50 State Zine Challenge!

In the middle of January, I realized I’d sent out zines to friends in 17 states since the start of the year and I wondered if I could make it to all 50 + DC & Puerto Rico. I couldn’t believe that it only took a week from the time I put the request out on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

In sharing the goal, I had friends I hadn’t spoken to for some time reconnect to say they could help me by sending one to them or to a friend or relative. I had relative strangers--folks I’ve never met in person reach out to offer to help. And, it challenged me a few times to reach out to friends and former coworkers who I knew lived in states I needed.

On February 4, I sent my last zine to Sundance, WY -- completing the challenge with my last state!

A few things I learned:

• When you share a fun goal… people will come out of the woodwork to help you! And some people will go WAY above and beyond!

• Many people who helped referred me to relatives or friends and it was a joy to play a small part in helping them reconnect!

• Similar to fundraising, 1:1 asks were the most successful in helping me quickly check off states when I knew someone may have a connection.

• As I got toward the end, I also included an ask for referrals for my last straggler states (RI, WY)… which provided some great leads!

All in all, this was a super fun challenge to set that was energizing to tackle and taught me a lot in the process. Strongly recommend setting a big goofy goal that will be fun for you... and remember to invite your network of friends to help!