An Unlikely Affangelist Throws a Party

News / Birthday Party Ideas, Change the world, charity, community giving, e trade, gymboree, The Affero Project, the giving tree

Written by: Beau Miller

16Jun, 2010

I’d like to tell you about a very special friend of mine named Ziggy. He’s super cool, makes the funniest faces and noises, and the girls think he’s very handsome. I love Ziggy and he loves The Affero Project. Oh, I should probably also mention that Ziggy is only a year old. I haven’t done any scientific research on this, but I would assume that this makes Ziggy our youngest Affangelist. At this stage of my post, I must also warn you not to underestimate the power of a one-year-old boy. If the Super Bowl has taught us anything, it’s taught us this. Just look at those little kids in the E*TRADE commercials – they’re getting stuff done! OK, so Ziggy may not golf yet, but I can tell you that in addition to grabbing faces and laughing, he’s doing some serious ground work for Affero.

Ziggy’s dad, Joshua is one of my closest friends, and his mom, Stacy, is like the older sister I never had. This is code for “she beats me up, makes fun of me, then tells me she loves me and buys me French bread pizzas.” The point is, I love Josh and Stacy a ton and they are family to me. Along with Zig and his beautifully brilliant sister Hannah. But you’ll have to wait for another day to hear about them. This post is about Zig and his awesome, Affero-themed birthday party! Last Saturday a bunch of our friends got together at the park to celebrate Zig’s first birthday. Unfortunately, I was gone shooting a TV commercial, but I heard all about it. All of my friends told me it was epic, and that was expected because, well… Ziggy is epic. There were tons of families hanging out, having a blast and enjoying community. And of course there was prince Ziggy, the master of ceremonies and the guest of honor. And this is where Affero comes in…

When it comes to little kids’ birthday parties, what the heck are you supposed to get them? I mean, come on, how many copies of “The Giving Tree” can a kid possibly need? And if that’s not enough, let’s face it, by age one, a super cool dude like Ziggy probably has every article of clothing in Gymboree’s last ten collections. So, Josh and Stacy, being the revolutionaries they are, decided that instead of getting more stuff for Ziggy, maybe Ziggy could be a catalyst for Affero. Totally awesome! Their invites simply stated that instead of bringing gifts, they’d love it if their guests would take the time to check out Affero and join the movement. It was that simple. They believe in Affero, and knew that Zig’s party would be a great opportunity to share the joy of community giving. And it worked out beautifully. People got the invite and joined Affero, and others left the party committed to going home and doing the same. Others asked questions, some put money for Affero in cards, and Josh even did an interpretive dance with Ziggy about what Affero means to them. This is a lie, but it would have been super funny.

So, that’s the story of Ziggy’s amazing first birthday. Even though he’s just a year old, I will always remember the stories of his party and how a world-changing Affero event centered around a little boy who still spits milk down his shirt and shrieks like a Terradactyl. There is no doubt in my mind that Ziggy is going to be a revolutionary someday, and I am so thankful for Joshua, Stacy and Hannah for the roles they are playing now, and the roles they will continue to play as his life goes on. Let’s face it, Ziggy did the majority of planning and work on the Affero birthday bash, but to his parents and sister, he wanted me to tell you, “thanks for the assist!” Ziggy, you are the man. I love you so much and I am so excited to see how you are going to change the world. As proof of my appreciation, please accept the autographed copy of “The Giving Tree” and the brown and orange Gymboree onsie with puppy dogs on it, that will be delivered to your house sometime today. Until next week my friends, keep on living…

Peace,
Beau

June 17th, 2010

Ryan Tate

Beau, great stuff! I was at this birthday party and am proud to know the youngest Affangelist. Knowing his father and mother, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ziggy is a lifelong Affangelist. Amen!

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June 18th, 2010

Beau Miller

Hey Ry Guy, glad you liked the post. Zig is the man, and I am so bummed I missed the party! Thanks so much for your support of Affero. It means the world to us. Peace brother.

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