We would like to extend our thanks to Jim, the EyeCon staff, and all of the fans who signed the shirt. This is why our fandom rocks. Enjoy the video and pictures after the jump!

(If you are interested in serving as a Regional Advisor for Fandom Rocks, don’t be shy – contact us!)

Hello out there Fandom Rockers!

As some of you recall, we recently finished Campaign Two, where our funds were divided between the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and the Lawrence Humane Society. During Brande’s visit to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund offices, they presented her dad, a former Marine, with one of their special IMSFF challenge coins. This presentation meant a great deal to him, and after he explained the significance of the coins, to Brande as well.

The challenge coins have a long-standing history in the military, especially in the Marine Corps. Among service members, they are a way of verifying service in or with a particular unit. When they are presented to someone outside the unit, they represent meritorious service on behalf of that unit.

After arriving home from Camp Pendleton, Brande found herself thinking about the debacle at the Creation Convention in Chicago, where Jared and Jensen were given Special Forces coins, which later turned out to have been presented by a man who misrepresented himself. Most of us have heard the story, so we won’t rehash the details.

Brande emailed our wonderful contact at the IMSFF, Angela McCrary, and inquired about possibly receiving a few of their challenge coins to present to Jared and Jensen. She explained what had occurred in Chicago, and how she felt this would serve to not only replace those coins on some level, but to promote the IMSFF and Fandom Rocks to the cast and crew. She felt that the show deserved the coins because without Supernatural, there would be no Fandom Rocks, and without Fandom Rocks, there would have been no contact between the fans and the IMSFF.

Brande received an enthusiastic response from Angela, and two challenge coins were sent to her to be presented to Jared and Jensen. There began a month of nail- and cheek-biting.

In order to be “valid,” a challenge coin must be presented by a member of the unit for which the coin is issued. In other words, regular people like all of us could give someone a challenge coin, but the meaning of meritorious service to the unit would be invalidated. Brande had to find a Marine, specifically an injured Marine, to present those coins on behalf of the IMSFF, Fandom Rocks, and the fandom in general. She tried to find ways to arrange this, such as having a Wounded Warrior attend Creation LA with someone from Fandom Rocks, but it just was not meant to be, mainly because she is the Fandom Rocks contact closest to LA and could not make the trip for financial reasons.

Enter Bobby. Or, rather, his wonderful alter ego, Jim Beaver.

Brande has Jim on her friend’s list on her personal MySpace account, and in a burst of inspiration, messaged him to ask for assistance. She was hoping he would be willing to present the coins for us, or barring that, might know some other way in which we could arrange a presentation. Having seen him mention his years of service in the Marine Corps, she knew that he would understand the significance of the coins.

She explained that we needed a Marine to present the coins. She offered up every bit of qualification and verification that she could, including contact information for the IMSFF, Fandom Rocks, etc., as she wanted to assure Jim of our validity and good intentions. Jim messaged back after verifying the information provided and agreed to present the coins for us when he returned to Vancouver to film the final episodes of Season Three.

Brande shipped the coins to Jim several weeks ago, along with a poster Dana designed with the names of all the Fandom Rocks contributors on it. On his return to Los Angeles, Jim was gracious enough to share this picture from the set, which was taken when the coins were presented to Jared and Jensen.

In Jim’s own words:

I explained to Jared and Jensen, separately, what the medallions represented and the nature of the organizations (IMSFF and Fandom Rocks) behind the presentation. I took special pains to make it clear that I had investigated the credentials of the organizations in order to avoid any embarrassment such as happened in Chicago. I explained to them that, ideally, the medallions should be presented by an injured/wounded Marine and that while I was not an injured Marine, I hoped that my status as a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War was sufficient to the purpose. They both indicated that they were very touched by the award and by the interest that our troops in the Middle East have shown in Supernatural. Later, we took a break from shooting a scene for the season finale of the show and had one of our camera operators record the presentation on my camera. (So the slightly soft focus is my camera’s fault, not Brad’s! He’s a great camera operator.) And then we all went back to work.

