Give Back With A Single Photo + #SealsForGood- No Purchase Necessary

As bloggers I think we tend to get a little caught up in ourselves.

There's a campaign going around to help spread the word about a very special charity initiative in cooperation with Real California Milk and the Great American Milk Drive. It began a few months back as a response to the Florida and Texas hurricane relief, and has since rolled into supporting California Wildfire relief efforts.

It requires people to do no more than share a photo of a product with the Real California Milk Seal and upload it on social media with the hashtag #SealsForGood (adding a @RealCalifMilk tag helps, too). The photos can be grainy, shot on the shelf in a dairy case, taken as you toss out the wrapper for your cheese while cooking dinner, snapped with a smartphone, uploaded on numerous channels, and can be done as many times as you want now through 12/31/2017, until the initiative hits it's raising caps of $20k for TX and FL hurricane relief and $10k for CA wildfire relief.

I state this so bluntly, and up front, in this post because I feel that is the star of this communication- the real driving force to this post.

It's something anyone can do, especially if you live in California, and it really requires no effort to help give back. The Real California Milk name gets a little exposure and families recovering from recent natural disasters get much needed dairy staples provided through the Great American Milk Drive. It's pretty simple.

But I have a slight gear to grind-

Many of the people sharing this message find the need to include it in a recipe post.

Sure, your blog is all about beautifully shot recipes that drive your Pinterest traffic and click-thru revenue. Yes, you feel strongly that every piece of content on your site should have added value. But are you really getting the messaging out there? In so much content it feels like an afterthought the seal in a single styled photo here, the charitable aspect called out at the very end, or somewhere in the middle. A post title that speaks to the recipe only. You've been taught all of this is necessary for SEO, to pay your bills, to make an income.

But the point here should be that anyone can support this cause without the impulse to buy products for a tasty recipe. In fact people should consider they probably have what they need to help in their home already.

I want my readers to know they don't need a recipe to go out and snap a photo of a Real California Milk Seal- sure you can find hundreds here on the blog with plenty of ingredients that sport the RCM seal. The seal is found on everything from yogurt, cottage cheese, hard and sliced cheese, liquid milk products, and more.

But the point really needs to be that if you live in California and consume dairy you probably have a product with the Real California Milk seal in your fridge already- and, if not, you can easily support the cause on your next shopping trip. It takes less than 2 minutes.
I'm not normally this direct, but charity is something I feel passionate about, especially when the average excuse a person gives as to why they haven't given back or helped is that they don't know how to, or don't have the time or resources. I've solves both of the above with this post. In fact donations will continue to be triggered every time a Real California Milk Seal photo appears on social media with the hashtag #SealsForGood now through 12/31/2017 (or until donation caps have been met) so the entire family can get involved. Why not make it a game to spot and share the seal?

As someone who lives a stones-throw away from much of the recent California Wildfire damage, and has friends impacted by it, I cannot be more passionate about supporting this #SealsForGood initiative. This time of the year we are all quite busy, but we are also in and out of the grocery store preparing to entertain family and friends. Let's all take a moment to help and give back!

Did I mention that I've even spotted the Real California Milk seal on ice cream in the frozen case of my local grocer? Does helping to give back get much sweeter? Yea, you can say I was pretty proud of my efforts to support the #SealsForGood efforts, and may have treated myself to a little reward. The entire family truly has gotten in on this- even Gidget is excited to spot the seal on a new dairy item!

Here's specifically what you need to now to continue to help these efforts:

• If you are using Facebook, tag @RealCaliforniaMilk AND use the hashtag #SealsForGood. 
• If you are using Instagram, tag @RealCalifMilk AND use the hashtag #SealsForGood
• For all other platforms upload your photo with the #SealsForGood hashtag.

You have until 12/31/17 to get those Real California Milk seal photos shared, so no excuses, okay? For every submission Real California Milk will donate $5 to the Great American Milk Drive (up to $20,000) to help families affected by hurricane Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida. No purchase necessary.
You'll find plenty of dairy infused recipes on the blog and our Pinterest to inspire you to get in the store and snapping those photos- but, remember- you don't need to actually buy anything to help out!