ONE MILLION AND COUNTING... We Are What We Do takes one million small steps in the right direction
05 December 2007 00:00:00
We Are What We Do, the global social change movement behind the best selling book, Change the World for a Fiver and the Anya Hindmarch “I’m not a plastic bag” shopper, is thrilled to announce that the one millionth action has been registered as “complete” on its website - www.wearewhatwedo.org
The action, which was safely registered on Sunday 2 December at 8:46am by an anonymous activist, was Action 31 Turn Off The Tap Whilst Brushing Your Teeth.
People from all corners of the globe have been using our web-based action tracker to register every time they complete one of the 100 actions from the books Change the World for a Fiver and Change the World 9 to 5. Each of the actions represents a simple way in which we can all make a difference to some of the biggest problems facing the world; climate change, poverty, crime, mental illness, community breakdown etc.
In addition to taps being turned off 23,651 times while people brushed their teeth, 25,299 plastic bags have been declined, 6,135 trees planted, 2,380 first aid courses undertaken, 6,751 baths shared by people in love and 10,448 meals had “together”. Plus much, much more. The most “done” action is Action 05 Smile And Smile Back.
One of the co-founders of We Are What We Do, Eugenie Harvey said today; “One million actions is no small feat. It is totemic. We hear that we live in an age of apathy, of consumers gingerly stepping around the big issues, refusing to roll their sleeves up and get involved. Well, we’ve evidence to the contrary – one million uncalculated acts of kindness with no price tag and no vested interest.
“And we believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve sold nearly one million copies of our books worldwide and we know that the million actions on the site were completed by over 15,000 people so we’re sure that there are many, many more people out there who have been inspired to use their everyday actions to change the world. Of course there’s still a long way to go and we are already looking to our next million – but they say your first is the hardest!”
It’s been a big year for We Are What We Do. Inspired by Action 01 Decline Plastic Bags Whenever Possible and following the success of “I’m Not A Plastic Bag”, they have launched an anti-plastic bag campaign called Plastic Ain’t My Bag which has engaged retailers and shoppers in the UK and around the world. They have also launched a national competition called Small Actions Big Change open to every person under the age of 18 and offering them the chance to contribute to the next book in the Change the World series (see www.smallactionsbigchange.org.uk).
And the next big challenge is to keep that “million dollar” feeling alive this Christmas with the sale of the one millionth copy of their books – and at just £5 a pop, Change the World for a Fiver has to be about the best value Secret Santa around!
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For further information about any of these initiatives or to check out the latest action tally, visit www.wearewhatwedo.org. For details of how to have a We Are What We Do Christmas (i.e. the simple actions you can do to make a difference at Christmas, visit: http://wearewhatwedo.org/news_events/newsarticle.php?pid=1349&article=N
For an interview with WAWWD co-founders Eugenie Harvey or David Robinson call Sandra Deeble on 020 7396 7463 or email sandra.deeble@wearewhatwedo.org or zoe.cameron@wearewhatwedo.org