As I say, I think the guys were very pleased and honored.

We would like to give special thanks to Angela at the IMSFF, for her assistance and her work with the Wounded Warriors, and to Jim for taking the time and effort to assist Fandom Rocks and the IMSFF with the challenge coin presentation. We would also like to thank everyone in the fandom, most especially to the contributors of Fandom Rocks. All of your efforts gave us the reason and ability to make this happen. It has truly taken the effort and energy of an entire group of people to accomplish this goal, and to accomplish it so successfully. I cannot envision a more fitting moment for this presentation to cap off our campaign than during the filming of the finale!

And now … let’s see what we can do with Campaign Three! Onward and upward!

*The picture is exclusive to Fandom Rocks, as it was presented to us by Jim himself. Please do not repost this picture in any other groups or take it for fan art. If you would like to share this information, we would greatly appreciate links back to this post instead.

Brande, Rebecca, and Dana are gearing up for the third campaign and beyond. The final tally on our charity poll placed Write Girl and Invisible Children as your top choices. We have contacted them and are hopeful that they will accept our interest and support soon. Here are just some of the things we are working toward over the next few weeks:

• Incorporating as a non-profit organization – in progress!
• Hosting promotional tables at conventions: Are you attending and willing to help out? Let us know!
  • Sci-Fi on the Rock
    
  • Creation’s Salute to Supernatural
• Communicating with the Supernatural cast & crew on the campaign progress
• Creating new contribution methods for fans; including Ebay links, becoming an Escrip group, etc.
• Working with you, the fans, on creative ideas for fundraising – we need you!

We need you …

Podcasts, conventions, auctions … we need you! We can always use fresh brains on the Frontline. Drop us a line!

Campaign #2 was a success! Supernatural fans raised $2,350 USD between September 1, 2007 and March 1, 2008 for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and Lawrence Humane Society. (All donations after February 29, 2008 will be allocated to Campaign #3.)

Campaign #2 Progress

Campaign #2

$: 2,350 / 2,000 (118%)

(Includes Cafe Press purchases ($31) and Amazon Associates fees ($27.47).)

Campaign #2 Donors

Thank you to the following donors! If you prefer to be listed as “anonymous” or your country is incorrect, please contact us.

Dana S. (US)
Elizabeth J. (US)
Louisa H. (US)
Cheryl W. (US) (+Cafe Press purchase)
Lindsay W. (US)
Heather V. (US)
Nikki M. (US) (+Cafe Press purchase – We’ve made it!)
Crystal C. (US) (Thank you again!)
Melissa S. (US)
Kara B. (US)
Stephanie P. (US) (Thank you again!)
Rebecca M. (Canada)
B. R. (US)
Shannon M. (Canada)
Vanessa H. (Germany)
Martina E. (Austria)
Erica M. (US) CafePress purchase
Deirdre G. (US)
Sam C. (US)
Janine L. (UK) (Thank you again!)
Constance C. (US)
Gabriela G. (US)
Karen B. (US)
Creation Convention Raffle Fans! (TBD)

Amy P.
Melanie A.
Mike A.
Dee B.
Jill W.
Suzy M.
Sasaneh S.
Jenn P.
Rachel W.
Racheal L.
Marena B.
Lauren H.
Sarah H.
Chrissy B.
Laura S.
Kimberly M.
Martina E.
Marion S.
Melissa S.
Ray V.
Louis C.
Deanna D.
Stefanie F.
Sarah F.
Laurel G.
Gina S.
Wil S.
Marcie Z.
Cindy B.
Erin K.
Cynthia D.
Megan L.
Jessie W.
Adie W.
Mary W.
Shannen B.
Becky G.
Lori M.
Elizabeth K.
Jen G.
Shannon B.
Beth F.
Samantha K.
Sheila K.
Amy B.
Julia A.
Elissa ?
Heather G.
Tonya H.
Emily P.
Candace W.
Cherry S.
Dana ?
Michelle W.
Emilie D.
Stella S.
Carol L. C.
Cat J.
Cassie B.
Karen B.
Scott B.
Jennifer T.
Vicki O.
Sandra M.
Becky C.
Jenni ?
Jennifer A.
Arewnsouth
Embroiderama
Kate L.
Sandy D.
Em S.
Ryan A.
Kim C.
Tim M.
Emma H.
Karen ?

