“We teach our kids not to talk to strangers. But some of our best conversations have been with strangers.” So says The Stranger, in this charming pictorial-adventure-diary from Franke James, Toronto-based founder and editor of the blog Office-Politics®.
Last August Franke wrote an extremely engaging and thoughtful piece about The Go-Giver (she even posted her own go-givers list of forty-five specific people).
Franke just shared a remarkable story with us that seemed so go-giverish, we had to share it with you.
In December a fellow I’ve never met sent me an email asking if I would agree to host a dinner for him and his partner, on the condition that he would make a $200 donation to the charity of my choice. A bit of an odd request, to be sure. I’ve written and illustrated the whole event here.
It’s worth checking out — gloriously illustrated in Franke’s amazingly creative trademark style, and with a storyline about charities and the kindness of “strangers” that would make Pindar smile. (Teasers: the stranger’s request ends up feeding 77 homeless men, women and children — and you end up learning the stranger’s name and even seeing his face.) This would make a great film short.
Soon after writing her post, Franke was interviewed by BlogTo, and the interview generated so much traffic that it crashed Franke’s server and necessitated her moving to a larger one.
Hmm, needing a bigger server … sounds a lot like the second law of stratospheric success.
There is a Greek myth about the time Zeus and Hermes visited a town cloaked in human disguise as simple peasants. Everyone bolted their doors and turned the strangers away except Baucis and Philemon, an old couple with hardly a penny to their name, who took the strangers in and offered what little food they had. The entire town was later destroyed — except for two people (guess which two), who were first removed to a mountaintop for safety.
If Toronto is ever in trouble with Zeus and Hermes, I think Franke will come out of it just fine.
Hi, John! Saw Franke’s tweet about this post and had to check it out! Lovely story! Thanks for bringing our attention to it! Kathryn xoxo
John,
Thank you for the wonderful blog post on my Dinner with a Stranger visual essay. I’m very flattered and humbled.
I’m also thrilled — because your Go-Giver readers will “get” the magic of this very simple fundraising idea and some will even put it into action for the benefit of good causes everywhere. Many thanks!
Best,
Franke James
John,
Thank you for sharing Franke’s work. Not only was this one of the best Go-Giver stories I’ve heard, but Franke’s “amazingly creative trademark style” is just that. It is also inspiring.
Thanks John.
Thanks Franke.
Jason