Free Hugs Day Guidelines

For best success, don’t just gather everyone up and walk out the door! Use the following guidelines to ensure a wonderful event:

Before the event:

• Identify a creative master.
• Make a poster announcing Free Hugs Day for your organization. Make plenty of announcements about the exciting day coming up!
• Choose a well-populated location such as a park, shopping area, busy store parking lot, financial district, college campus, retirement home or community, preferably in walking distance from your starting point. Malls are NOT ideal (you appear to be taking business from their tenants who pay a lot of rent and marketing) UNLESS your business is located in a mall. Streets are also not ideal; you want to choose a location with lots of foot traffic. For night events, choose a safe, well-lit location.
• Obtain all necessary permissions and permits from the location and/or local government agencies at least 30 days prior to your event. Make sure you don’t violate any rules or laws.
• Send press releases to ALL of your local media (including radio, TV, and print outlets). Many groups have made the front page newspaper with their Free Hugs events.
• Provide copies of the press release to the host location (the mall, park, etc.).
• Make “Free Hugs” signs to bring along (at least 1 sign for every 4 people).
• Plan your event-day agenda. Example: 1 hour preparation, 1 hour of hugs (including travel time), 1 hour download after hugging event.

On the day of the event:

• Gather everyone together 45 minutes before you’re scheduled to leave.
• Show the music video from Sick Puppies containing Juan Mann’s Free Hugs campaign to your group.
• Get your everyone excited, coached, and ready to go!
• Arrive at your location a few minutes before your scheduled time, since media may be there to cover your event. Stay for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Take pictures! Have several of your own photographers on hand to capture the experience.
• Bring along a video camera and take videos of the event.

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After five years as Juan Mann – I’m retiring.

This is where you come in.

The Free Hugs Campaign has become a wordlwide social movement with the hard work of inspired individuals the world over. It is one of these individuals who will replace me as Juan Mann or Womann… Hmmm someone will have to make that sound a little better.

The simple fact is, the Job as Leader of the Free Hugs Campaign is up for grabs and everyone is welcome to apply.

Here are some simple facts first:

I do not own the trademark, copyright or have any legal entitlement to the term “Free Hugs” – I’ve never thought it necessary.

I do not receive any income from t-shirts or merchandise.

In fact, I don’t make any money from the Free Hugs Campaign at all.

Here’s what the job entails:

Offering Free Hugs. Simple enough isn’t it? You don’t have to have done it before – but there’s always a great time to start. Why not today?

Promoting the Free Hugs Campaign and the simple concept of working to make someone else smile. By any means necessary.

Nurturing the future of the Free Hugs Campaign. I’ve made it this far – where will you take it from here? How will you keep inspiring others to a brighter tomorrow?

A ton of social networking – you’ll be handed control over every website, social network and whatsit that I’ve managed a Free Hugs presence on.

At some point in the future at a point you see fit – passing the job on to someone else.

HOW TO ENTER:

It’s easy really – e-mail your entry to juan@juanmann.com

Include your name, age, city, country and your application for the job.

Include whatever you wish in your application just make sure you get your entry in on time

There’s no age limit, language barrier, height restriction, gender constraint or any of that nonsense – absolutely

EVERYONE is FREE to apply.

ENTRIES CLOSE – MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7th, 2009

One of the perks, if you could call it that – is that the winner will have access to me for whatever advice or support they may need in furthering the Free Hugs Campaign – should they so wish to get in touch with me.

Otherwise – for me – it’s on with life.

It’s been an emotional five years and I’ll be happy to see where the Free Hugs Campaign goes from here.

Thanks for the kind words, well wishes, understanding, compassion, smiles and Free Hugs over the years.

I look forward to hearing from… well – everyone.

Hugs, Juan