If We Couldn't Work, We Would Help: AXLE's COVID-19 Story
Author:
Josh Spadafora
Clients:
Erie Shores Healthcare,
Canadian Mental Health Association,
Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation,
June 27 Miracle
At the beginning of this pandemic, like most people, we were going through a multitude of emotions. Fear, panic, uncertainty about the future, even some optimism - you name it and we were experiencing it. I still remember Monday, March 16th (I’ll probably never forget this day for as long as I live) - I came into work not knowing what to expect as that was the day the lockdown was announced. I opened my inbox, hands trembling, to find that basically all of our clients were putting their projects on hold indefinitely. As this was only our third year in business, this was a hard blow, to say the least - especially since we were on track to have our best year; not only financially but also in terms of the quality and scope of projects that were coming to us. We went from finishing two national commercial spots in the first quarter of our year, to begin the second quarter in the worst possible scenario for any company: being non-essential and not able to operate. I’m not going to lie, we spent the rest of that week feeling sorry for ourselves, but then I started to call my clients and I realized that there is one thing in business and in life in general that can’t ever be taken for granted or underestimated: your relationships will always define you. Sometimes client relationships can lose a human element, as is necessary - they sometimes take on a veil of back and forth strategic plays interjected with some friendly chit chat - I think any business owner can relate to this. But during this time, that veil was lifted, we all were in the same boat, we all could empathize, we all felt it - and here at AXLE, we decided that if we couldn’t work, we would help. And that’s what we did.
Our journey through this pandemic mirrored the virus itself. We started by helping in the most impacted sector, healthcare, and ended up helping our entire community. We reached out to our friends at the Erie Shores Foundation and donated a free video appealing to the community to raise money for the Erie Shores health workers to have sufficient PPE and support during the first weeks and months of the outbreak. With every share of the video or monetary donation, businesses in the community would donate a dollar or match contributions. In total, we helped raise over $75,000 dollars for the foundation.
Later that month, we helped our friends at the Garage Gym who have been an inspiration to us over the years working together to raise money for great causes. We provided a promotional/instructional video for their socially distanced virtual 5k; helping to raise over 25k for first responders working the frontline of the pandemic and the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Feeling a bit more optimistic in the new world, I reached out to the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation as I had been aware that their annual Lock Out Cancer fundraiser lost funding for a promotional video as funds were reallocated to the Covid-19 response. That campaign ended up raising over $100k and will help buy new equipment for the Windsor Regional Cancer Program. As we entered into the summer months, with optimism growing with fewer and fewer cases being reported regionally - I felt the concern shift from a health perspective to a social and communal concern; and that’s when I got the call.
The phone call came in the final week of May, from a former client who started a campaign called the “May 16th Miracle” in Chatham, Ontario. The idea behind the campaign was to inspire a community to help the invisible victims of COVID-19. Unknown to many, during the pandemic food banks were running dry as there was a 54% increase in visits, with over 400 families visiting per day in Windsor Essex. Homeless shelters and social services had to resort to handing out gift cards as there was no food left to give. The Chatham Miracle focused on this theme and had done an amazing job kickstarting the initiative by raising over 600,000 pounds of food in Chatham-Kent warehouses and empty arenas. The campaign was grassroots, taking no corporate sponsorship and relying solely on community volunteers.
I was one of ten people on the organizing committee to start the Miracle in Windsor Essex for the “June 27th Miracle”. The committee was a fellowship of business owners and community leaders who each had a set of skills that would be needed to pull off this event - mind you we only had about 3 weeks to do so. I did not know a single person on the committee before this started, but by the end, we became like a little family. Having to maintain social distance meant that the planning revolved around weekly Zoom meetings. Initially I thought my role was going to be limited to my skillset, planning the media rollout and directing the promotional videos - but it would lead to much more than that. Using a family contact I organized the transport trucks for the event, and alongside my partners at AXLE - we traded in our cameras for work gloves and we were the ones who unloaded the last truck at the WFCU on the day of the Miracle.
When it came to the theme of Windsor’s Miracle, I was keen to try to allude to a subtle shift away from focusing on the hardships that the pandemic had brought our community. I wanted our Miracle day to bring some joy back to the community, and unite Windsor - Essex. Having spent so much time quarantined, I felt this was the perfect opportunity for the community to find a way to be together. Our theme evolved from focusing on the invisible victims of COVID to a focus on being together and doing something positive as a community, considering the barrage of negativity that 2020 had brought. This was shown as the themes from the first two teasers we made reflected this:
When the Miracle came, I feel as though we accomplished our goal of uniting the community, what started as 10 people grew to over 10 thousand volunteers. The number of smiling faces, people young and old working in tandem - it brought a tear to my eye. I had blinders on when organizing this, we all did. We had only three weeks and at times it felt as though the task was too daunting, but on the day - to see it finally come together, it was truly special. As a community we unofficially broke a World Record, amassing over 2 million pounds of donated food and hygiene items. To be able to share this experience together with my partners at AXLE, was something that I feel we needed. Not only did we capture the unique feeling of that day, as you’ll see below in the Thank You video, but we were able to work together to physically gather food at the WFCU; to be such an integral part of the process is something we are so proud of. The Miracle has since spread to the Northwest Territories and Montreal, and we hope to be back next year to help organize again.
We would also like to acknowledge all those who have supported us during this time. The Garage Gym has stuck by our side, not only through business, but especially on a personal level. Whether it be a much needed pep talk or just sharing a beer and venting our frustrations, this is a partnership that means a lot to us and it showed fully during this time. With the sporting world in shambles, our long time partners at Baron Championship Rings have had to make sacrifices and changes to their business, although we miss working with them we have remained close - sharing weekly phone calls, dinners, and sharing our excitement for the future. And although it was not a championship ring for the Raptors or Cavaliers, we got to film our most important “Making of the Ring” video yet, the engagement ring of one of our partners (Congrats Joe & Vic). We would also like to thank Tango Creative Group for working with us on the Erie Shores commercial, and keeping in contact throughout the pandemic by blowing off some steam once the bars and restaurants reopened. Thank you to all the business owners, both local and otherwise, for being open and honest about our business dealings and we look forward to working with you soon.
As things are gradually returning to normal and we at AXLE get back to work, I reflect on what this (hopefully) once in a lifetime event has taught me: we need connection. We are really all connected, as unfortunately this is highlighted most clearly in hard times. I really realized how as a community and as individuals, our similarities far outweigh our differences and we all need each other. As a filmmaker this is what we do - we connect people to ideas, we connect people to brands, but most importantly we connect people to people. I hope we did our small part to keep one another together in a time where we couldn’t be.
- Josh Spadafora
P R E S S
Taras Matyshak proudly talking about the June 27th Miracle food drive in Windsor-Essex County during his Member's Statement.
CTV News Windsor
"This food’s going to keep us going and we’re not sure how long this pandemic’s going to last for. We’re very fortunate. Windsor-Essex is very caring. The community has stepped up. That's what it's about, helping your neighbours, helping people in a tough time," says Zold
Read full article here
July 7, 2020
CBC News Windsor
"Without that help we don't know what we'd do because some of our fundraisers aren't going to happen this year, so what's happened truly is a miracle," said June Muir, president and CEO of the Windsor Essex Food Bank Association and the Unemployed Help Centre, in a news release.
Read full article here
July 7, 2020