Hey, did you ever write a piece like this?

Hey, did you ever write a piece like this?

________________

to Alan from L.

Hey, did you ever write a piece like this? I was very touched by this woman's article/post and thought you might appreciate it.

Happy holidays, Alan —

your pal

L.

from L. to Alan — My name is Danielle and I want to tell you a story about how through Change.org one voice can be magnified to bring about drastic policy change. In reading it, I hope you see the power you have every time you sign a petition, and the tools available to you to fight injustice. Just over two years ago I was assaulted while getting a massage at a Massage Envy, a massive chain of massage stores located around the country. I tried to report the assault, but Massage Envy employees offered no assistance — they wouldn’t contact the police, nor even let me speak to a supervisor. I knew I had to act, but I felt very alone in my efforts to try to persuade this billion dollar company to commit to policy change. I didn’t want another person to go through what I experienced, so I finally decided to go public with my story and I started a petition on Change.org demanding that the company reevaluate its policies to prevent sexual assault and support survivors. With my petition, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But what I got was a community of people who wanted to join me in my fight. Through Change.org I could connect with people around the country, many of whom left me messages of support and shared their own stories of assault. Those messages gave me strength throughout the campaign. My petition wasn’t just about me, it was about the 60,000 people who had signed it — turning a moment of violence and pain into a movement for change. It was a movement Massage Envy couldn’t ignore. Shortly after I launched my petition, Buzzfeed published an investigative article detailing interviews with more than 180 victims of sexual assaults at Massage Envy spas. As I read through the testimonies and thought about the 60,000 people supporting my petition, I knew I had done the right thing in speaking out. Recently, I received incredible news. Massage Envy told me that they would be implementing comprehensive and transparent changes to their policies on sexual assault, and they wanted my help! While this was a moment I will never forget, I never felt this victory belonged to me. It belonged to those who signed my petition, the people in my life who supported me, and the survivors across the country speaking out and telling their stories. This experience has really impressed upon me our collective power to create positive change. You never know when you will be called upon to act. Just know when it does, you are not alone – the Change.org community is there to give you a voice. My thank you video has been posted on Change.org's Facebook page. I hope you will take a moment to watch and share. I really couldn’t have done this without people like you. Watch and Share Thank you, D. D.

______________________

from Alan ro L.

I just got home from a monthly Athens Writers Association meeting.

Will read what you sent later or in the morning and respond.

______________________

from Alan to L

"our collective power to create positive change"

Change.org

has proven that collectiveness can be very powerful

Why did you send this story to me Leslie?

I have a hunch but curious why you did?

_______________________

to L.

Cos I wondered if you ever did a post like this saying thank you and letting people know your story of that collective power.

__________________

from Alan to L.


I have done many, many thank you messages reaching out to as many people as I could who helped me in a wide variety of ways

1. FAB team - Friends of Alan Black
2. Facebook page that was set up by a grad student titled
    FREE DR. ROBERT ALAN BLACK
3. State Department Petition signers (3,727)
4. GoFund donators (164)
5. my Facebook Page 
6. website
7. hundreds of individual Facebook DMs and internet emails
8. in public when I have told stories about my 4+ weeks Behind Bars in the desert
9. in person face to face during my 2014 Creativity Thank You Road Trip 
10.  etc. etc. etc
and through the electronic and print editions of my book
that I initially published July 2016 (3 electronic versions) and then March 2017 (Lulu)

​Since I returned I have been approached by some people to help their relatives or friends who have been detained in the UAE: Dubai or Abu Dhabi 

a.
a young man from Plano, Tx who had found me through a Google search called me the day before Thanksgiving asking for help who I share suggestions and contacts with whose father returned home this past Thursday a Free but deported man who ended up paying about $2,700 in fines for using his cell phone to record video of his being processed at the Abu Dhabi Hotel.

b.
a school principal in South Africa who approached me initial by email in October of 2016​ about the brand new son-in-law of a good friend who was arrested in Dubai and held when the security guards found 2 live bullets in his wallet.  I sent him suggestions immediately including the recommendation, to have the brand new wife to continue traveling homeward to SA and for the family to reach out to the SA Embassy, a lawyer, GoFund, and a variety of other things

c.
a student TV news reporter for the University of Florida TV station who emailed me asking for suggestions for how a UofF business professor could be helped who had been arrested in Dubai.

I have attempted to PAY IT FORWARD and PAY IT BACK in many ways now for over 3 years.