Here's Where Representation Really Matters...And it's a Matter of Life or Death

One of my new clients for 2023 is DonorDrive4Dorothy, led by Dorothy Vernon-Brown, the firecracker behind the non-profit organization. She started the organization after her experience with trying to find a stem cell match when she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in 2013. A little over one percent of donors were Black in the national registry, in comparison 66% were caucausian. Dorothy was told if she didn’t find a match, she would die. Luckily her sister was a partial match - not ideal - but enough to give her a lifeline. The good news is today she is considered cured. That’s the power of a stem cell transplant. Dorothy has now made it her life’s mission to increase the Canadian donor registry with healthy Black young people aged 17 - 35 years old. She came to me with an ambitious media campaign idea.

They wanted to kick off Black History Month with their own history-making goal of getting 5,000 Black Canadians to swab in 2023 and register for the Canadian donor registry. We discussed creating a media event with young people getting swabbed. We found a central location - First Baptist Church (founded in 1826, it has the distinction of being both the very first Baptist church and the oldest Black institution in the city of Toronto) , we brought in one of the DD4D Goodwill Ambassadors - Head Coach of Oakville Basketball Prep and former NBA player Denham Brown, who rallied his team to take part and get swabbed. Dorothy’s doctor, medical expert Dr. Mark Minden made himself readily available to explain the importance of stem cell transplant in curing or slowing down so many diseases.

I put together a media release and a pitch and away we went! What happened next was amazing! We received coverage from CTV News Channel, CBC National News, CityNews, CP24 (twice), CTV Toronto, 680 News, CBC French Radio, Caribbean Camera and CFRB 1010. And this is only the beginning. Although we centred it around the media event, the issue can be covered outside of that moment and it’s just the jumping off point. This is a year long campaign and the goal is to educate the Black community - and other visible minorities - that it’s an important, simple and painless process to get swabbed and be a part of the registry. Even the stem cell transplant is not invasive.

I do a lot of media campaigns, and the ones that evoke change, motivate people and make a difference are the ones that I am most passionate about. This is a matter of life or death. If you or someone you know can help, head to Dorothy’s website. They will mail a kit right to your home. It’s just that simple.