Stigmas and Changing Minds

Have you seen this commercial yet? I love it. I mean, love it. So simple. So powerful. So....moving. And so true.



It's a campaign that's long overdue and damn am I jealous of the minds who developed it (psst...brilliant minds....call me. I need your help in my day job).

At the same time, each time I watch this, I replace the T-shirts with the ones you and I know too well:

Premature Ovarian Failure...
PCOS...
Clotting Disorder...
Endometriosis...
Male Factor...
Unexplained infertility...

The stigmas, the silent suffering, the numbers (one in six. one in eight) are eerily parallel. Every time I see this ad it moves me.

Now, if you're already teary, why not just watch THIS video, which DOES directly relate. No parallels here. Just raw truth. Hannah Wept. Sarah Laughed, you did an amazing job:

What IF? A Portrait of Infertility from Keiko Zoll on Vimeo.

More from the U.T.E.R.U.S, Brigade - Pass it on!

No word from the boss yet, but lots of good ones from you. Thank you for putting things into perspective and keeping me sane.

That being said, I am less than productive at work today. I'd rather be Xmas shopping. Or knitting, or doing anything other than figuring out last minute details and such for our conference which is ten days away.

Speaking of shopping, the U.T.E.R.U.S. brigade is at it again. Long story short, bloggers can do more than just blog. In this case, we can unite and put our talents and pennies together to help a family that could really use some help right now.

How?

• Donate an item to the eBay auctions or bid on an item yourself.
• Donate an item to the etsy store (I heart etsy) or buy one yourself.
• Sell ad space on your blog and donate the ad revenue to U.T.E.R.U.S.
• Donate a skill--web design, etc--or run a garage sale at home (and then donate the money)
• Do this really cool thing that Lori found and donate the money you make from it.
  
• Tell people about U.T.E.R.U.S. and ask them to get involved too.

What's more is that Mel at Stirrup Queens made this crazy announcement this morning:

When we last left off, we had $837.12 in hand. And then an anonymous donor issued a challenge. She will match bloggers dollar for dollar over any amount made through the eBay auction, the etsy site, or direct donations. In other words, if you donate some pottery to the etsy store and it sells for $40, it actually sold for $80 because this person is matching you dollar for dollar.

If I had time, I would totally steal the buttons that Calliope created and stick them here so you had more of a visual enticement. For now, I'd better get back to work.

After I browse the U.T.E.R.U.S. Etsy shop....