in 2013, violence, drugs and other kind of social problems had intensified during eight years of economic depression in Puerto Rico. While more young people were at risk, resources for community organizations were decreasing.

Jovenes en Riesgo (Youth at Risk), a non-profit organization that helps young people in social risk, needed much more than money t to guide kids into the right direction; they needed the time commitment, and lots of it, of volunteer mentors.

Since we needed to motivate real deeds, not just awareness, we clearly separated our approach from the ever growing “slacktivism”, where people felt their job was done by endorsing or just clicking "like"on a cause on social media without taking real action outside the digital world.

We took three real cases which had made national news involving teenage violence, that had shocked the country’s public opinion recently, reenacted as content for online video platforms.

As viewers watched, just right before the violent action was going to take place; an overlay invited the viewer to click “Like” to stop it. The overlay was inactive and the action continued, dramatizing that “Likes” are not the way to stop violence among youth. Testimonials from the organization’s participants strengthened the message.

The campaign immediately moved the country, ignited media coverage and translated into action.

News media were reached through a launching press conference and media materials. Interviews with the young participants and mentors were coordinated in television and radio.

Most important, people started taking interest in volunteering. A record number of volunteers enrolled in 2013 (204% increase) during the first three months of the campaign and continued their work through 2014. The quality of mentors recruited also improved increasing the numbers of hours devoted per mentor by 58%, from 200 hours to 316; which resulted in a record high total of 24,964 hours (a 380% increase vs. ya) of mentoring our Puerto Rican youth towards a better life.