Welcome to Last Week’s Wins #18!
It was an incredible feeling watching President Biden and VP Harris being sworn in last week! However, now is not the time to be complacent and let Washington D.C. go back to “business as usual”. There is still a lot of work to be done.
In addition to this newsletter, please check out the Win-Win-Win Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Substack! John Balkam and I break down some impactful initiatives and concepts in the sports industry throughout each show. Newest episode features Roger Jones, Director of Corporate Partnerships for the Cleveland Browns!
WINS THIS WEEK
These wins align with the legacies and life goals of two incredible storytellers and story-makers, Larry King and Henry Aaron. May they Rest In Peace.
MLK Day Initiatives Across Sports & Entertainment
Jimmy’s Famous Seafood Supports Small Businesses with “Famous Fund”
Collaboration in Action: President Biden’s First Few Days in Office
WHY THESE WINS MATTER
MLK DAY INITIATIVES ACROSS SPORTS
A week ago on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a variety of sports & entertainment organizations launched initiatives to amplify the voice, message, and legacy of the civil rights leader.
I wanted to shout-out a few from last Monday that stood out to me.
Atlanta Hawks x Nike: MLK Day Jersey
Pharrell x Georgia Tech x Amazon: Your Voice is Power, Music Coding Program
PeacePlayers x Brooklyn Nets: 5 Cities for PEACE
Special shoutout to a personal friend, mentor, and Kith Senior Project Manager Marlon Beck, who spent time with MLK III to discuss his father’s vision of change and how he lives to inspire and push the next generation forward.
Kith’s collaboration with the Martin Luther King Jr. Estate is a critical first step towards the brand connecting with communities and delivering on its desire to make an impact on society and culture.
JIMMY’S FAMOUS SEAFOOD STARTS THE FAMOUS FUND
I admire the mindset of so many leaders that adapted to the drastic changes almost everyone has had to overcome throughout this pandemic.
Family owned restaurants created safe carry-out options and adjusted operations in order to safely stay connected to their communities.
This might upset some, but I believe there are better ways to support local restaurants in cities and suburbs than sitting in a bar and putting others at risk.
One way is to do what Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, a staple in the Baltimore food scene, did when they started the “Famous Fund”.
This movement was built from the Barstool Fund, and began after a lost bet between Barstool President, Dave Portnoy and Jimmy’s Famous Seafood.
When the Ravens’ lost to the Titans, Jimmy’s had to change a key part of their logo.
After the logo switch, Jimmy’s ownership decided to recreate the small business support vessel in Baltimore.
A massive social media movement followed after an initial goal of raising $100K for five Baltimore restaurants was quickly achieved.
Big names in Baltimore sports & entertainment decided to get involved and show their appreciation for the movement!
Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore Ravens
Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore Ravens
Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles
Individual Orioles & Ravens Broadcast Team Members
The Famous Fund has now raised over $250K and set a new target of $350K. Jimmy’s is also connecting with more small businesses in Baltimore who need support and want to collaborate.
The Famous Fund is proof of the power of community, sports, and authentic social media engagement.
INAUGURATION COLLABORATION
The final win this week goes to a series of well-run events and activities throughout the inauguration that focused on unity and collaboration.
It should be no surprise to the Win-Win-Win community that sports and entertainment stars played a large part in the proceedings.
These included college football’s Sarah Fuller, Marlins GM Kim Ng, Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the world’s new favorite poet, Amanda Gorman.
"We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one...There is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it." - Amanda Gorman
In the days that followed, the Biden Administration displayed some impressive social media skills that confirmed my desire to grant a WIN.
The communications team got to work quickly after Twitter completed a followers reset on the US Government accounts (@POTUS) (@VP).
Obviously it is easier to get people to follow you if you are President. But still, according to Morning Brew, 24 hours after taking over, the new @POTUS and @VP obtained 3.5 million followers and 6.5 million, respectively.
As of this morning, @POTUS is sitting at 6.2 million followers while @VP just reached 8 million. The first-ever @SecondGentleman has earned himself a modest 1.2 million followers.
The digital innovation continued last week when the Biden tech team snuck a U.S. Digital Service job application into the WhiteHouse.gov HTML code. Congrats on the new job to whoever found it first!
To top off Washington, D.C.’s week of collaboration and innovation, Bernie Sanders took his own meme and turned it into a top-selling sweatshirt with 100% of proceeds going to Meals on Wheels Vermont!
Every day, we have a chance to display and amplify the Win-Win-Win mindsets to the world. Let’s continue to strive for greatness by holding our government leaders, communities, and ourselves accountable.