21 Dec – 'What would you do with $25,000?' was the question that spurred out of the mind of filmmaker Casey Neistat when he was asked by 20th Century Fox to do a video based on their advertising campaign for the movie "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", and he responded with an inspirational idea. 20th Century Fox emailed Neistat inviting him to take part in the marketing efforts for the upcoming Ben Stiller film by making a promo to encourage people to 'live your dreams', so the New York based filmmaker took the money to the Philippines to help in disaster relief. He then made a video documenting the journey for himself from the idea to helping the disaster relief, and it all started when he read out the email sent by 20th Century Fox, "Dear Casey, we are releasing a new movie, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". We want to run a campaign under the concept, 'Live Your Dreams'. The collective theme behind this initiative is to motivate, inspire and give people a catalyst to do something they've never done. We'd like to know if you'd be interested in creating a video about living your dreams." He responded with this simple request: "Here's my concept. Give me the budget, I'll go to the Philippines and spend every penny helping people in need."
This was just days after the devastating typhoon hit the Philippines, and while Neistat probably wasn't expecting a positive response from 20th Century Fox, the studio agreed and just three days later Neistat and a friend were on the ground in the Philippines. Bringing the money, a $700 camera and iMovie, Neistat delivered meals and medical supplies to those most affected by the disaster, and said of those he met, "[They are] the most resilient people I've ever encountered." You can watch the video below: