Past Campaigns

PAST CAMPAIGNS 2014 NOT IN HARRY’S NAME Upon learning that Warner Bros. Harry Potter-branded chocolate was being sourced from child slavery in 2008, the Harry Potter Alliance embarked on a campaign demanding Fair Trade chocolate instead. Not in Harry’s Name follows from the belief that products inspired by the series should not be complicit in the injustices it criticizes. The HPA partnered with Free2Work, who determined that the chocolate products had earned an “F” grade for worker conditions that violated human rights. These findings inspired action from hundreds of thousands of fans, from signing petitions to sending letters. The campaign continued for years, with ongoing discussions taking place and contributions from J.K. Rowling, anti-slavery organization Walk Free, and prominent YouTubers. In late December of 2014, the Harry Potter Alliance was notified that Warner Bros. would make all Harry Potter- branded chocolate Fair Trade or Utz certified, marking an unprecedented victory in the realm of fan activism. More information on the development of the campaign can be found here. ODDS IN OUR FAVOR The HPA’s Hunger Games campaign, which made its debut in 2013, returned as the Mockingjay Pt. 1 film neared its release. Odds In Our Favor tackles economic inequality on several level as well as the disparity between the Hunger Games franchise’s poignant content and its vapid, exploitative marketing strategy. The HPA encouraged members to share their stories of economic inequality under the #MyHungerGames hashtag. This social media movement took off rapidly, illuminating the effects of economic inequality on people’s daily lives and magnifying intersections with other forms of inequality. It put into practice a core goal of the broader campaign: breaking the culture of silence surrounding these issues. A collection of these stories can be found here. In addition to #MyHungerGames and other social media efforts, the HPA also partnered with Fight for 15 as they organized protests demanding a fair wage for fast food workers. A day of action resulting in protests nationwide took place on December 4. These protests used Odds In Our Favor messaging - especially the three-finger salute iconology inspired by the franchise - and often intersected with ongoing Ferguson and #BlackLivesMatter protests. OIOF is an ongoing campaign as the HPA strives to continue the discussion and prepare for the final Hunger Games film in fall of 2015. THE HP ALLIANCE • P.O. BOX 10021 CRANSTON, RI 02910 • THEHPALLIANCE.ORG THE HARRY POTTER ALLIANCE P. 2 EQUALITY FTW 2014 The HPA’s third annual fundraiser brought together members and partners to raise $154,711 towards the organization’s annual budget. Partners included J.K. Rowling, John Green, Hank Green, Darren Criss, Maureen Johnson, Evanna Lynch, and more. The fundraiser spanned just over a month, beginning on September 20 and ending on October 25. VIDEO CREATORS FOR NET NEUTRALITY The HPA joined the fight for net neutrality by working with prominent YouTubers and the broader YouTube community. The petition supporting net neutrality was signed by 17,177 supporters, with content creators like Hannah Hart, John and Hank Green, Jack and Finn Harries, Grace Helbig, Team Starkid, Epic Rap Battles of History, and more among them. ESTHER DAY The HPA partnered with This Star Won’t Go Out to promote and discuss Esther Day. Esther Earl was a member of the Harry Potter and Nerdfighter communities who died from thyroid cancer at the age of 16 in August of 2010. Earlier that month, on her birthday, John and Hank Green first celebrated Esther Day - a holiday whose theme they had left up to Esther’s choosing. After some consideration, Esther chose to make her holiday about love among friends and family. The holiday has been celebrated every year since. The Esther Day campaign led a discussion on the holiday’s themes and encouraged action in the holiday’s spirit. It culminated in an Esther Day celebration at LeakyCon - a Harry Potter-based multifandom convention now called GeekyCon - in Orlando. ACCIO BOOKS One of the HPA’s most frequently recurring campaigns, the Accio Books drive returned more successful than ever. Chapters and individual members from around the world raised 53,009 books for underserved communities. Thousands of those books were sent to the Brightmoor Community Center in Detroit, Michigan for an Apparating Library event. This drive brings the total number of books collected in Accio Books campaigns to over 200,000. 