August has been an amazing month of growth for PlanBig. We’ve had 72 new plans, more than 150 new members and our twitter followers increased by 19%. Thank you - you’ve made this possible by spreading the word about PlanBig and making it such a phenomenal community!

Supporter of the Month – Jennifer Murphy

We’re so pleased to announce that our Supporter of the Month for August is Jennifer Murphy! Jennifer, from Western Australia, is one of the most active and engaged members of our community. Not only does she have three plans of her own, but she is also a huge source of support for her fellow planners, having posted more than 200 helpful comments to other plans since joining PlanBig. The PlanBig community has benefited in a huge way from all of Jennifer’s advice, support and energy. With her dedication to creating a stronger, more vibrant community, Jennifer really embodies the spirit of PlanBig, and truly deserves to be recognised as our inaugural Supporter of the Month.

Plan of the Month – Ride-the-Talk

John Knox, a Victorian father of two in his 50s, joined PlanBig to help facilitate his plan of a solo bicycle tour across Australia to talk with communities and raise awareness about climate change. Due to his involvement with PlanBig, John has already appeared in 10 media stories reaching more than 500,000 Australians. These stories have helped John spread the message about what individuals can do to minimise their impact on climate change. John started out in Victoria two weeks ago, and has already reached Sydney, visiting many communities along the way to spread his message. You can find out more about John and his Plan at www.planbig.com.au/Ride-the-Talk.

PlanBig media update

PlanBig has been popping up all over Australia this month in newspapers, blogs, magazines, TV and radio. This media coverage has helped get the word out about PlanBig which in turn leads to more people joining our community and contributing to your plans. PlanBig media coverage this month includes:

• The 1egg1world boys and their crazy chicken Trevi were featured in Herald Sun, on Channel 7 news and on TV show The Circle 
• John Knox has been on Prime TV, Win TV, various radio stations and local papers as he travels across the country on his bicycle
• Our very own Jeanette Miller was featured in the Saturday Herald Sun career section on August 14 talking about her career progression with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and how she’s ended up spearheading PlanBig

Is it the end of October already? The month has flown by and our members have been busy making big ideas grow!

PlanBig now has more than 1,150 likes on Facebook and 650 followers on Twitter - we’d love to see you get involved in all the great conversations taking place!

Some October highlights:

National Swap Day
National Swap Day was held on Oct 25 and was a huge success; everyone wanted a piece of the action and the event was featured across the blogosphere, radio waves, newspapers and television sets nationwide - including the ABC, The Age, mX (Sydney and Melbourne) and A Current Affair, just to name a few.

Quitober
The Quitober Challenge was a huge success with more than 60 smokers going smoke-free for the campaign month. Well done to everyone involved! This innovative approach to quitting smoking as part of HR programs saw coverage of the event in Human Capital Magazine earlier this month.

Ride-the-Talk
John Knox has continued to ride the talk across the country and is looking set to make it home in time to spend Christmas with his family. His talk on climate change made a huge splash in Geraldton where he made it into the Geraldton Guardian twice. Keep it up John!

But wait! October’s not over yet! Two of our planners also have something planned for this weekend. Kim of Forest Green Reserve fame is holding a party this Saturday, Oct 30, to celebrate the launch of phase one of her amazing project.

Also happening on Saturday is the “A Lyttle Homely Street Festival” in Bendigo, home of PlanBig, where a party will be taking place on the streets.

The PlanBig team will be at both events - why not come say hello?

We hope you like the Big changes we introduced to PlanBig in October - you asked for it and we’re listening! Let us know what you think about the new features - we’d love to hear from you.

(Source: planbig.com.au)

It’s been another fun-filled month at PlanBig! We can barely contain our excitement about how well the plans on the site are chugging along, and our gratitude to the fabulous supporters out there for helping to make it all happen.

We’re also proud as punch of our members for getting the word out on the grapevine - PlanBig now has more than 1,300 likes on Facebook and 800 followers on Twitter!

Some November highlights:

Tri-State Games
The Tri-State Games were a major highlight this month - not only did Joanne manage to raise the funds to allow William to compete, but the road to glory was paved with gold, silver and bronze medals, and WIN TV was there to capture it all on film! Check out all the amazing pictures on Joanne’s plan!

The Lighthouse Project - Blanket Drive
The blanket drive has been hugely successful, with coverage in local papers and more than 150 blankets collected so far - keep up the good work Lil Lisii!

