“I ALONE CANNOT CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT I CAN CAST A STONE ACROSS THE WATER TO CREATE MANY RIPPLES”
—Mother Teresa
I learned a long time ago that a small number of passionate people who coalesce around a greater purpose can make large impacts. I also believe that much like . . . ripples create waves, and waves create change . . . caring for our most vulnerable is humanity’s collective and shared responsibility.
While the story behind CatWalk FurBaby is too lengthy for this Publisher’s letter, there are two words that come to mind as to why it has endured the test of time: pivot and gratitude.
Pivot
To grow and build, we chose to pivot. So . . . what do philanthropy, animals, competition, designers, models, and fashion have in common? WOMEN. Our first year resulted in an award-winning documentary, coffee table book, dedicated magazine, and runway show event exposure of 1B broadcast views.
Women are multi-dimensional and have complexity in their philanthropic breadth of interest. For that reason, ELYSIAN Impact saw no boundaries or obstacles in creating a dynamic experience for philanthropic causes in five verticals as opposed to just one. The sheer range of the charities represented on this year’s runway was breathtaking and included animals, children, environment, service, and women. From Washinton State to California, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, New York, and beyond, these charities touch so many aspects of our daily lives, whether that involves pairing an abandoned pet with a forever home, funding cancer research, or advocating for alternatives to detention for at-risk youth.
The first year’s focus was largely centered around fundraising, with the winning animal rescue benefiting financially from the competition. In year two, we again pivoted. We expanded our perspective on fundraising goals from dependency to self-reliance. The concept was simple, “to teach a man how to fish . . . and you feed him for a lifetime . . .” From the success of the award-winning documentary in the first year, the goal of the second year is to allow the second documentary to be used by all participating charities, allowing them to fundraise from “Everything CatWalk FurBaby” . . . from the second annual coffee table book sales to documentary private showings ticket sales…event sponsorships and more.
Finally, in one year, numbers doubled in both print and broadcast viewership, with just the event exposure growing from 1B to 2B broadcast views. Was this from increasing participants from 10 to 20 teams or the momentum from a second-year trajectory? No one really knows. What we do know is that these incredible results are largely because of you.
Gratitude
What a privilege it is to . . . work with the ELYSIAN Impact team which is impassioned about protecting and improving the lives of animals, children, the environment, service, and women. Executive Director of ELYSIAN Impact, Kimberli Scott Still’s steady hand and relentless perseverance doubled the participating charity numbers. Ryan Stalvey, our Creator-In-Chief, assembled content and oversaw writers Jason Spencer and Merci Dubroff for our quarterly publication and an award-winning coffee table book. Amber Edwards, our Chief of Marketing, built the brand literally, from inception to distribution of multiple millions, and Joey Iannetta, our IT partner and project manager, not to mention the actual producer of the show. Nicola Doring, Garrick Lane, Bobby Nicols, and Dutty Vanier filmed and edited for months. The result is shown in a private viewing held in New York City’s National Arts Club. I am grateful to every ELYSIAN teammate whose names are found on the masthead, making ripples . . .
The team was not complete without our Signature partners, DRC Ventures, Merci Dupre Clothiers, Bill & Coo, and The Root Brands. They worked tirelessly and contributed their time, treasure, and talent to benefit philanthropies throughout the world. Led by Dr. Christina Rahm, whose innovation and creativity of Merci Dupre Clothiers graced the runway, the audience was spellbound by her design elegance and environmentally sustainable creations.
And finally, the enigmatic Fern Mallis, our emcee and founder of New York Fashion Week, who stole the show with her quick wit and charm. The team included sponsors Dr. Kimberly Word, BioLight, our 20 charity participants, and esteemed judges Consula Vanderbilt (socialite and humanitarian), MarieBelle (businesswoman and chocolatier), and Carol Alt (world’s first supermodel). May the generosity of these ripples (teammates) serve as examples to others.
With that in mind, I want to end this Publisher’s letter with another quote from St Mother Teresa of Calcutta, “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
Join ELYSIAN, ELYSIAN Impact, and the ELYSIAN Circle, as in our small ways, we collectively can change the world together.
With much love,
Karen Floyd
Publisher
Read Past Letters from the Publisher