Business Side of Stories

This weekend I went to a Camp Kesem National Conference in Indiana. I am co-chair of MSU's chapter and every year there is a conference between all the schools that have Camp Kesem. If you don't know what we are, we send kids whose parents have/have had cancer to camp for free for a week in the summer. We're responsible for raising $40,000- 60,000 every year and also are the counselors at the camp. Well, while I was at the conference we were talking about getting donations from huge corporations that are nationally known. One girl from Wisconsin told everyone about how much she loved American Girl stories. She did a little research and found out that the lady in charge of the American Girl Corp. was from a town over. She wrote her a powerful letter explaining how much American Girl stories have done for her growing up and how amazing it would be if the company could help out their chapter of Camp Kesem. The lady ended up giving over $2,000 and they keep in touch every few months. She actively participates in promoting CK Wisconsin.

This made me realize how influential children's literature can be even when you're a college student trying to raise money for a group you're in. Because these stories affected her life so much, she was able to persuade the owner into donating and becoming involved in Camp Kesem. I thought about what kind of books have influenced my life and how I could develop a relationship with the author now. It was interesting to see the business side of what literature could possibly do for you.