A couple of years ago, the fine folks at The Girl Effect produced a video to raise awareness about the worldwide problem of girls living in poverty. In short, they want the viewer to realize that by helping girls early, the downstream effects are exponential. It’s a powerful video, and one of my all-time favorites.

I was pleased this week to see that they’ve released a sequel. Like most sequels, in my opinion, it isn’t as good as the first but it still merits a ‘thumbs up’ review in my book. Think Empire Strikes Back vs. Star Wars – solid effort, but a lot to live up to. I will say this, the more I watch the new one, the more I like it. It’s also better LOUD! So I may revise my thoughts on which is better in the future.

I’d love to know your thoughts – I think you’ll love them both. See below.

The American Express / TakePart Members Project has teamed up with the hit television show ‘Glee’ to encourage self-proclaimed ‘Gleeks’ to do something good. This effort is another in a recent wave of television tie-in promotions with various nonprofits and related organizations.

By the way, if you don’t watch Glee, you should. Enough said on that.

Some of the videos feature Glee’s evil cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, and they’ll make even the non-Glee-watching-unfortunately-missing-one-of-the-best-shows-on-television people laugh. Even better, the videos may convert a few couch potatoes into volunteers for their favorite cause.

The Members Project started in 2007 with the simple belief that “Everyone can help change the world for the better, one step at a time.” The partnership between TakePart and American Express is motivating people to take action by getting involved, spreading the word, volunteering or providing financial assistance to a variety of projects. Fundraisers take note: there’s a lot to be learned from the cross-promotion, use of social media and good old-fashioned marketing savvy.

Take a minute to watch one of the Glee videos below, and if you’d like to see more you can visit the American Express YouTube Channel. Or to see the Glee videos AND some other great examples of nonprofit videos, the GettingGiving YouTube channel has several for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy!

l