So sad to hear that one of the best and earliest clients of Abraham Harrison LLC, Survivor Corps, clients from 2007 through 2008, had to close its doors.

You might know them from their former name, Landmine Survivor Network — Princess Di was part of the organization.  It is quite a loss.

That is very sad news as our entire team loved working with them a couple years ago.

We helped them transition to their new brand, Survivor Corps, and then helped them re-brand and work on SEO and general optimization and brand promotion and blogger outreach and engagement.

We were honored.  They did amazing work.

We also did the book promotion for Jerry White‘s book, I Will Not Be Broken — a book that I consumed and adored.  It was also our first book promotion as a company.  Here’s an example of our early work: the Survivor Corps SMNR,  the I Will Not Be Broken SMNR, and the Ban Cluster  Bombs SMNR.

We have not had the opportunity to work with them for years, sadly. When the economy got tough for nonprofits, they needed to let us go, but I have always tried to keep in touch with people there and felt passion about their mission and efficacy.

I was sorry to hear this morning that Survivor Corps is closing.  Here’s the heartfelt and very sad announcement from Jerry White in full:

Let me start by saying: ‘THANK YOU.’ For thirteen years, your support and friendship have enabled Survivor Corps to bring positive change to a hurting population. We’ve not only improved the lives of individual landmine survivors on the ground, but we’ve also changed laws and practices worldwide that will govern the lives of war survivors for decades.

We decided this year that the best way to increase our impact, delivering more services at less cost, was to shut down our headquarters in DC and transfer ALL our knowledge and resources to our talented local partners working on the frontlines of conflict. This decentralized approach is effectively preparing the next generation of survivor leaders to build on what we started many years ago.

Looking back with pride, we’ve accomplished quite a lot together:

• We helped over 12,000 survivors in 12 countries recover from their injuries and trauma, get jobs and give back to their communities.
• We conducted over 135,000 survivor home and hospital visits, pioneering a peer support methodology with measurable results.
• We negotiated three world-changing treaties for people with disabilities and the weapons used to kill and injure them.
• We trained over 700 survivor advocates and leaders to carry on this work in over 40 war-affected countries.

It is important to all of us at Survivor Corps for this legacy to continue. That’s why we have housed our talented training staff and Survivor Corps alumni in key organizations around the world. Our signature peer support training program for survivor recovery will continue through the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at James Madison University, under the direction of Survivor Corps co-founder Ken Rutherford. Meanwhile, our partners in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Colombia, El Salvador, Israel/Palestine, Rwanda, Uganda, the United States and Vietnam will strengthen their peer support services on the ground, helping more and more survivors to build a better future.

Thank you for considering how you might help survivors going forward. Even as we close headquarters, our work remains vital. In the Middle East, for example, we are fully engaged in a “Campaign for a Mine-Free Mideast.”  We had breakthrough success this summer getting Israel to change its landmine policy, agreeing to begin humanitarian demining of hundreds of thousands of mines left behind from past wars. I even met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad who agreed to a complete ban on landmine use and is now calling for clearance of the entire West Bank.

In the coming months, we have a real chance to ensure that Israel starts demining, freeing up valuable land, and ensuring the safety of all residents and visitors. This work is so important to me that I have committed to continue working pro bono for this history-making campaign in partnership with Roots of Peace. With your continued support, this international humanitarian organization will help demine, replant and rebuild shepherds’ fields outside Bethlehem, as well as the Baptismal site of Jesus along the Jordan River. Please give generously to: Roots of Peace at www.rootsofpeace.org or send a check directly to: 990 A Street, Suite 402, San Rafael, CA 94901. We’ll make every tax-deductible penny count!

I’ve always said each of us has a date with destiny that changes our lives forever. Really, there are many dates that alter our lives, providing unexpected opportunities. My first date, as you know, was April 12, 1984, when I stepped on a mine in Israel as a twenty-year old student camping with friends. Now, with the closing of Survivor Corps, I am looking at a new crossroads. In August, I moved with my family to the Mediterranean—Valletta, Malta—so I can be much closer to the work I feel called to in the Mideast, able to reach key capitals in a few short hours.  Just as many have grown cynical and despairing of progress in this corner of the world, I see great opportunity.

Thank you all for being an important part of this journey. Peer support comes in many forms, and I truly could not have made it this far without your friendship and support. Please send me your news and keep in touch.

With deepest appreciation,

Jerry White

NEW CONTACT INFO

Jerry and Kelly White

Address:  133 Marsamxett Street, Valletta, MALTA  VLT13

Email:      jwmalta@gmail.com

Cell:        +356 7900 3390

Home:     +356 2123 5568

Skype:     Jerry.White1963

“Abraham & Harrison has been a critical catalyst for the online debut of SURVIVOR CORPS. They helped us create a blogging buzz around the launch of Survivor Corps, offering savvy counsel on strategically targeted audiences who would resonate with our mission. A&H cleverly leveraged the release of my book — I Will Not Be Broken: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis — to generate word of mouth promotion online and cultivate new supporters for our work to help survivors of war in the United States and abroad. Abraham & Harrison will jump into a campaign with passion and panache. They’ve been responsive to our needs and a pleasure to work with from day one.” — Jerry White, Co-Founder and Director, Survivor Corps

Thanks to all of the folks who have written about the use of cluster bombs and cluster munitions in Russia and Georgia:

