired, wounded or fallen. We provide families of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Commissioned Corps of the USPHS and NOAA with information, work to get them the benefits they deserve, and offer programs that improve their lives. Our more than 40 years of service and accomplishments have made us a trusted resource for military families and the Nation's leaders. To learn more, visit www.militaryfamily.com. Military Child Education Coalition: The work of the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) is focused on ensuring quality educational opportunities for all military children affected by mobility, family separation, and transition. A 501(c)(3) non-profit, world-wide organization, the MCEC performs research, develops resources, conducts professional institutes and conferences, and develops and publishes resources for all constituencies. To learn more, visit www.militarychild.org.

About the Producers

ConvergeUS: ConvergeUS, Co-Chaired by TechNets CEO, Rey Ramsey, and Twitters Co-Founder, Biz Stone, ConvergeUS drives technology-based breakthroughs for critical social problems and thus accelerates social innovation. We undertake yearlong initiatives to produce game-changing results on critical social issues that have the potential for enhanced outcomes through the use of technology. To learn more, visit www.convergeus.com. Live Pulse: Live Pulse is a digital agency that creates interactive strategies that engage and inspire. Started by co-founders Chris Rhoads and Chris Lawson, Live Pulse builds on-and-offline digital products for early stage start-ups and Fortune 1000 companies alike. At Live Pulse, creativity is driven by strategy, so the awesome products produced don't just look cool; they actually accomplish client objectives. Areas of expertise cover web, mobile, and social realms. To learn more, visit www.livepulseweb.com.