Decade of Thanks - Do Something

Decade of Thanks
Honoring Emergency Service Workers
Thanks for your interest in sharing DoSomething.org’s “Decade of Thanks” campaign in your
classroom/school assembly. Below are a few steps that will help guide you in having your classroom or
school assembly to participate in sending their messages of gratitude.
1. Give your teacher/faculty member some background on DoSomething.org so they know who we
are:
DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the U.S. that helps young people rock causes they
care about. A driving force in creating a culture of volunteerism, DoSomething.org is on track to activate
two million young people in 2011. By leveraging the web, television, mobile, and pop culture,
DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers: young people (25 and under)
who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action.
We’ve also included a general informational letter about Do Something that you can bring to your faculty
member (page 3).
2. Give them a quick overview of what “Decade of Thanks” is, so they know what you are doing:
In remembrance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, DoSomething.org is creating the largest collection of
messages of thanks towards emergency service workers, people who put it all on the line to save the
lives of countless people each day.
Messages will be collected online at dosomething.org/thanks and via mobile by users texting DECADE to
38383. Messages will then be displayed on a “gratitude map” that will be displaying the messages of
thanks by location. In addition, people can download a thank you flyer that with a number of the
messages collected that they can then take to an emergency service worker in their community.
3. Choose the right venue.
Is your school having a 9/11 assembly Encourage your teachers and principal to make the
www.DoSomething.org/thanks site an integral aspect of the assembly. Students can text in their
messages of thanks during the assembly and watch the map automatically update with the new
messages from your school. Your school can also see the other messages of thanks that are coming
from all across the country. See our sample agenda below for more ideas on how to organize your
assembly!
Not able to share Decade of Thanks in your assembly Talk to your social studies, history or english
teacher to discuss the Decade of Thanks in class, or just get your friends to text in DECADE to 38383 to
leave a message.
Need help getting your school to include the Decade of Thanks in class or an assembly Check out the
letter we provide to help get your school on board.

3. Show everyone how easy it is to participate
People can participate by simply texting DECADE to 38383. So first text DECADE, we’ll respond to you,
then reply with your message that will then be populated to our gratitude map. Easy.
They can also participate on the website (dosomething.org/thanks) by filling out a few quick fields of
information and writing
4. Demonstrate how it is done
Create your own thank you message via text or on the web and show everyone that it only takes a few
seconds to leave a message and contribute to a great cause.
5. Show them how to take the next step
Encourage people to download a thank-you flyer after leaving their message that they can then take to an
emergency service worker. Show them the photo section on the website, and encourage them to share
photos of themselves with an emergency service worker.
Sample Assembly Agenda
I. Give an overview of the events of 9/11 and the significance of the event. Talk about why it is important
to remember this event on the 10th anniversary (10 minutes)
II. Bring up the Decade of Thanks “Gratitude Map” and share a few of the messages from your community
(10 minutes)
III. Show some of the messages from other communities (10 minutes)
IV. Have your school or classroom submit their own thank you message, either via their mobile phones
by texting DECADE to 38383 or on the website at dosomething.org/thanks. Then watch the map
populate with their message in realtime!

To Whom It May Concern:
DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the United States that helps young
people rock causes they care about. A driving force in creating a culture of volunteerism,
DoSomething.org is on track to activate two million young people in 2011. One way we
accomplish this goal is through our cause campaigns which activate up to 100,000 young
people to take action each campaign.
Our campaigns focus on a variety of causes, from poverty to animal welfare and education.
With each campaign, we focus on powering offline action by having young people get off their
couch and out into their community to create real, measurable change. We have a campaigns
team available throughout the year to answer any questions via email or phone. It is our goal to
help our campaign participants hit the ground running, stay effective throughout the year and
get involved in the spirit of service for years to come.
Our campaigns are completely free to participate in, and we have no fundraising requirements.
We also do not require an adult supervisor, however are more than happy to work with any
faculty that may be supporting a campaign at your school.
If you have any questions, please call or e-mail me at the contact information below. It’s my job
to manage a number of campaigns, and I can give you any information you may require.
Sincerely,
Greg Thomas
Business Development Associate
212-254-2390 ex 247
gthomas@dosomething.org
DoSomething.org 24-32 Union Square East, 4 th Floor New York, NY