TweetGiving: Changing the world through GRATITUDE

TweetsGiving is a global celebration that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. TweetsGiving encourages participants to express their thanks using online tools and at live events. In honor of the people and things that make them grateful, guests will be invited to give to a common cause at events held across the globe. You can read more about the story here.

This is a great opportunity to connect your local group with the global network around making a difference and sharing around the world.  Last year, TweetsGiving raised enough funds ($10,000+) to build a classroom in Tanzania.  This year, funds and participation will raise the technology infrastructure in the classroom as well as the knowledge and usage by the students there.

Epic Change just returned from the school in Tanzania and you can see videos and more from the classroom where kids are learning how to use social tools online to connect with each other and the world.

Check out the events page to find a Tweetsgiving near you, show your gratitude online and maybe go the extra step and donate to help Epic Change bring technology goodness to these kids in Tanzania. Do it. It will make you feel good. Promise.

Help SMC Austin Help Peggy Into Her New Home

This past August, the Social Media Club of Austin adopted the Mobile Loaves and Fishes’ Habitat on Wheels program for a six month program of creating awareness and raising money. The goal is simply to raise $10,000 in order to purchase one recreational vehicle that can serve as a home to a homeless person in Austin.

Alan Graham of Mobile Loaves and Fishes wrote on their website that the real goal was to get one brother or sister off the streets of Austin permanently.  He wrote, “Just imagine a few people giving $100 per month, a few giving $50 per month, a few giving $20 per month and a few giving $10 per month. Collectively, we can change the world for one human being. Imagine!”

The Social Media Club members in Austin have used their imaginations and, since that meeting in August, we’ve come a long way in reaching our goal. We’ve reached out on every social media channel we can think of and raised significant sums of money online. We’ve received a large, anonymous donation as a result of the buzz around our efforts. We are well on our way.

Then in October, RealPlayer SP stepped up and donated $1,000 through the Social Media Club to Mobile Loaves and Fishes and we set as a new goal to specifically get Peggy off the streets and into a permanent home.

This weekend, Alan Graham and I will be part of a 48 hour Street Retreat with the homeless of Austin. It will be my third time to do so. During these Street Retreats Alan and I use social media channels to raise awareness of the MLF mission. Follow Alan @MLFNOW on Twitter and me @MikeChapman. We will be posting throughout the weekend using the hashtag #sr.

It’s my hope that our Social Media Club colleagues from around the country and the world can lend a hand by retweeting, blogging, forwarding videos, maybe donating some money, and anything else you can think of to spread the word and help get Peggy off the streets permanently.

This link - http://mlfnow.org/smc – was created especially for Social Media Club. Please visit it, forward it and give any assistance you can in spreading the word and helping Social Media Club use social media for social good.

Mike Chapman
Social Media Club Co-founder