This project is being done because fandom creates a multitude of positivity for society. As long as there have been artists, there have been fans. Fans admire artists such as actors and actresses and the art they create such as movies and television shows. Fans of television and movies unite and create their own unique fandoms. The work these fandoms have done is worth being recognized. Through research more individuals may consider becoming a part of fandom, knowing the good that it has done for individuals and on the larger scale of society.

The study of fandoms is relevant today because massive groups of individuals composed as fandom, benefit society in various ways through their actions. These actions include activism, charity, philanthropy, and social inclusion. The missing knowledge of this study are the long-term benefits of what fandom has done. The new knowledge being added to this study are the different charities. Readers should care about the influence fandom has on society because society is made up of millions of people. Fandom could have touched the lives of individuals in a positive way without them realizing. In some cases, fandoms have joined together and donated money to mental health organizations which is benefitting more people than just fans and celebrities.

The goal of this study is to discover, highlight and emphasize the positive domains of what fandom does for society. These domains include charity, activism, philanthropy, and social inclusion. These domains will be explained through the peer-reviewed literature and additional sources for the support of the creative project. To accomplish the goals of this study, the examination of previous literature relating to the topic will be beneficial. The structure of this paper is divided through the four subheadings. These top questions include, “What is fandom?” “The History of Fandom,” “What Activities are Fandom Taking Part In?” and “Where is Fandom Headed?” Each subheading is directly related to the goals of the literature review. All the literature in this piece supports the domains and relates back to each other.

1. The design of my creative project is a website. This website will also have components of podcasting featured throughout with different interviewees who are heavily involved in fandom.
2. The website aims to highlight the influence fandom has on society through different domains (charity, social inclusion and activism), questions and testimonials. It also aims to encourage others to become a part of fandom through the benefits it becomes aware of. This website will also have various interviews featured throughout from charities, fandom participants, fans who participate in activism and creators of social inclusion. The separation of each domain will be worked through so that there is a clearly defined difference between each domain displayed on the website.
3. This way is effective in addressing the questions I proposed in the literature review because it is creative which leaves open ends of expression for answering the questions. It is not putting anything in a box. I could answer the questions through interviewee’s responses, graphics with information on them, various videos already on the internet, posts from social media, images from Google and beyond.
4. The website will have 4 to 5 different pages. These domains will be supported by interviews from different interviewees as well as additional information that I find relevant.
5. The structure of the website is being organized by different pages between: charity, social inclusion, activism/philanthropy.
6. My narrative and storytelling strategies are asking the questions through my domains, charity, social inclusion, activism/philanthropy. In preparation for each interview, I prepared the questions based on what I want to highlight.
7.  I am interviewing multiple people to support my creative project. I am interviewing Team Lead of Friends With Benefit Charity Events, Brittany Purtell. The founders of Fab Five Events which include Tammy Hibbs, Trina Cline and Tammy Rollings. Nicole Randone and Sarah Brown, Instagram Digital Creators heavily involved in fandoms. As well as Amanda Grubb who is a part of the Supernatural fandom and has participated in fandom activism. The interviews will be conducted through Zoom. There are 5 interviews in total with individuals who I find very relevant in the main research question, “how does fandom influence society?” If any of these interviews do not pan out, I plan on finding other individuals who are just as important to support my main research question.
8. Online materials from other sources for this creative project will include vidoes from YouTube and posts from various social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Through those platforms I will highlight content posted by fan activists and fan activist events. Additionally, fan charity events and the accounts that run those charity events. Content from accounts that harbor social inclusion of fandoms on social media. Overall, I plan on using content taken from Instagram, Facebook and YouTube that highlight all of the things I have been discussing.

Organization

1. The non-profit organization I plan to use for my project is Friends With Benefit Charity Events. It is a non-profit organization that hosts charity events with the cast of the hit television show One Tree Hill. Their homebase and events are located in Wilmington, North Carolina. Generally, they raise money for charities by hosting fan events throughout the year. Fans of One Tree Hill come to Wilmington, North Carolina to meet the cast.
2. Their objective is to host events throughout each dedicated to different charity organizations. These include St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital, Dear Jack Foundation, The Girl Project, Drew League Foundation to name a few. These activities help to improve the community and society as whole because thousands of dollars are being donated to really important causes that help people live better lives. In addition to that, the whole community of Wilmington, North Carolina is being benefitted when the hundreds of fans are flying to their town, as tourists and paying into their businesses.

Relevance

One of the main objectives of this organization is to support various charity organizations by hosting events with the beloved celebrity cast of One Tree Hill. 80% of their profits go to charity organizations such as St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital.

This aligns with the goal of my project because I sought out to highlight how being apart of fandom of various series could lead you to donating money to charity organizations where children are in need of help. Besides making your dream come true by meeting your favorite celebrities you are also making a difference in the world.

Another main objective of this organization is to bring fans together, make their dreams come true and create enviornments of social inclusion. This aligns with the goal of my project because I have discovered that through fandom people have created environments of social inclusion whether it occurred through in person fan conventions or online on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. People have made lifelong friends which have enhanced their life.

Plan/Strategy

I plan to help the organization improve their activities and achieve their objectives in various ways.

1. To help the organization achieve goal #1, I can continuously share their events so that people are aware of them in order to donate money to the charities. In addition to this, I can send out a newsletter ahead of time to notify people when tickets are going on sale and when the events are occurring.
2. This could be done within the next month through the development of my website.
3. The anticipated outcome of this is a continued interest in the events being hosted by them as well as continuous loyalty to the organization.
4. To help organization achieve goal #2 I can create a fan forum/fan group on my website so that people can connect with each other when they are going to events or if they just want to speak to other members of the fandom series they are a part of.
5. I can set this up within the next month as I continue to build up my website. As I share it across social media platforms to gain traction.
6. The anticipated outcome of this are a group of fans becoming friends with each other, they will have a place where they can discuss life and things going around as well as their continued interest in their series. It is a safe place where people can share what is important to them.