A PR Professional in the Making

Inspiration leads to Optimism

I’m sure everyone has already heard about Brendan Marrocco, the quardruple amputee who now has arms!

After seeing this story on the evening news last night, I was astounded. Astounded that a man could still look on the bright side of life after having this horrific accident happen to him.

He is an inspiration to us all. How many of us have thought that “my life sucks” or wished we could have something more? When I saw this story, it made me appreciate what I have and realize that this man is so much stronger than I could ever be.

I am known to be a  small pessimist to my family and friends, and now I finally feel as though I want to change this. If Marrocco can look on life with a silver lining, then why can’t all of us?

He has inspired me to change my life little by little and to one day be as strong in character and optimistic as he is.

Thank you for sharing your story Brendan and I wish you all the best in the world! You can do it!!

Check out Brendan’s story here: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57566545/quadruple-amputee-vet-says-new-arms-feel-amazing/

Holiday Hoopla - Part 1

The four weeks of events, events, events is half way through! The Holiday Hoopla, is a month long extravaganza full of Yelpy holiday parties.

The Hoopla started with a kick-off at Mercedes Benz of Honolulu on November 28. This event, with over 1,000 people in attendance consisted of both an inside and outside venue. 20 food and drink vendors came together to give the attendees a great time and donations from The Face Shop, The Wedding Ring Shop, and Mercedes Benz (one lucky Yelper won a three year lease to a Smart Car!) were a hit! The Yelp Candy Cane Girls (another intern and myself) made their way through the party and spread holiday cheer to all they saw.

The real star of the party was Aloha United Way, who partnered with Yelp, and collected over $4,000 in donations and had a mountain of toys for children in need!

(Inside Mercedes Benz)

(Outside Mercedes Benz)

(Yelp Christmas Tree)

Two days later at Eat the Street, the Yelp pop up booth was in action giving Yelp ornaments to all who “checked in”. There were red and white colored Yelp trees and black and white color-able ones. The two I made are hanging happily on my Christmas tree as I type this.

(Yelp Ornament)

The next day, there was wonder in the eyes of all who were at Kapolei Commons. It was 82 degrees, a normal day in Hawaii, and there was snow falling from the sky. Yes you read that right! There was a Snow Day in Kapolei! Thanks to Hawaiian Ice Company, we were able to bring 10 tons of snow to the 400 people who showed up. Once again the Yelp booth was there to offer the attendees some schwag and a place to warm their chilly snow hands. This was the perfect way to start December.

(Snow!)

On Sunday, December 2 at the Aston Waikiki, the 3rd Annual Cookie Swap and Crafternoon Delight took the stage. The 100 party goers each brought about three dozen cookies of their own making and graced the tables with their masterpieces. I have to confess I had my fair share of sugar that night! Watching the sunset on the patio of a beautiful penthouse room is definitely something to be rivaled, but the Cookie Swap was able to pry the eyes of the attendees away from this spectacular sight with the food and drink of Tiki’s! Their Yelp inspired “5 star review” cocktail and their chocolate pasta were talked about through the night.

(Cookie Swap)

(View from the patio)

(Sunset)

(The check-in offer from Aston Waikiki)

The last networking event of the year took place at Aloha Tower Marketplace on December 5. Nextworking was a place for professionals to come together and not only get some Yelp schwag but also make some connections for their various businesses. With the holiday photo booth Yelp offered, the night was never dull!

(Photo booth backdrop)

(Props)

(Schwag)

Second half of the Holiday Hoopla includes:

Tonight, December 13, is Breakfast for Dinner at HOPA (House of Pure Aloha - see post below) where breakfast lovers will ban together to bring waffles to the night!

Saturday, December 15, is the Honolulu Night Market, where the Yelp booth will make its last appearance of the month and give out those amazing Yelp Christmas trees.

On December 18 it will be elves and reindeer galore with an Elves and Antlers Karaoke Party at Edge Bar.

The Hoopla will close out with the “end of the world” and Candy Crawl will commence on December 21 in Chinatown!

Picture of these events will be coming soon!

Until then, smile! :)

“Sharing” Pure Aloha

As my last event for Under My Umbrella, I helped a local shave ice shop give to the public.

On November 17 at the second Honolulu Night Market, Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha took part in a shave ice experiment. During the summer people of Hawaii donated over 700 shave ice to be shared with others.

On Saturday, HOPA gave away over 115 gifted shave ice for their first Sharing Day. The news of “gifted shave ice” traveled fast through the crowds of the Night Market and before long there was a line half way across the street. 

When the patrons were told that their shave ice would be gifted from a donor, they were blown away. They loved the idea and the concept of what HOPA was doing, sharing it forward and spreading the pure aloha of The House!

The mission of HOPA is to inspire a worldwide movement of Pure Aloha – one shave ice at a time, which is exactly what took place at the Night Market. HOPA brought the spirit of aloha and ‘ohana to the attendees and showed them something most had never seen before.

In the spirit of sharing it forward, many of the recipients donated into the shave ice fund, with a total of $220.06 being given.

This Sharing Day was the first of many and the Night Market was a perfect location for the launch of the campaign. With the mix of food, fun, and fashion, it brought with it a large variety of individuals. All who seem to love gifted shave ice!

A New Adventure

A new internship has come to my horizon. I have always used Yelp when looking for a new restaurant or trying to find a good hike and now I am working for them!I could not be more excited!

As a Marketing Intern I am responsible for running the booths at festivals, managing the social media accounts, and aiding in planning of our exciting Elite events!

(Eat the Street: Dia de Los Muertos Festival)

These marketing booths aim at reaching out to the local community and letting them know about Yelp, if they are not previously informed, or creating a personal connection, if they are already avid Yelpers!

(Cool Kailua Nights Festival)

I know that through this new internship I will not only gain priceless experience but it will also allow me to really nail down what I want to do in my career. I want a job where I am not only having fun but am making a difference, not only for the company I work for but also people’s lives.

Facing Fears in Life

While I am not deathly afraid of heights, it is understandable that when one is presented with the possibility of being more than 14,000 feet in the air, there will be a little fear. This past weekend, I not only faced a fear but I also awakened a adrenaline junkie that was laying dormant inside of me.

People say that Honolulu is one of the best places to go skydiving, and although this has been my only experience I have to agree! Pacific Skydiving on the North Shore of Oahu has allowed me to do something that I never thought I would be able to do.

Not that it was easy by any means, I was the only person in a group of 12 that was close to tears as they strapped me into my suit, but getting over the challenge taught me something valuable.

Life is hard.

Yes, we have all heard this. But what the quote should say, is that life is hard but it is worth it.

As they strapped me into my suit and I thought about all the possible things that could go wrong, but as the plan took off from the ground I caught all of the beautiful surroundings and could only think about how amazing this was going to be.

In short, skydiving is one of the best things I have ever done and would highly recommend it to everyone.

The lesson I got from this experience is that, times may be tough but if you get through it there will be something beautiful and worth it on the other side.