In Christianity, a time of Jubilee is a time of joy, and joy is a holy, cherished thing that helps us make it in a hardknocks world.
The Jubilee Project, a non profit group that makes well produced short films to raise awareness for an assortment of good causes, definitely brings joy for their audience and the causes they champion.
In a statement of origin and purpose, founder Jason Lee puts it this way,
"The purpose of the Jubilee Project is simple: To make videos for a good cause," he posted. "Anything from raising awareness, to fundraising money, to capturing random acts of kindness. The hope is that each video inspires others to make their own video, which causes this goodwill to go viral. After all, goodness is contagious."
It actually all started in 2010 on his birthday.
Lee shares that particular day with the Haiti earthquake disaster, and that day helped him to see how vast his social network is, and how many people in the world need help. As he received birthday well wishes juxtaposed against disaster updates, he decided to make a difference in the best way he knew how, by spreading Jubilee through his creative works and tech savvy, and trying to raise money for good causes in the process.
The project is now a three man team. Jason Lee, Eddie Lee and Eric Lu all see the potential social media has to ignite others' passion for change. They are dreamers that quit their 9-5s to pursue their united passion for philanthropy and filmmaking. They believe doing good is contagious.
According to New Media Rockstars, each month, the Jubilee Project creates a personal and thoughtful video that advocates for that month's cause. In the past three and a half years, tthey have produced over 100 videos that support many different causes and have raised over $30,000.
In fact, their well known films have not only garnered attention from lot's of people on YouTube and their website, but also from big corporations like Ford, who awarded $10,000 to City Year, a charity that helps kids stay in school, because of a film the Jubilee Project made.
It's not all about the page views and the money raised though, said Jason. It's about inspiring others to do something, too.
"We would be more happy if we inspired 30 people to do something, to act, to be inspired, to do good," he said, "than to have 30 thousand people watch our video. For us, it's more about impact and how could we actually speak to people and encourage them to do good."
Not that the group needs a lot of help to inspire others, because their films are top notch, but having Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin as a teammate never hurts. The NBA superstar has again joined up with the guys to help with their latest project. He had a role in two earlier releases, also. The first was made to show the value of teamwork and support called "The Last Pick," and the second titled "Jose", is an underdog story, about a kid who grows up in a rough area of San Francisco and makes it because of his faith in God.
This time Lin is in one entitled "Lost for words," and the teaser for the film, just released on YouTube, promises a story that shows the value of mentoring to help a young Burmese man deal with cultural differences as he tries to find a home in America. Lin plays the mentor who seems to be searching for a way to connect with the young man.
If their past work is any indicator, then the cause the Jubilee Project is supporting this time will be a good one, and "Lost for Words" will be well done and emotionally charged. If the comments under the teaser video are any indicator, then many fans are looking forward to that combination to help bless a good cause.
Make sure to check their website or follow them on twitter @JubileeProject to find out more about the release.