Anke E. (Germany)
Nancy C. (US)
Joanne D. (Canada) CafePress purchase
Elisabeth A. (US) + CafePress purchase
Angela B. (US) scarf auction
Linda F. (US)
Marena B. (US)
Christina K. (US)
Rebecca J. (Australia)
Stephanie P. (US)

Carolynne P. (Canada) CafePress purchase
Hiroshi Y. (Japan) CafePress purchase
Stephanie L. (US)
Janine L. (UK)
Crystal C. (US)
Emilie D.L. (Canada)
Brandy O. (US)
Bernadette G. (Switzerland)
Christine L. (US)
Anja K. (Germany)
Melissa S. (US) CafePress purchase
Elizabeth H. (US)

Other Donation Options

If prefer to donate with a check or money order, please contact us, and we will work with you to make that happen. You can also donate directly to the charities. Please let them know it is in support of the Fandom Rocks campaign so we can add the donation to our totals.

Donate to the Lawrence Humane Society| Donate to the Semper Fi Fund

The Fandom Rocks Frontline would like to thank the fans for their continued support of the campaigns. Every email, comment, and donation from each corner of the world keeps us motivated and enforces our appreciation of our awesome fandom. (We have said you guys rock, yes?)

Stay tuned for the campaign report and Campaign #3 charities announcement!

Brande’s Trip: I drove down to my parents’ place in Orange County from my house in Northern CA on Friday, about 9 hours’ drive. Saturday morning, I picked up ilovesn at the train station near my parents’ house as she came in from LA to join me. My father, a veteran Marine, my mother, my boys, Lissie and I were all planning to be there for the handoff.

The drive to Oceanside was very short and we actually were a bit early, so we killed some time outside the gates of Camp Pendleton. Once we were through the gates, we followed my parents (who were in a second car) as my dad used to be stationed at Pendleton and knows the base layout. It’s a very good thing as the Wounded Warrior Center is tucked away in a fairly secluded section of the base, just off the lake. The scenery was lovely and I wish we’d been able to take pictures, but due to Sec Regs we could not.

The IMSFF location is not just offices, as I previously thought. It is actually a 26-bed rehabilitation facility for Marines too injured to return to their regular unit, but not injured enough to require hospitalization. After transfer to the Wounded Warrior unit, they can continue with physiotherapy, meet with counselors, etc. About 50% are rehabilitated enough to return to their regular unit. Those that are unable to return to their unit and are scheduled for a medical discharge are then scheduled to work with counselors who assist them with the transition to civilian life. They also receive assistance with PTSD and other psychological issues related to their experiences and injuries.

(Read the rest of Brande’s report at our Livejournal community.)

Dana’s Trip: On Sunday, I drove from Champaign to Lawrence to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day parade with the Lawrence Humane Society and present them with our check from the second campaign. While in town, I stopped by Target and picked up two dozen or so travel-sized bathroom items (deodorant, sunblock, toothpaste, etc.) to drop at the community shelter from our first campaign. Loring, the director, was not in the office yet on Monday morning, so I left the donation with a note. It will be good to keep in touch with them over the next year as they work toward funding for a new building/location.

Late Sunday night, I sent an order to Kinko’s for 20 sheets of our bookmark. I had three bags of Starburst candies to tape to 100 bookmarks for the parade. We handed them all out within the first 5 blocks, but I am getting ahead of myself.

