The Power of Just One Voice

In times of overwhelming change, it’s natural to ask: What can one person do? Natalie Guerrero, a writer and activist decided she wanted to do more for Black Lives Matter causes. She started a simple campaign on her Instagram account asking her friends and followers to send $1 to her Venmo — and the was response was unimaginable. Hear about Natalie’s about Instagram campaign, the power of social media and how she’s using social media activism for the good. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Each day we aspire to bring you the good news,
the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere, every day. We just
need to look for and share it. Here's something Good

(00:27):
for today. In times of overwhelming change like now, it's
natural to ask what can one person do? That was
the question Natalie Guerrero, a young writer and activist, was
asking herself during the weeks of the protest following the
killings of George Floyd and Brianna Taylor, And like many
people during the pandemic, Natalie found her answer in social media.

(00:49):
Her plan was to raise some money for social justice causes.
She thought five dollars would be a great amount. Her
use of social media made sense during the pandemic. For some,
social media has become a connection comfort, a lifeline. Forbes
says an engagement has increased six over normal usage RAITs,
and the Instagram has enjoyed a big jump. The platform

(01:12):
estimates that each user will spend an additional three minutes
on it per day. That's a lot. Now. Natalie is
as knowledgeable as anyone about social media. She's active on
Instagram with a personal account, and she's recently launched an
incredible project called No My Story. But even she was
blown away by what happened when she took to Instagram
to ask users for just one dollar each. The results

(01:34):
will amaze you too. Here's what she had to say. Natalie,
thanks so much for joining us today. Thank you so
much for having me. I'm really happy to be here.
So tell us about your campaign to raise money for
Black Lives Matter causes, UM, the approach you took, and
why you decided to use social media as your tool
for activism. Yeah. Absolutely, So. I was home in quarantine

(02:00):
with my family, UM, and I was reading all of
the news about George Floyd and Brianna Taylor, and I
was actually feeling super helpless. And I'm very much so
a person who UM doesn't feel helpless super often, and
when I do, I'm like, Okay, well, what can I
do to kind of like get myself out of that
feeling or what can I do to help? And just
seeing as the moment was, you know, we were in quarantine,

(02:24):
I the only thing I had access to was my
social media and so from there I was kind of like,
you know what, I know that I can donate. Let
me see if anyone else will help me and donate
with me. So I posted a very casual Instagram story
um on my personal page, just saying like, venmo me

(02:44):
a dollar and whatever I raise, I will donate to
George Floyd's go fund me page. By the next morning,
I'd raised ten thousand dollars in my venmo account. And
then once I realized that like this was kind of
taking off, I put a little more muscle behind it,
and I made a few fly fyres, and I started
really looking into causes that could also help long term,

(03:05):
because I think my point with George Floyd's go fund
Me and Brianna Taylor's go fund Me was like, you know,
something horrible happened, and I reacted to it, and we
collectively reacted to it. But then I started thinking, like, Wow,
what an incredible tool that that we have, all of
us just in our phones um, and I started looking
towards organizations like Until Freedom and The Gathering for Justice

(03:29):
that work on long term solutions for racial inequities and injustices.
So by the end of my campaign, I had raised
over sixty dollars. That's incredible, and so you really are
kind of a living proof that social media can be
a tool for good. Uh do you plan to continue
using social media in this way? Yeah? I think now

(03:51):
that I have the bug, I certainly won't stop. I
think that what it has been interesting in what I've
opened my eyes to is that you know, one voice
actually does make a change. And when we each kind
of open up and use that just one voice that
we have, it really all adds up. And I think
that social campaign is exact proof of that. What an

(04:13):
inspiring conversation today. Natalie's fundraising efforts have collected over sixty
seven thousand dollars and counting. Make sure to find Natalie's
personal Instagram account at Natalie Guerrero. So here's something good
for today. Social media is a powerful tool and we
use for good. The results can be successful beyond our

(04:33):
wildest dreams, and it's always good to be reminded, as
Natalie says, that one voice actually can create change. Natalie's
new project, No My Story is already reaching tens of
thousands of followers who are sharing their narratives about life
as Black Americans. To get involved, follow No My Story
on Instagram. Thank you for listening, and please share today's

(05:04):
Something Good with others in your life. This is Kim Azzarelli,
co author of Fast Forward and co founder of Seneca Women.
To learn more about Seneca Women, go to Seneca Women
dot com or download the Seneca Women app free in
the app store. Care Something Good is a production of
the Seneca Women podcast network and I Heart Radio Have
a Great Day. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

(05:31):
check out the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.