• Re: Vast Write Wing – August 2008 by Lynn via The Vast Write Wing.
• Russia Has Dropped Cluster Bombs on Civilians by Gary via Turning Left.
• Russia Has Dropped Cluster Bombs on Civilians by Gary via Turning Left.
• The war comes to civilians… c’est terrible! by Chuck via From my position…on the way.
• Russia is Using Cluster Bombs by John via Shuck and Jive.
• Cluster bombs, lets support a ban on them by Shekhar via Shekhar Kapur.
• Russians Dropping Cluster Bombs Too; CNN REJECTS INCONVENIENT FACTS by Danny via News Dissector.
• Cluster Bombs put children and civilians lives at risk in Georgia by Andrew via Movedmountains.
• Russia Used Cluster Bombs in Georgia by John via PA Progressive.
• I Will Not Be Broken by Kelly via Don Mills Diva.
• I Will Not Be Broken book giveaway by Michelle via Big Blueberry Eyes.
• Russia, Georgia and South Ossetia – Survivor Corps by Lee via Better Communication Results.
• Spread The Word by Gargi via Heart Crossings.
• reality by Kyra via This Mom.
• Survivor Corps Criticizes Russia’s Use of Cluster Munitions on Georgian Civilians by Adam via Independent Media Center.
• Survivor Corps. Rise Above. Give Back. by Nicole via All 4 My Gals.
• From serious to silly by Heidi via Butterfly Mama.
• Alarming news about Russia’s use of cluster bombs by Rich via Rich Patrick.
• America’s Strategic Blunder in Georgia and the Death of the Rose Revolution by Joshua via Washington Hotlist.
• What’s Behind Russia’s Invasion Of Georgia? by Joshua via Washington Hotlist.
• Russia accused on cluster bomb use in Georgian republic by Simon via Simon Barrow’s Blog.
• Cluster Bombs. by Gary via A Bump in the Road..
• Survivor Corps Criticizes use of Cluster Munitions in Russia Georgia Conflict by Peter via Ontario.
• Late Night Update by Brian via Political Action.
• War on civilians by Philip via Shakespeare’s Sister.
• Feeling Funk-y by Tonie via Army of Mom.
• Jerry White: The use of Cluster Bombs in the 21st Century by Sequoyah Kofi Ade via Inteligentaindigena Novajoservo.
• Survivor Corps, Cluster Bombs, and Me by Gary via Gary Presley.
• Cluster frack by Erik via Gristmill.
• Survivorcorps and Ban Cluster Bombs by Steve via Yoga and Judaism Center.
• Ban all Cluster Munitions by via Peace Garden.
• Bomblets Again by Michael via Cobb.
• I Will Not Be Broken by Sue via Praise and Coffee.
• From Survivor Corps by Lori via My Life as a Hot Professional.

The gang from Survivor Corps thanks you for your passionate responses — and there are more coming in every day!

Please join others from around the world by signing the People’s Treaty to say that YOU want to ban cluster bombs forever. Your Senators must tell the military to stop using cluster bombs, and your Senators like hearing from people like you! Tell your Senators to ban cluster bombs.

Norman Birnbach just posted the first part in a series of articles about a recent blogger PR outreach that my company, Abraham Harrison, did on behalf of Survivor Corps. It is a very generous article and everyone here is very pleased.

Our goal for the Survivor Corps campaign was to promote both the introduction of Survivor Corps, formerly Landmine Survivors Network, and Jerry White’s new book, I Will Not Be Broken. Jerry, the co-founder of LSN and Survivor Corps, has been the perfect client and we are so lucky that they have allowed us carte blanche. Of course, the products sell themselves.

Another part of our campaign that Mr. Birnbach didn’t mention is social media outreach. We have created over 40 profiles on behalf of Survivor Corps, including very popular Facebook Groups for both I Will Not Be Broken and Survivor Corps, MySpace profiles for Survivor Corps and I Will Not Be Broken, as well as videos on YouTube. Please check out Norman Birnbach’s article, How Do You Establish Metrics for a Blogging Initiative? Take a page from the campaign for Jerry White’s book:

[...] I got an email from Jerry White’s organization, the nonprofit Survivor Corps., asking whether I would review his book, “I Will Not Be Broken: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis.” It provides a terrific perspective that has a number of different elements to it — and that’s one of the first lessons I took away, after talking with Chris Abraham, who is handling the outreach to bloggers.

According to Chris, the book appeals to many segments, including cancer survivors, veterans and their families, Christians and leadership. They’ve developed outreach for each segment. While that makes sense, too often organizations do a one-size fits all approach, and miss out working with individual segments.

What they’ve also done is make it really easy for bloggers to write and post about the book with a download page that provides:

• Facts about the books’ publication schedule (including availability as an audiobook).
• A synopsis of the book.
• Sample chapter downloads.
• Reviews and testimonials.
• About Jerry White.
• An overview of The Five Steps.
• Various Excerpts.
• About Survivor Corps.
• Contacts.
• Multimedia Elements.
• Additional Resources.
  
• Social Media and Tags.

They even made it easy for people to join Survivor Corps’ mailing list.

I will continue to explore other elements about blogging relations, based on an interview with Chris Abraham over the next week.
I will continue to explore other elements about blogging relations, based on an interview with Chris Abraham over the next week. [...]