First, we stood in the drizzling rain for an hour, finishing the float, waiting, waiting, and waiting. Then we walked in the parade for 20-minutes, handed out all of the bookmarks, and were completely soaked by the end. My fingers are crossed that at least a few of those bookmarks made it into the hands of a new viewer.

When we went back to the humane society, I presented Midge with the check and took a photo with the staff who were on hand. We did a video tour of the shelter, and I will have that on the web site as soon as I get back home and can edit everything together.

The renovation/expansion completed last fall at the humane society had a $600,000 loan. They have paid it down, roughly, to the last $120,000. With our donation and other fundraisers, they hope to have it paid off this year.

(Read the rest of Dana’s report at our Livejournal community.)

Lawrence Humane Society Tour: Dana walked through the humane society with Midge, the director, on Monday, March 17. On Mondays, the shelter is closed to visits for cleaning, and you can see the staff hard at work while Dana and Midge continue through the building. The front of the building has meeting and offices spaces. On the tour, you can also see:

• the main dog and puppy area
• the dog holding area
• the opposite side of dog holding
• the food room
• the working room where staff do laundry, give baths, etc.
• the main cat and kitten areas
• the cat and kitten holding areas
• the media room for education purposes

(Dana apologizes in advance for all of her cooing over the animals. If she could take them all home, she would.)

The phone interview from last fall is included at the end of the video over the Humane Society’s fundraising/informational video.

Support for Fandom Rocks was in full force the last three weeks of February as everyone came together to reach the campaign goal. PayPal donations, CafePress purchases, and Amazon Associates fees raised over $2,200 USD for our charities! On March 1, when we added Dana’s donations to cover various fees, the final tally came to a nice round $2,350 USD!

Thank you to everyone who donated, contributed to the fan-organized fundraisers, and helped spread the word. The campaign would not have been a success without the involvement of all the fans and supporters.

The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and Lawrence Humane Society will each receive $1,175 USD from Fandom Rocks. Plans are underway to deliver our donations in person. Brande will be working with the Semper Fi Fund, and Dana will be road-tripping to Lawrence once again to visit the Lawrence Humane Society. Would you like to join Dana as she tours the shelter and enjoys the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Lawrence? (The Humane Society will have a float, so there will definitely be pictures.) Send us a note to let us know to look for you!

1. The poll for the next campaign charities is still open on the web site. We would love to have a large turnout, and it closes on Saturday, March 15. Please vote if you haven’t yet!
2. The Lawrence Humane Society is placing a plaque in recognition of Fandom Rocks in their building! We have an opportunity to contribute to the text on the plaque. Jump over to our Livejournal community and share your ideas; anonymous comments are fine, too. We will send the final draft on Monday, March 10.

CONTACT(S): Rebecca Mawhinney, Brande Ruiz, Dana Stodgel
Phone: 217-408-4006
Email: contact@fandom-rocks.com

Successful Charity Campaign for Fans of CW’s Supernatural

Champaign, IL, February 14, 2008 – Fandom Rocks will celebrate the successful completion of their second campaign in two weeks. Fan-selected charities, The Lawrence Humane Society, of Lawrence, KS (lawrencehumane.org) and The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund (semperfifund.org), will be the beneficiaries of the campaign, each receiving 50% of the donations raised. The campaign runs September 1, 2007 to March 1, 2008 and has already achieved the goal of raising $2,000 USD. The Fandom Rocks Frontline attributes the campaign success to the constant support of the worldwide fan-base.

Fandom Rocks, created by fans of the CW television show Supernatural, is a global grassroots effort, organized almost entirely via the internet. Their initial campaign, which supported the Lawrence Community Shelter and SOS Children’s Villages lasted three months and raised over $2,400 USD. These efforts have garnered interviews with local newspapers in the community affected by donations, as well as several media and entertainment weblogs.

Efforts for their third campaign will begin immediately upon selection of the next two charities. Interested parties may vote on this action at the Fandom Rocks web site, www.fandom-rocks.com. Updates on the efforts of Fandom Rocks, links to interviews and charities, and information on all promotions can also be found at the Fandom Rocks web site.