2013 EQUALITY FOR THE WIN 2013 The HPA’s annual fundraiser ran for the second time in 2013, raising $184,838 in one month. Supporters included J.K. Rowling, John Green, Hank Green, Chris Colfer, Patrick Rothfuss, Anthony Rapp, and Evanna Lynch. ODDS IN OUR FAVOR The HPA launched its first Odds In Our Favor campaign in 2013, focusing on educating members on matters of economic inequality and vocally criticizing the Hunger Games’ Capitol-like marketing strategy as contradictory to the source material’s message. The campaign’s actions included the Hunger Games are Real video and the We Are the Districts blog. THE HP ALLIANCE • P.O. BOX 10021 CRANSTON, RI 02910 • THEHPALLIANCE.ORG THE HARRY POTTER ALLIANCE P. 3 ACCIO BOOKS The 2013 Accio Books drive raised 30,197 books in partnership with Read Indeed, a non-profit literary organization built around the vision of then-seventh grader Maria Keller, whose dream is to donate one million books to children in need by the time she turns 18. 2012 EQUALITY FOR THE WIN The HPA’s first annual Equality FTW fundraiser launched in fall of 2012, raising $94,803 from 2,289 donors. Part- ners included John and hank Green, the Potter Puppet Pals, Evanna Lynch, Maureen Johnson, and more. EQUALITY FOR THE WIN: VOTE 2012 The HPA partnered with the Nerdfighter community to encourage voting in the 2012 elections. This was executed through spreading the “Don’t Forget to Vote, America!” message - a play on Nerdfighters’ “Don’t Forget to Be Awesome” slogan - and hosting a house cup. 2011 WROCK FOR EQUALITY 2011 On February 26, the HPA hosted its second Wrock for Equality event on Livestream. Drawing inspiration from previous efforts in Maine, the HPA partnered with MASS Equality and Marriage Equality Rhode Island to encourage vocal support of marriage equality bills. HPA members made 6,200 phone calls and sent 214 digital postcards, breaking previous MASS Equality phone banking records. THE DEATHLY HALLOWS CAMPAIGN The Deathly Hallows Campaign began in 2010 and continued through the release of the final Harry Potter film in summer of 2011, spanning nine months and tackling real-life manifestations of inequality and injustice as “real world horcruxes.” These horcruxes included issues of economic inequality, poor working conditions, mental health, bully- ing, literacy, child slavery, and global warming. 2010 HPA FOR THE WIN In June, the HPA competed against 10,000 other charitable organizations to win a grant from the Chase Com- munity Giving Contest on Facebook. Thanks to the extraordinary dedication of its members, partners, and staff, the HPA received 28,689 votes and won the first place grant of $250,000. Partners included John and Hank Green, Esther Earl, WheezyWaiter, and more. The grant helped the HPA expand its reach and improve its literacy and LGBT rights efforts. WIZARD ROCK THE VOTE The HPA teamed up with wizard rockers to register voters at wizard rock shows across the nation, combining the Harry Potter fandom’s unique music scene with civic engagement. The campaign resulted in over 900 new regis- tered voters. THE HP ALLIANCE • P.O. BOX 10021 CRANSTON, RI 02910 • THEHPALLIANCE.ORG THE HARRY POTTER ALLIANCE P. 4 HELPING HAITI HEAL Following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in January, the HPA partnered with Nerdfighters and other fandoms (including Heroes, Lost, True Blood, The Wire and Firefly) to create Helping Haiti Heal, a home-grown effort to contribute to aid and relief. The HPA raised over $123,000 for Partners in Health in just two weeks. With the money raised, PIH was able to send five airplanes full of medical supplies to Haiti. Four of these airplanes were named after Harry Potter characters, while the fifth was named DFTBA after Nerdfighters’ “Don’t Forget to Be Awesome” sogan. 2009 MAGICAL ACTS OF KINDNESS The Magical Acts of Kindness campaign encouraged members to look for ways they could introduce magic into the lives of others through simple acts of kindness. Members used social media to spread MAK ideas and the HPA partnered with GivesMeHope.com. WROCK FOR EQUALITY The HPA first launched Wrock for Equality in 2009 to stop the passage of a Maine proposition that would have repealed equal marriage. HPA members canvassed in rain or shine, knocking on almost 700 doors to remind people to vote “no” on Proposition One and collecting absentee ballots. In addition to these efforts, members nationwide spent hours phone-banking, calling more than 3500 Maine residents in just one day - a 1200% increase over MASS Equality’s previous record. WHAT WOULD DUMBLEDORE DO The HPA launched the What Would Dumbledore Do campaign, asking members and fans to tweet about life les- sons they had learned from the Harry Potter character. This resulted in over 12,000 tweets, as well as discussions taking place at Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince screenings and across media outlets. THE HP ALLIANCE • P.O. BOX 10021 CRANSTON, RI 02910 • THEHPALLIANCE.ORG.

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