Click
here to be redirected to www.HugYourKidsToday.com.
The focus of the "Hug
Your Kids TODAY" project
is simple - to encourage all
working mothers and fathers
to hug their children every
day. It takes just a minute
but the effects last all day,
for parents and their children!
WHAT'S
NEW FORTHE PROJECT?
Feb. 19, 2008 - Tony
Brigmon created a special
song just for the project.
Click
here to here the catchy
little tune called "Hug
Your Kids Today."
We plan to have a YouTube
contest for videos of
families dancing and hugging
to this delightful son
sometime soon. Listen
and smile now!
Feb.
8, 2008 - Jani
Stepanek, mother of Mattie
Stepanek, agreed to give
me an endorsement for
the top of the front cover
of my book. Mattie was
an awesome kid whose 5
books of poetry sold over
a million copies before
he died at age 14 from
Muscular Dystrophy in
2004. His fan club includes
President Jimmy Carter,
Larry King, Oprah, Maya
Agelou - and me! Check
out www.MattieOnline.com.
|
Michelle
Nichols, Founder
Hug Your Kids Today project |
I'm Michelle
Nichols, the founder of
this project. Formerly,
I was the Savvy Selling
columnist and podcast
host for BusinessWeek.com,
a record-setting salesperson
and professional speaker.
Our son, Mark, died suddenly
in 1998, at age 8 1/2
years old from brain cancer.
We learned the hard way
of the urgency for all
working parents to not
delay and hug their kids
TODAY .
I created the nationwide
billboard campaign “Hug
Your Kids Today.”
It is expected to launch
Monday, July 21, 2008
and become an annual event.
The book, "Hug Your
Kids TODAY: 5 Simple Lessons
for All Working Parents
That I Learned the Hard
Way" will be available
for the launch. |
| The
Hug Your Kids TODAY project
is making a life-altering
suggestion about the lasting
importance of hugs. When
our daughter Sabrina was
alive, our family established
and kept to our goal of
3 hugs per day -- which
resulted in more than 1,000
hugs per year for her 17
years. These hugs helped
us enjoy the good times
and work through the difficult
times. Although Sabrina
is no longer with us, we
continue to feel the hugs
and encouragement from her
spirit, and strive to make
her proud of us. Alan |
MARK'S FIRST BILLBOARD
In 2003, on the 5-year anniversary
of our son Mark's death, our
family had a pair of identical
billboards put up in Houston.
The billboards were only up
for one day but it is estimated
that over 550,000 people drove
past them. Here is what the
billboards looked like:
I think this billboard connected
with people because it wasn't
about poor us or poor Mark.
Rather, it offered an easy,
positive suggestion to all parents
they could do today - hug their
kids.
FROM BILLBOARDS TO
PRIME-TIME TV
Thousands more Houstonians
learned about the billboards
when the billboards and our
family were featured on the
Houston ABC-TV newscasts at
5:30 and 10 PM that night. The
billboards were only up for
a day because to us, relative
to the average lifespan, Mark's
life was like just one good
day.
Here is the 10 PM TV segment
(about 2:25 minutes total).
Note: There' s no sound for
the first few seconds. It's
a 5 MB Quicktime file and it
will load in a separate window
once you click on Mark's picture.
Enjoy!
THE NEXT BIG STEP -
THE BILLBOARDS GO NATIONAL -
7/21/2008!
I am working to take the idea
behind this one billboard -
Hug Your Kids Today - and take
it national, just for one day,
on Monday, July 21, 2008.
I am asking digital bilboard
companies to donate at least
one billboard in every city
on the same day, July 21, 2008,
in memory of Mark's 10-year
anniversary. It will say "Hug
Your Kids Today." To see
a rough draft of the proposed
billboard, click
here.
