Chasing Down The Muse:

When a really good idea shows up, it’s hard to turn away. It’s harder when the idea comes from a compassionate young woman who is dedicated to making a difference.

Annie Kirschbaum is a young special-needs teacher in the Chicago school system. She is an idealistic, forward thinker whose personal goal is to assist others who are less fortunate than she.

Recently, Annie shared dinner with her family — Mickey and Phil — and they started talking about the tax rebate checks. Annie expressed her outrage over the wasted expenditure of $42 million simply to notify citizens about the program. Phil said something along the lines of “wouldn’t it be great if people did something really good with the money?” After some thought, Annie suggested, “How about a Donation Day?”

Instead of pouring the rebate directly back into the corporate coffers, the idea was to shift the paradigm and give it to those who have much greater needs. Give the dollars to folks who, in Annie’s vision, should have received the largesse in the first place.

The idea began to sprout legs. The more friends Annie spoke to, the more support she gathered for her idea. It wasn’t about any particular charity, but the idea of giving. Simply giving.

Phil, both a good friend and a client, called me to ask for my assistance. What could I do with this great idea? I could help! We needed a name, a timeline, PR, a blog, a video. We needed the world, and we had very little time.

“Give It Back” seemed like a perfect name for a campaign, but morphed in to “Give Something Back.” A logo was developed. A web URL was secured, and we were on a roll. Then Joseph, our writer, discovered that Give Something Back already existed as a charity vehicle, and we had a serious trademark conflict.

The plan took a breath. Which way to turn? How to name this wild idea? In the meantime, the clock was ticking. The first checks were to be mailed in just three weeks.

We started to flesh out the story and craft a compelling tale. Annie’s enthusiasm for the idea was infectious.