Press Release
VerifiedSupporter.com
Tapping into America's Generosity
As a disabled vet, and the product of a broken home, things haven't always been easy for Jeff Powell. But having things difficult has helped him sympathize with others who, like himself, have needed a helping hand from time to time. That sympathy led to a desire to want to do something for others. And that desire is what helped him create, and continues to fuel, his idea of VerifiedSupporter.com, an online program he hopes will tap into the generosity of the American people to help not just vets like himself, but others in need as well.
For a ten-dollar donation that can be made on the Verified Supporter Web site (www.verifiedsupporter.com), a visitor is given the rights to use the official Verified Supporter logo on their own Web site, or wherever they might be able to use it. Powell's thinking is that using the logo, which "verifies" that the user has donated, shows that the donor cares. "These are tough times," says Powell. "There are a lot of people in need, and people want to do something to help. Their donations do just that, and they can then use the logo to show others that there are people who are doing something, not just talking about helping, but actually doing something. Hopefully the logo inspires others to donate, too. And so on. We're hoping for a viral phenomenon that will just continue to snowball."
The donations go to various veterans' agencies and hospitals, as well as other charities. In fact, the Verified Supporter Web site links to a long list of other charitable organizations. "We're not here just for our own [veterans'] causes," explains Powell. "We want people to come to the site and start thinking about all of the ways they can help, and all of the places they can put their donations. We know the American people are generous in tough times and we just wanted to sort of give them a place to come to, to channel their efforts. The money's out there. We just want to make it easier for it to circulate and find the right spots where it will do the most good."
In addition to purchasing the rights to use the logo, visitors to VerifiedSupporter.com can purchase T-shirts, coffee mugs, pens, and other such merchandise, each item with the official Verified Supporter logo. Again, all donations go to various charities. "We feel the sky's the limit once we get the word out," says Powell. Towards that end, Powell is negotiating with various retail outlets to make the Verified Supporter merchandise available in stores. He's also talking to Web-hosting companies in the hopes that they would be interested in offering the logo to their Web clients. And a full-scale advertising plan is in the works to broadcast television commercials nationally with the hopes of driving people to the Web site.
"We're leaving no stone unturned," says Powell. "The generosity is out there, I just know it. All we're trying to do is make it easier for people to give."
