Posted by jennita
One aspect of the Moz Community that doesn't get mentioned enough is the individual community members who were here in the early days of SEOmoz. The folks who stuck around when our tools were brand new, when Rand was "just another SEO guy," and when our community was really just a bunch of folks talking about SEO.
One of those early members was Dana Lookadoo. She joined Moz in April 2007, and has been a supporter, trainer, and mentor to many others ever since. Whether it's the blog posts she's written, the thoughtful comments she's left, or the presentations she's given at MozCon and in webinars, she's provided for this community like few others have.
Last year, Dana took a horrible fall when she was on a bike ride (she's an avid cyclist), and broke her neck and back. She's had many ups and downs since the accident, and hasn't been able to work full-time. Dana now suffers intense burning from neuropathy and muscle spacicity that has spread from head to toe, and she has burning and spasms covering approximately 75% of her body. Her mobility and function is greatly limited and she suffers a lot of pain each day.
She splits her time between the wheelchair, the bed, and some in the walker. Unfortunately, over the last few days she's had so much pain and spasms that she isn't walking as much. It is also quite difficult for Dana to deal with bright lights, and she can't spend much time on her phone or computer.
Dana has given so much to the Moz community, and to our industry as a whole. Her knowledge and generosity has helped marketers for many years, and now it's our turn to return the favor. She's in need of part-time caregivers, which cost $4,125 per month. That's almost $50k for a year (...and that's only part-time!). This doesn't include paying for the multiple hospital stays, visits to the ER, physical therapy, occupational therapy, neuropathy treatment, and so on.
I'm asking you to help one of our amazing community members by donating to her medical fund. Every little bit helps, and you can even set up a monthly payment (I'm doing $25 per month). If you don't have the means, please help us spread the word. It's our turn to give back to Dana.
I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of Dana's amazing work she's done for the Moz Community, as so much of it remains great advice to marketers.
Stress-free Website Redesign for Search and Social
Download a PDF of the presentation
In September 2013, just two months before her accident, Dana presented an excellent webinar with us about how to make sure your search and social efforts don't go to waste when you redesign a website. The full webinar is a little over an hour, but believe me, it's worth the watch.
Rock Your SEO with Structured Social Sharing
At MozCon 2012, Dana was one of our very first Community Speakers to rock the stage. After seeing how well these presentations were received, we decided to continue the program each year. We've always been grateful to Dana for helping to make this so successful. In her presentation she discusses how to make your SEO even better by ensuring your social sharing is set up correctly. Give it a watch!
And if you'd like to just check out the slide deck, you can view that below:
I could honestly go on and on, as she's been such an integral piece of the greater online marketing community.
Donations needed
Please take a few moments and donate what you can. Every little bit helps! If you don't have the means, we understand that as well, and hope you'll share the post and fund using the methods below.
Please help share
Let's get the word out! Here are some easy ways to help make a difference for Dana:
Embed a widget on your site:
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Share this image on Twitter:
If you have other ideas on how to get the word out and help our fellow community member, let's hear it. Thank you all for your support and assistance.
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