Giving Back is Our Way of Life
When I first started taking my business to the internet, I came across a whole list of revenue ideas that stem from just being an online presence. Now, that is not why I brought my craft to the big world wide web. But I also knew that this could be another way I could give back to my community, and I knew exactly how I would do that.
A Family to be Proud of
To understand my passion for giving back, and which organizations I give to, you have to understand where I came from. As I have said before and on my lives I come from a military family. Both my father and husband severed in the Navy and my son is currently 11 years in the Army. So I know the struggles of of loved ones coming and going, and standing with both pride and worry as they sign a blank check that could very well include their life. Along with the struggle that can come with said loved one being away and holding down the home fort. This is part of the reason why I joined the VFW many years ago and became involved in helping veterans and their families. I had lived through the struggles, and if I could I wanted to help relieve those for others.
You couldn't find any two parents more proud of their child then in this picture.
Always Give Back, Even if it is a Few Dollars
If you talk to anyone who works for or runs a charity they will tell you every dollar counts. During all my involvement with the VFW my passion to give back grew. And with the VFW Riders group I am apart of we want to give as much as we can to our local charities both for veterans and for those families around us that may be on hard times. To do this we have done many a fundraisers for the Opportunity Council in our small town and a family relief program through our VFW. These take a lot of time to organize and run, and because of that they happen only a few times a year. But I wanted to give more back. Especially to our veterans. Living in a Navy town we see the signs on the front lawns and local business welcoming squadrons back from deployment. And it always feels like it's a different one every week. This is where one of those new revenues I discovered comes into play.
Our Riders group collecting needed house hold goods for local families.
Why Not? If you watch anyone that has a large following on social media you will hear the word affiliate about a hundred times during a video. When I first started, I was asked many times by followers if I had any for some of my favorite tools I use for my crafting. So much so, that I finally looked into it and was just going to see where it goes. And the response was great! Everyone loved that they could just order the things I was using in that live. Now if you don't know, when you use an affiliate link it is a special link for a company, for example Amazon. What happens is when you order from it a small portion of the money goes into an account and about every 3 months I will get sent a check. The best part? When your order from an affiliate, it doesn't raise the price on the customers end! Win win right? Now, I didn't start using these links for the money, but now that they took off I was getting some back. So I brought the idea up to Alex about putting the whole check into an account for a relief fund for local military families. This fund is used for things like a spouse is deployed and the wife and children at home experience something unexpected. Like the transmission in the car going out. No one really budgets for something like that right? And with one person thousands of miles away can be even more stress full then when it happens in everyday life. So what this does is pays for something like that flat out. No need to pay back. Let me tell you, the look of pure relief and gratitude is all the payment I need. When I explained this fund to Alex, who comes from a long line of Marines, she didn't even bat an eyelash. Why not? It's a great way to continuously give back and show our thanks, all the while providing our followers with our favorite tools.
Our Riders float at the Veterans Day Parade
I am an Influence?!
With more and more people ordering from my links the word influence started popping up from my business coaches. If I can be an influence I can have a one stop shop for all the links I had. Which is great not only for me but you guys! It's easy to give one link instead of different ones to each person. The way I see it, you may be looking for the chalk mix I use in my paint, and find other goodies you didn't know you wanted. That's how shopping always get me. This girl loves options! So now I am proud to say I have an influence link! And if you want to get some of my favorite tools while giving back to veterans give it a copy and paste today! Happy Crafting!
https://www.amazon.com/shop/influencer-5fd5db4c