Urban Food Maps
Juliette’s urban food maps are really taking off, with loads of people volunteering their time to help build the map into an amazing resource for all of us to share. The excitement about this innovative plan is spreading like wildfire and she has been featured in the news on a number of occasions now - most recently in the Sydney Morning Herald. We can’t wait to see how this plan continues to unfold! 

1egg1world
And last, but certainly not least, in case you hadn’t heard, our 1egg1world boys are being profiled as part of The Age’s Top 100 most interesting people in 2010! Very cool.

Congratulations to all of our planners – keep those updates coming!

Have you got some exciting news to share? Shout out by leaving a comment here on the Big Blog for all our members to see! We’d love to hear from you…

And before we sign off, it’s officially the silly season - enjoy the festivities!

As many of you know – PlanBig turned one this month!  A huge thanks to all of you who have made PlanBig the amazing community that it is. 

With thousands of members nationwide and across the globe, more than 1,580 likes on Facebook and more than 1,440 followers on Twitter, we are so excited to have made it this far.

It has been an amazing year, and we are proud to have seen so many people plan big together to accomplish great things through the site. In case you missed it, check out our anniversary blog for a celebratory video of some of the highlights.

With 2011 well and truly underway, our PlanBiggers have been busy making plans happen!

Here are some of the highlights this month:

Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival Fundraiser
Colin is now one step closer to achieving his goal of organising, promoting and running a free Blues & Roots music festival in Bendigo. The second fundraiser for the event went off without a hitch, raising more than two and a half thousand dollars. A dollar for each music lover in attendance was donated to the Victorian Flood Appeal through Bendigo Bank’s charitable arm, The Community Enterprise Foundation. Great work Colin! Stay in the loop on upcoming events and updates here.

Giant Trash the Dress Photo Shoot
Kelly’s Giant Trash the Dress photo shoot was a huge success. Fourteen brides trashed their dresses with cake, paint, and drowned their gowns in the name of unique photography and celebratory fun. They even had local media onsite on the day to document it all. Find out more about the concept and the shoot here.

Ride the Talk
After spending more than half a year riding around the country on a solo bike tour to spread the message about climate change, John’s plan, Ride-the-Talk was marked successful last week. John covered more than 7,000km and 50 talks at an average daily cycle of up to 150km a day during his journey. Congratulations on your huge accomplishment John! The ride is over (for now), but John is still making public appearances and imploring people to sign his petition for a safe climate future in Australia. Find out how you can sign John’s petition here.

Sowing the Seeds of Hope in Khirala Village
Another exciting success to report for Bhakti, with her plan also marked successful. Funds raised from her cooking classes helped finance her development project in Khirala village, empowering villagers to take their first steps towards becoming self sufficient in water, energy and food production. A huge win Bhakti, congratulations! Check out Bhakti’s name in lights in her local paper here and browse photos and reports from her trip here.

There’s also a lot going on next month:

• The Big Feed nationwide starting in March and continuing through to June
• The National Flood Relief Cinema Under the Stars in Gisborne, Victoria on March 5th
• The 1egg1world Gallery Fundraiser in Melbourne on March 10th
• The Family Fun Day @ Jacana Reserve in Broadmeadows, Victoria on March 27th
• TEDx Whadjuk in Perth, Western Australia on March 26th, among others.

Which PlanBig event will you be supporting in March?

(Source: PlanBig.com.au)

**UPDATE 1/04/2011 Unfortunately due to some overzealous editing on the part of our Community Manager, we listed Cathy Freeman as the artist behind her own portrait. It was in fact the brilliant Archibald prizewinner Craig Ruddy; apologies for the mixup.

As the seasons changed this month, PlanBig brought in an all new round of exciting changes.

PlanBig has a range of new features: more options for keeping people informed and up to date on plans and a variety of new opportunities to get social. You suggested and we did it; thanks to all of the amazing feedback we’ve been receiving from the community, check it all out.

We’d like to take this opportunity to give a big shout out to all of our new and longstanding likers and followers on our social networks helping us spread the PlanBig love. We now have more than 1,665 likes on Facebook and more than 1,520 followers on Twitter.

PlanBig was in Adelaide this month at WOMAD 2011, handing out eco-friendly bags and meeting music lovers from around the world. Check out the video here.