###

What’s going on for Fandom Rocks? We have three weeks left in our second campaign, and that finish line is rapidly approaching. We are just $450 shy of meeting our $2,000 goal – to be divided between the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and the Lawrence Humane Society.

Did you know if we reach our goal, the Lawrence Humane Society has offered to put the Fandom Rocks NAME on display in the shelter – permanently. (If you listened to our interview with the shelter director, you may have already known.) How awesome is that?

Just like last campaign, we’re in the final mile, and it’s time to assess:

• Are you willing to join us for a third campaign?
• Do you have a charity you want to nominate?
• Do you have great ideas for promoting Supernatural and Fandom Rocks?

If so, let us know! We will have the next charity poll available in a few days. Drop by to cast your vote and check on the status of Campaign #2.

In other news, there are plenty of conventions on the horizon, and we are doing what we can to attend at least one of them. We will provide more information on that once we know more. If you are attending a convention, we hope to see you there! Bring your Fandom Rocks gear, and we’ll find you in the crowd!

Podcasts are in the editing room and slated for production for episodes 3.08, 3.09 and 3.10. Have something you want to share about those? Let us know! We’d love to have you join us!

Keep rockin’ fandom!

A few highlights:

• The dinner and raffle Friday night drew about 80 guests and filled the reserved portion of the restaurant. Total proceeds received were $800! Special thanks to Shannen and Amy for their efforts organizing the event. We also want to thank those who donated items, Houlihan’s for the use of their restaurant, as well as all the guests who attended.
• Dana spoke on Saturday afternoon in front of the collected guests about Fandom Rocks and our goals. Despite some last-minute technical issues and with the help of flying chocolate, she was well-received. People even beat Dana back to the table to talk about Fandom Rocks.
• We also spent time speaking with the CW Source and Time Out Chicago. We will be sure to share those links with you when they are published.
• Based on comments from people Dana met, many of whom were new to the campaign, Fandom Rocks now has an announcement list. Updates will likely only be every couple of weeks, and include campaign progress, reminders of deadlines, etc.
• With the auction and recent donations, we are now at $1480 collected, or 74% of our goal. We still have over 3 months to go!

On a separate, but related note, Jared and Jensen were presented with Special Forces coins by Master Sergeant Kevin Wise during their panel on Sunday. It felt very appropriate and humbling considering it was Veteran’s Day. We had a chance to say hello to MSG Wise earlier that day and were informed the presentation was something of a surprise to them. We also found out he is familiar with Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, and we are so very pleased to support their cause.

As reported by the CW Source:

“Master Sergeant Kevin Wise, a Special Forces soldier, presented the guys with a letter from General David Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, as well as honorary Special Forces coins from his unit. Supernatural is the most requested DVD among armed forces personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan! The guys were amazed and touched, and presented Wise with a shooting script, signed by the cast and crew.”

Learning of the popularity of Supernatural DVDs instantly made us think of our fellow fandom campaign, Operation: Winchester. They launched their second phase on the same weekend. For those who may not be aware, Operation: Winchester is collaborating with the Staten Island Project Homefront to send Supernatural DVDs in care packages to soldiers overseas. Operation: Winchester has a partnership with Fandom Rocks through Amazon Associates, which means that a portion of the DVD purchases will be donated to Fandom Rocks. To learn more about Operation: Winchester, please visit their web site.

(More photos are after the jump. See all of our photos in the forum.)

Keep spreading the word, and we will make our goal in no time. Remember, if you are holding an event to support Fandom Rocks or attending a Supernatural-related event, we have graphics you may use to create custom flyers. There are plenty of fans and “could be” fans to be reached yet.

Be sure to vote in the latest poll. We want to know how you keep informed on Fandom Rocks. Do you get all the information you need from our web site? Do you visit our community sites? Do we need a mailing list? Let us know!