Day of Gratitude Community Coordinator Guide
All of us working on bringing Day of Gratitude to the World have a vision that this Global Gratitude Movement will inspire words and actions of gratitude and appreciation to become prominent in communities across the globe. We are absolutely THRILLED that YOU understand the power of Gratitude and are interested in bringing more of it to your Community. Thank you in advance for your passion, your vision, your time and your work as you make your Community and the World a better place for all of us.
Day of Gratitude events are intended to be short in duration and easy in implementation. We are encouraging Community Coordinators to organize Appreciation Flash Mobs if they are doing public events. An Appreciation Flash Mob is a 30 to 60-minute Flash Mob during which people gather with signs and banners that say things that express their appreciation to the Profession that we are honoring that month. In Raleigh, we gather around lunch-time so that people can easily join us during their lunch breaks. By all means, though, feel free to get creative with your event and do something different. Just be sure to SHARE your ideas with us.
This Day of Gratitude Community Coordinator Guide is designed to assist you in organizing your own Day of Gratitude Appreciation Flash Mob in your Community. After reviewing, please contact us at info@dayofgratitude.org if you have questions or need assistance.
Included is information on the following important logistics:
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Expressing your intent
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Joining the Day of Gratitude HQ Group
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Creating a clear vision
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Choosing your location
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Registering your event
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Gathering your supplies
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Creating your plan
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Promoting your event
Express Your Intent to Organize a Day of Gratitude Event
We’re so excited that this Global Gratitude Movement is inspiring you to action. Please email us at info@dayofgratitude.org and tell us why you are inspired and what you intend to organize in your community.
Join the Facebook Day of Gratitude HQ Group
After you email us about your intention to organize a Day of Gratitude event in your community, you will be invited to join our Facebook Day of Gratitude HQ Group where we provide internal operations updates, information about future Day of Gratitude events and files and templates that you can use for your own events.
Creating a Clear Vision
“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”
– Jonathan Swift
The first step in organizing a Day of Gratitude event in your community is developing your vision for this event and your role in it. “Begin with the end in mind,” as Stephen Covey likes to say.
Here are some questions that may help you get clear about what you are wanting to create in your community:
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What about this idea, this dream, calls you to organize a Day of Gratitude event in your community?
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What is your vision for your event and your Community?
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What is your intention for your own experience?
Choosing a Location for an Appreciation Flash Mob
“Make visible, what without you, might perhaps never have been seen.”
– Robert Bresson
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Identify a space in your community that:
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Is a public place, such as a:
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Park,
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Town center,
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Public space outside a building where the people you are celebrating work (hospital, school, fire department, manufacturing facility, etc.);
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Is centrally located to the people in your community;
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Is easily accessible to the number of people you expect to participate;
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Has adequate parking for the number of people you expect to participate;
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Is available the date and time of your event.
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Coordinate securing your desired location with your community’s Events Planning office or local Police Department. All communities are different, so we can’t offer you clear instructions here. You may need to make a few phone calls to determine which office or agency can grant you permission.
Register to the Map
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It’s important that you register your Day of Gratitude event to the Day of Gratitude Map so your community members can find it and so we can have a visual representation of all the Appreciation Flash Mobs and other events taking place around the world.
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Please do this even if you facilitate a private Day of Gratitude event – Simply include ‘private’ in your title when registering on the map.
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Please include a brief description of your event.
Suggested Supplies
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Self-made or professionally made banners and signs.
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You can find samples and templates in Day of Gratitude’s online Facebook HQ.
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We recommend one main banner and in various sizes with various expressions of gratitude.
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We order inexpensive signs from http://www.overnightprints.com/posters and then mount them to inexpensive foam board. You are welcome to find your own resources. In time, we will have sponsorships that will help us with general materials used for Day of Gratitude events.
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Stickers or some other “token” of participation to give to people who attend the event.
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A camera. We will be heavily using Social Media to spread the word about Day of Gratitude as well as to share the gratitude that is being expressed and experienced around the world. Take lots of pictures and post them Day of Gratitude’s Social Media platforms at:
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https://www.facebook.com/DayofGratitude/
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Twitter account coming soon
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Instagram account coming soon
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T-shirts will be made available soon.
Creating Your Plan
Here is an outline to assist you in organizing the details of your event:
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Location
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Date and time
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Secure authorization to hold short event at your selected location.
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Assemble a team of people to help you. Keep it simple and keep it fun. This is all about positive energy and experiences.
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List the channels through which you will get the word out.
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Create a list of supplies and materials that you will need.
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Attain supplies and materials. You may create all of your signs, you can instruct attendees to make their own or you can have them printed at a printer of your choice.
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You are welcome to seek local sponsors to assist you with materials and promotions. At this time, we have no formal sponsors but will be seeking them as this Gratitude Movement gains momentum.
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Create timeline for how your event will unfold.
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Have a few volunteers lined up to help you the day of the Appreciation Flash Mob.
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Draft a script of what you will say to inspire the attending crowd. Feel free to create a positive and uplifting chant of some sort and definitely share it with us so we can join in.
Promote Your Day of Gratitude Event
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Create an event on Day of Gratitude’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DayofGratitude/.
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Register your event on the Day of Gratitude Global Map at www.dayofgratitude.org.
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Contact local newspapers, and news and radio stations. Use the information provided on Day of Gratitude’s web site to explain to people what Day of Gratitude is, the power of gratitude in our communities, and about the Day of Gratitude Appreciation Flash Mob you are organizing for your community.
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Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Meetup, etc….whatever way you like to connect to others, share information about Day of Gratitude and your event. Share Day of Gratitude’s Facebook page posts through your own accounts will help build awareness and momentum as well.
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Local Organizations – Share information about Day of Gratitude and your events with churches, schools, businesses of all kinds, government agencies, professional associations, clubs and social organizations – any that you have a connection with or that you are willing to contact.
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Get inexpensive Day of Gratitude business cards and pass them out as you tell people you come in contact with in your day to day about Day of Gratitude. Write the date of the upcoming event on the back of the card. A template is available at Day of Gratitude’s Facebook HQ.
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Tell everyone you know!