Yes, it's a huge idea but as
Marianne Williamson said (and
Nelson Madela made famous):
"Our deepest fear is not
that we are inadequate. Our
deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure... We
ask ourselves, who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous, talented,
fabulous? Actually, who are
you NOT to be? There is nothing
enlightening about shrinking
so that other people won't feel
unsure around you. As we let
our own Light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission
to do the same."
In return, I will work with
the electronic billboard company
to create a big, feel-good PR
splash. We will pitch this story
to all TV stations in every
billboard city, as well as Oprah
and Good Morning America, Ellen,
Leno, USA Today, the Wall Street
Journal and elsewhere.
The angle is, I'm not rich
or famous, I'm just a mom in
Reno, Nevada, with a simple
reminder to working parents
everywhere that I learned the
hard way - to give their kids
a hug every day.
| If
you lose your job, you
can get another one.
If you go bankrupt, you
can work your way out
of debt.
If you lose an election,
you can win the next one.
But your kids only grow
up once. There are no
do-overs.
Ruben, dad of Gabriela
and Gracen
|
POSSIBLE WAYS THIS
PROJECT COULD GET BIGGER
This project is going to take
a lot of work and connections.
However, I am a great believer
in the story of Stone Soup.
I am showing up with my pot,
a stone and some water and I
am looking for fellow dreamers
who can add their carrots, potatoes
and meat. Together, we can change
the world on July 21, 2008 -
and beyond!
Here are some ideas I've come
up with but I don't have the
resources to pursue. If you
would like to help, offer your
connections, or have other ways
you can help, please let me
know. Call me at (775) 303-8201
or Email
Not just daily news media but
articles in weekly and monthly
magazines.
Work with Washington DC to
pass National Hug Your Kids
Day, with a proclamation, etc.
Backing by The Compassionate
Friends (national grief support
group) and other grief support
groups, other pro-child groups
like Boys and Girls Club, the
Parent-Teachers Association,
the American Medical Association,
the American Cancer Society,
major adoption groups like Dave
Thomas' (founder of Wendy's.)
MADD, National Assoc. for Gifted
and Talented, Gazette's moms
blogs (like RenoTahoemoms.com)...
A touching YouTube video?
Picked up by major blogs, Internet
and global news agencies.
RESULTING BOOK PROJECTS
Book #1 - by July 21, 2008:
Hug Your Kids TODAY:
5 Simple Lessons for All Working
Parents
Book #2 - in 2009 : Hug
Your Kids TODAY: The Billboard
that Changed America
Click
here to read more about Book
1 & 2
WEB DOMAINS & MUGS
I have already bought www.HugYourKidsToday.com
and www.HugYourKidToday.com
I also own www.HugYourKidsDay.com
and www.HugYourKidDay.com (plural
and singular versions.)
I can envision
buttons, bumper stickers and
mugs that say "Hug Your
Kids Today."
HOW I GOT THIS IDEA
- THE GENESIS
As you know, in the Fall of
2007 I felt God tell me to stop
my business, Savvy Selling
International, and await
further instructions. It now
looks like I'm supposed to write
and talk about (gasp!) Love.
This has been a real stretch
for me. I've spent 25 years
in the sales world. On the other
hand, I can see that I've been
prepared for this task. I've
learned to write, speak, work
the web, do PR - and even podcast.
SPEAKING:
My message is simple: to encourage
all working parents to give
their children a hug every day.
But the implications are huge.
Not only from a personal sense,
but from a business viewpoint.Corporations
are filled with working parents
who feel guilty for all the
time they spend at work and
as a result, the parents are
distracted. This decreases productivity.
It's a similar story for their
children.
Based upon my credibiltiy as
a columnist for BusinessWeek.com
and a grieving parent, I am
encouraging all working parents
to hug their children every
day. Then they can then focus
100% on their work. This will
increase their happiness, productivity
and profitability and their
children will be happier and
more productive too.
Comments? Suggestions? Feedback?
Let me know how we can make
the impact of this project even
bigger.
Email
me:
|