March has also been a massive month for our community:

1egg1world gallery fundraiser
The 1egg1world boys held a gallery fundraiser to celebrate their latest trade, an original portrait of Cathy Freeman by Archibald winning artist Craig Ruddy. The fundraiser was a huge success, with more than $25,000 raised for the Cathy Freeman Foundation and a number of exciting proposals being put forward for the next 1egg1world trade. See the painting unveiled and put forward your own suggestion for the next 1egg1world trade here.

Kidney Kidnections
Simone marked her plan a success this month after exactly one year on PlanBig. Congratulations Simone! After 12 months of hard work, Simone has published her first book Kidney Kidnections. It’s an inspirational compilation of stories written by families with children suffering from kidney disease and has been published by Kidney Health Australia. You can purchase the book here.

PlanBig Sydney meetup/5050 tea party
The first ever Sydney PlanBig meetup was a huge success, bringing PlanBig Sydney-siders together to have some fun, collaborate and support each other, while raising money for The 50/50 Tea Party plan. If you missed out, don’t fret, you can find out more about the next Sydney PlanBig meetup here.

Shivannii’s plan aims to raise $50 at 50 different tea parties, and ultimately reaching the goal of $2500 to help protect and educate children in a cluster of villages in the Purulia district of West Bengal. To host your own tea party click here.

Queensland PlanBig meetup
The latest PlanBig meetup in QLD was a great success, 13 of us gathered in New Farm Park to share a picnic, discuss ideas and chuck around the frisbee. The delicious catering was done by 139 Club a homeless drop-in centre that provides a safe environment in inner city Brisbane for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, to access a range of support services aimed at enhancing social inclusion. 

There’s also a lot going on next month:

• The Big Feed continues nationwide, ongoing through to June
• The First Ever Living Smarties Conference in Freemantle, Western Australia on April 3^rd
• The Kings of Spin race to raise money for diabetes research in Adelaide on April 15^th
• The Creative Enterprise Community Enterprise Forum in Melbourne April 16^th  
• The Bendigo Relay for Life in Bendigo, Victoria on April 29^th and 30^th

April was another exciting month on the PlanBig calendar. The PlanBig family got even bigger, with more than 1,720 likes on Facebook and more than 1,555 followers on Twitter. It was also a huge month for some of our planners – many of whom saw big successes. So without further ado, here we are to spill the beans on all the latest news and upcoming events.

Thanks to all of our amazing PlanBiggers for helping to make it all happen.

April’s highlights:

Eddie Vedder 

Jen lived her dream, meeting and taking a portrait of her idol, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. There were a lot of beautiful photographs that paved the way for this one, but the portrait is certainly the pièce de résistance. Congratulations on marking your plan a success Jen! This story is proof that anything is possible as long as you are willing to pursue it. Show your support and check out the photos here.

Kidney Kidnections 

Simone celebrated the launch of her book, Kidney Kidnections, an inspirational compilation of stories written by families with children suffering from chronic kidney disease. The book is available for purchase from Kidney Health Australia. The launch was held at a fun-filled event in New Farm Park in Brisbane, and PlanBig was there to capture it all on film. Click here to check it out. Congratulations Simone! It’s been such a pleasure to share your journey with you. 

Living Smarties Conference 

Shani held the first ever Living Smarties Conference in Fremantle this month. The event saw more than 100 attendees get together in an open interactive forum to discuss all things sustainable with an emphasis on encouraging behaviour change. Sustainable communities everywhere were all abuzz with the news, and it even made it onto My Green Australia! Check out the article here.   

Deck of Dreams Workshop

Jenny’s first Deck of Dreams Workshop at this month’s Sydney PlanBig Meetup saw creative PlanBiggers paint their hearts out to raise awareness for mental health. The gorgeous artworks that were created are in Jenny’s gallery for all to see. You can check them out here.

There are even more fun and fantastic causes and events to get stuck into next month, just to name a few! 

The Big Feed continues nationwide, ongoing through to June

The Ride to Rescue crew kick off in Australia on May 1st

The Big Hug Project is on around the country on May 2nd

The Rotarians Walk for Homeless Youth will get going on May 7th

The Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival Fundraiser will be rocking out on May 8th

The Think Global, Act Local Art Mural Launch Party will be happening on May 14th

Which PlanBig event will you be supporting in May?

