In 2012, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp was in serious need. Donations and awareness were down, but more kids than ever were in need of camp’s services. With no media dollars to promote our cause, we created The Wonder Music Project, a music-based initiative that tapped into the power of PR and created viral buzz with an evocative sing-a-long song that captured the healing power of camp and compelled listeners to both donate to our cause as well as share our music with friends. In collaboration with Grammy Award winner Natalie Merchant, our campers breathed new life into Natalie’s hit song “Wonder. To launch our campaign, we orchestrated the premiere of The Wonder Music Project and surrounded the event with PR buzz. On that day, nearly two million dollars was raised - enough money to send 800 more kids to camp. We then launched our song on itunes, Spotify, You tube and radio stations across the country, and our PR presence grew. As Wonder gained momentum, nearly 200 media outlets and 75 radio stations picked up our story, and echoed our song. Celebrities Jimmy Fallon, Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey and more also took up our cause and amplified our music to their fans and followers across the country. Their support generated even more PR buzz, and allowed our music to spread across even broader demographics. And now, as camp celebrates its 25th anniversary, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is able to help more sick kids in need than ever before.

At the onset of our creative development, we realized that the simple camp activity of a sing-a-long captured the therapeutic essence of camp better than anything else. Inspired by this insight, we did not “shoot” a music video but rather created a day-long “added value” activity for campers to enjoy. All of the campers joined in, and The Wonder Music Project is the embodiment of their own creativity and bravery.

On the day The Wonder Music Project premiered, nearly two million dollars was raised - enough money to send 800 more kids to camp. Then with virtually no media dollars to spend, The Wonder Music Project tapped into PR and donated media, generating mass awareness for the cause both online and in broadcast. At launch, camp's site traffic went up nearly 900%, and YouTube viewership went up nearly 600%. To date, over 200 media outlets have shared our story, and over 85 radio stations have played our song, which has generated a total of 77 million PR impressions and counting. Because of this, donations and awareness have exceeded expectations, and this year camp will have the ability to help more kids than ever before.