With the real-deal guys of Connecticut’s Army Reserve who served in Iraq on
the set of “The Fence”

CauseACTION is a vision of the heart. Were it not for the exceedingly talented and dedicated people that I am privileged to work with – John, Jyll, Mary, and others on the edges of the CauseACTION family, who provide other skills and encouragement, it simply would not exist.

What follows has a lot of “I” in it. Please forgive me for that. The reason is this – I believe that as a web visitor, you should know who is behind the website and what we, as a team are trying to accomplish. I see far too many predictable blah-blah “About” Pages that tell you almost nothing about the why and how and the goals of the mission.

So, here goes.

The Family, Companies and Projects…

Family. I am the father of four adult children, an “Uncle Daddy” to at least a few more from here to Turkey, husband to Debbie for 47 years, and now a grandfather. My Grandfather nickname is “Papapooch”. What can I tell you? I live in a certain amount of denial about my age and I am still asking myself how that could have possibly happened. Just yesterday, I was dancing with my High School Sweetheart at Assumption Prep and by the Grace of God and her willingness to forgive me at least three times a day, I am still with her today.

My Bride and I have been Foster and Adoptive parents, active in youth and prison ministry, The Gideons, Foreign Exchange Student Programs and a variety of local community projects. And somehow when the wounded bird, cat, opossum… and more than one lost kid landed at our door, it was our great privilege to be at home. Wonderfully, some never left.

In the course of all that and 40 years as a professional direct marketing agency and technology guy, CauseACTION was born… a mission of love, care, and commitment to cause and principles… inside of a hunk of state-of-the-art digital technology.

Professional. Like my father before me, I am a “serial entrepreneur”. For nearly 40 years, I have been able to pay my bills in various marketing, technology, and media ventures as either President or Founder. It has been my professional good fortune to have many wonderful and talented people come alongside. Together we have innovated more than once… sometimes out of sheer necessity and the pure “why the heck not” of it.

Those earlier years have now evolved into my work in new marketing technologies, social media and web strategies, as well as independent film-making and television. What I most treasure about it all are the friends and relationships that came from each.

Causes and Advocacies. My wife and I cherish kids and support our military and their families. We believe that all life is to be protected and should be allowed to thrive unmolested in and outside of the womb.

For some 15 years, I have done battle on the fronts with sexual violence and abuse. While I do not always prevail, I do my best to publicly challenge those who would undermine individual liberty and personal responsibility or assault the rights of others as free men, women, and children.

I am no Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust Survivor and great writer and advocate for all people who suffer under the power and oppression of others. But I remember how struck I was with reading his first book “Night” and his challenge to us all – “None of us should ever stand by and do nothing when we are witnesses to the torment of others.”

And so, I have leveraged my business experience, resources and personal network of friends and associates in the fight to end abortion with the Life Envelope Day and Defund Planned Parenthood Campaigns; the fight to end Commercial Sexual Exploitation and human-trafficking at Stop Online Exploitation and Men Against Prostitution and Trafficking; sexual abuse of children on the web with the Stop Child Porn on Facebook Campaign; and in support of our military and their families with: the March of Honor and the Honor and Remember Campaign, as well as our well-received independent film, “The Fence” (shown at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day Weekend 2012); and most recently the “Honor Bound” reality TV Show developed with the help of our military Heroes. These initiatives, in one way or another, came under the CauseACTION banner.

Political. Like the frog who does not realize he is being boiled to death in the pot as the heat is turned up ever so slowly, I think we are a Nation at risk unless we all pay better attention and become more engaged.

In this particular time when the power of the Administrative State has been weaponized to silence both political opponents and private Citizens, the call to become involved and to defend our Constitutional principle could not be more critical.

And so, I resist and challenge the encroachment by government on our personal liberties and responsibility at every opportunity. I fear the “cult of personality” which has so often lead people astray. I believe in the enumerated rights of our Constitution, a unique pact designed to protect us from an overpowering and controlling government. I firmly believe in community and individual responsibility.

And yes, I believe in the “safety net” for those who are legitimately in need. The government has its place, however, some 60-odd years after Kindergarten, I can also count on one hand the things I think the government does better than what conscientious, motivated citizens do for themselves and for others. In my direct experience with many bureaucracies over 45 years, in business and personal matters, I can assure you that almost everything a bloated, soulless government touches, it compromises. You likely know that too.

And so, I routinely and gently agitate family and friends and perhaps now even you – challenging all to agree or disagree but above all to think, take a position and act and then maybe even reconsider that position. Most of my family and friends still love me… some have even changed their minds as they have sometimes changed mine.

You can find my LinkedIn Profile here. I am happy to hear what is on your mind anytime you wish to email me at rich@causeaction.com. 

P.S. If you are wondering how a guy in shorts and sneakers ended up in somewhere in Iraq, wonder no more. That is the town dump down the street from our home in Connecticut. Some guys from Connecticut’s Army Reserve, who served in Mosul in the middle of the ugliest time, let me in on the crew shot of the independent film, my friend Jimmy Driscoll and I produced, “The Fence”.

We did our best to honor them and their Fallen Brothers and Sisters, our Heroes each and every one of them and their families. Just a short year after it was released, we were privileged to show it all 2013 Memorial Day Weekend at Arlington National Cemetery. Nothing will ever match that. Nothing.

P.P.S – Our Advertising

We do the important CauseACTION work we do and have no other means to keep that going without “sponsored” advertising you will see in occasional emails from us and on this website. We understand that people’s reaction isn’t always positive. For that, we apologize but we can’t imagine throwing out the baby with the bathwater. There is no other way for us to keep the lights on. Thanks, again.

Onward…