With the remaining time that we have between now and July 4th, we are looking to get us much medial exposure to our efforts, and YOU can help with this. I have learned that if I tell a news media channel our story, they very rarely look at it since it is coming from me and not a supporter. What you can do is all of the news stations and media publications on our behalf and ask them to tell our story. Here is an example of what was recently sent out by one of the Shawn's Anomaly volunteers who just sent it to NBC Nightly News on my behalf:
This is a REAL way you could help with the Mission. Strength is in numbers. Now, I am not saying that you should send a detailed message like this, but even calling and emailing the news stations and media publications about this effort on our behalf would really help spread the word which in return would result in more votes during the July 4th-July 18th voting period. Here are some contacts locally in Houston. Our focus should be there first:I am writing to ask if you would consider my friend, Matthew Murphy, as a story for your "Making a Difference" segment of the NBC Nightly News. I know that his story would be great for this segment because it is very inspirational, and Nightly News could do a lot to help fulfill the final chapter of the story.Shawn, Matthew’s son, underwent 3 surgeries to repair a urological condition that affects 1 in 35 million children. The doctor that did the surgery had only seen 12 other cases, but Dr. Cisek attempted the uncharted surgery. The 3 surgeries to repair Shawn were a success and started a huge change of events to help others in Matthew's life to prevent other families from going through what they did without education, hope, and help. Matthew started a foundation a little over a year ago after his son's life threatening medical journey as an infant to help those families.The Shawn's Anomaly Foundation is one of a kind that is now catering to the 1-in-30 families that are affected by congenital birth abnormalities. Please see more about the foundation on the website, www.shawnsanomaly.org.Inspired by his son's miraculous journey and proving that anything is possible; Matthew decided to raise money for the cause by going from an overweight smoker to an Ironman Triathlete. After 2 years of training, Matthew successfully completed the Ironman Texas, on May 19th, to become "Shawn's Ironman", but his journey is not over till he can cross the finish line at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI. He now has that chance to do that with your assistance and the help from online voting from the general public.Getting into the Ironman World Championship that you see on NBC is very hard for average athletes because of the qualification standards. For an athlete like Matthew, it is nearly impossible without outside assistance. The "Kona Inspired" program, introduced by Ironman, now makes it possible for Matthew to get into the race and tell his story to the world. Through this program, athletes submitted their videos to be voted online by the general public. The 45 semi-finalist who receive the most online votes will be narrowed down to 8, after a second round of voting, to compete in the Ironman World Championship and share their inspiring stories during the television coverage of the event. Matthew is one of the semi-finalist. Voting for Matthew's video is between July 4th - July 18th the on www.konainspired.com website.Matthew's story and journey not only helps raise money to help other families, but it also has inspired several people to start their own fitness journey, including my own, who now join him to raise money for Shawn's Anomaly. I also volunteer for the foundation to further the mission to provided education, hope, and help to families affected by congenital anomalies. I know that exposure on your program would greatly help get Matthew to Kona, and further the mission to help other families in need. Thank you for your consideration.P.S. There is a lot of HD video and pictures of Matthew's events, and he was recently featured on a local NBC affiliate. Please see the story here: http://www.click2houston.com/news/Houston-father-takes-on-Ironman-in-honor-of-son/-/1735978/13405010/-/p7876dz/-/index.html
| KHOU 11 (CBS) | assignments@khou.com | 713-526-1111 |
| KPRC 2 (NBC) | desk@kprc.com | 713-778-4910 |
| KTRX 13 (ABC) | news@abc13.com | 713-666-0713 |
| Houston Chronicle (Features) | features@chron.com | 713-362-7171 |
| Houston Chronicle | news@chron.com | 713-362-7171 |
| Channel 39 (CW) | gjaffe@39online.com | 713-781-3939 |
| Channel 39 (CW) | smark@39online.com | 713-781-3939 |
| Channel 39 (CW) | trigia@39online.com | 713-781-3939 |
| Channel 39 (CW) | tvirgil@39online.com | 713-781-3939 |
| Channel 39 (CW) | steve@39online.com | 713-781-3939 |
| KRIV 26 (FOX) | newsdesk@fox26.com | 713-479-2801 |