Winter is nearly upon us and for many this means looking forward to nights beside the heater with hot cups of tea. However, this hasn’t stopped our family of PlanBiggers from getting busy this month with more than 4,000 members, 1,800 likes on Facebook and 1,600 followers on Twitter. Our planners have cycled, painted, launched websites and written books and we would like to take this opportunity to give a special shout out to all of our fantastic members who have helped make their plans a reality.

Some of May’s highlights included:

Young Republic

Marianne Sea achieved her dream of creating an online marketplace designed to support emerging Australian designers with the successful launch of Young Republic. The exciting beta launch took place at the beginning of May featuring more than 100 designers who now have the perfect platform to showcase their design talent to the global scene. Check it out here.

The Otesha Project

The team behind The Otesha Project kicked off their Capital City Tour this month. The tour will see them travel more than 1,000km from Melbourne to Canberra – all in the name of sustainability. They will be making a number of stops along the way, using theatre, multimedia and interactive workshops to help educate young people on the issues of environmental sustainability and social justice. Join them on their journey here.

Cabramatta PCYC “Think Global, Act Local” Art Mural Project

Anna Dang launched the first ever “Think Global, Act Local” community festival in Cabramatta in conjunction with the Fairfield City Council. The event was a great success and brought together like-minded youth to raise awareness and promote action on climate change. Show your support and check out the photos here.

Your Defence

Brie Backo has been busy touring the country this month with her collection of books “The Alpha Series”. These books aim to help educate the children of families in operational service by providing a better understanding of what the Australian Defence Force is about and how it affects their families. You can check out her plan here.

There are even more fantastic causes to get behind next month. Here are a few plans that would love your support!

• The GRuBS working bee will be taking place at Marryatville Primary School on 5th June
•  The Homeless for a Night national sleep will be happening on 16th June
•  The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Colts and Fillies Race Day to raise money for diabetes research in Morphettville on 18th June
•   The Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival fundraiser will be rocking out on 25th June

(Source: PlanBig.com.au)

Happy EOFY! We have plenty of reasons to celebrate this month, and we are very excited about our big news. 

First up, if you haven’t already heard, we’re on the lookout for six PlanBig members to join the Community Advisory Board and represent the voice of the PlanBig community. Applications close Friday, 8 July 2011 so check out the plan and get your application in soon! 

Not only did our social media family grow to more than 1,890 likes on Facebook and more than 1,670 followers on Twitter, but we also saw PlanBig and Swinburne Uni PR students joining forces, kicking off the publicity programs students will be working on with the lucky selected planners – congratulations everyone.  

Additionally, we added the awesome new “Organisations” feature this month to allow organisations to group all of their plans in one place, making it easy for members to support their favourite businesses, associations and charities.

Our members have of course been making us proud – as always – with some incredible plans being marked successful thanks to the support of the community.

Some of June’s highlights included:

End Racism 

Not only did Raphael and his team successfully complete their plan after their video submission in the global Cannes YouTube Good Work Competition went viral, they were selected as finalists! Check out their submission here.  

Climate Change Rumble 

The Climate Change Rumble team marked their plan successful after the completion of an incredible community flash mob video about climate change. Watch the video here. Amazing work Basha!

Fraser Coast Community Projects 

Hervey Bay Community Bank marked their plan successful thanks to the projects identified and feedback offered by PlanBiggers, which was then delivered to the Fraser Coast Community. Check out their plan here.  

Augusta Representative Vacancy – Sport & Recreation 

The Augusta Margaret River Sport and Recreation Advisory Committee marked their plan a success when they filled the empty position for a representative for Augusta’s Sporting Groups. Congratulations to Sarah Wilson who secured the coveted position! Find out more here.

You might have also noticed some of our planners shining in the media spotlight this month. We’ve listed a few below in case you missed the news…

Catherine Gerhardt from Kidproof Melbourne was featured on Femail.com.au

The Otesha Project were interviewed on ABC News on their tour from Melbourne to Canberra

The Rooftop Bees presented at The Hive in Melbourne

If you’re as excited as us to be a part of what happens next, we have just the thing for you. We’ve listed more fantastic plans to get behind next month. Here are a few that would love your support:

Colac Naidoc Week will run from July 4^th – July 8^th

 The 1egg1world Flash Mob will be taking place on July 10^th

 The Soften the F*ck up Launch is kicking off on July 15^th

 The Making a Meal of It book launch will also be happening on July 15^th

July has been another big month for the PlanBig community with a number of exciting launches and events happening all around the country.

The PlanBig family continued to grow with more than 1,940 likes on Facebook and more than 1,740 new followers on Twitter. We would like to give a big shout out to all our wonderful members for their continued support – without you, the PlanBig community wouldn’t be as amazing as it is.

There were small wins and big celebrations all over PlanBig this month. Some of July’s highlights included:

Soften the F up 

Ehon Chan launched his national grassroots health campaign ‘Soften the F*** Up’, encouraging men to face up to mental health issues. The campaign challenges the ‘real man’ stereotype and sends the message that it’s alright to ask for help. The launch was a huge success, attracting government, industry and the community, who all came together in a fantastic show of support. Check out some of the highlights from the night here. Well done Ehon!

Making a Meal of It

Rosemary Cadden launched her new book ‘Making a Meal of it’ to give people ideas on how to make the most of their food, with tips on how to buy the best, keep it fresh, restore and revive leftovers and make use of every bit. The book is selling like hotcakes – get your sneak peek here.

Get Virgin Laid

The 1egg1world boys kicked off their ‘Get Virgin Laid’ campaign in their bid to raise $1 million dollars for charity. Their campaign gained traction online and offline with more than 150 people joining forces in a giant flash mob to try and convince Richard Branson to donate flights with Virgin Galactic to the cause. Check out the teaser here, and stay tuned for more.

NAIDOC Week Colac

As part of Naidoc Week, Anne Moore organised a series of activities in the Colac-Otway community to celebrate the local Indigenous community and promote awareness of the cultural heritage of Indigenous Australians. The week long festivities were well received and were attended by nearly 1,000 people. If you missed out this year, not to worry as it’s an annual affair. Find out more here.

There are more great plans to get behind in August - here are a few that would love your support:

The Art Beyond Words Exhibition happening on August 6th

The Student Education Conference taking place on August 16th

The 40 hour famine that is on from August 19th – 21st

Defender of the Faith book launch on August 26th

Have we got big news for you this month! Spring is in the air and it’s the season for new beginnings.

On the community front, PlanBig celebrated the appointment of the 2011/2012 Community Advisory Board, bringing some of the community’s most innovative and involved members together to collaborate and help PlanBig grow. Congratulations to the new team and big thanks for all the hard work from the outgoing committee.

In addition, our members have been planning big and the good news is spreading fast – PlanBig now has more than 2,086 likes on Facebook and more than 1,816 followers on Twitter.

There’s something about flowers blooming and birds singing that helps to motivate and inspire – just like these incredible planners who have achieved great things this month: 

Return to the old school action thriller

PlanBigger Chris Allen achieved his lifelong dream with the launch of his old school action thriller novel, Defender of the Faith. The book is now available in ebook and paperback formats in-store and online. We’re thrilled for Chris and so proud to have been a part of his journey. Find out how he did it here.

Launch for CafeSmart in WA

SIIWA partnered with StreetSmart to launch CafeSmart in WA, raising funds for the state’s most disadvantaged. The campaign had the crowds buzzing, with 17 cafes donating $1 from every coffee sold on the big day. The initiative was highlighted in local papers and media outlets too – here’s a sneak peek in case you missed out. 

Fashion Against Disaster

Tomomi’s fashion fundraiser for the victims of the Japan tsunami and earthquake was a huge success, raising awareness and much-needed funds to help rebuild the disaster-stricken nation. The event saw fashionistas and fervent fundraisers alike enjoy a fashion show featuring exclusive pieces from some of Gold Coast’s most renowned boutiques - which all went up for silent auction – raising over $3000 for the worthy cause.

 Glee for Charity

Nish performed his first Glee for Charity event for his local children’s hospital through the Starlight Foundation, and they loved his work so much they decided to take his initiative national. Nish can now expand his team and perform around the country. Do you know someone musical who might like to join the cause? Get in touch here.

Hands up! Who needs help spreading the word about their plans? Swinburne Uni students here to help!

The PlanBiggers who were nominated to work with Swinburne Uni students to develop public relations plans saw their big ideas transformed at a presentation by the students earlier this month, bringing this plan full circle to completion. Good luck to all the planners taking these exciting next steps. PlanBig was there to capture it all on film – check out the video here.

There are more great plans to get behind next month - here are a few that would love your support:

The Reinventing School Challenge kicks off on September 12th around the country

 Walk to Work day for Cancer Council Australia is happening on September 16th nationwide

 The Sustainable Living Festival is underway from September 24th - 25th in WA