This week I participated in an all day “Tweetathon.” No, there were no packed stadiums of adoring fans. No, I didn’t have to get all sweaty. No, there was no lifetime of preparation. The event was held on Twitter and the focus was to raise awareness for the United Nation’s ongoing work to assist refugees worldwide — their Blue Key Campaign.
So why talk about it in my blog? Well, there are a couple of good reasons:
Social Media:
The Blue Key Campaign is aggressively and successfully using social media to get the word out about their efforts and to increase awareness of their cause. Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr are all part of the mix.
How Do You View Charity?:
My good friend Dan Rickert and I have been working on a new, large-scale project that, fundamentally, asks the question, “What are you doing daily to give back to the world?” This is a tough question to ask and, more importantly it’s often a much tougher question to answer.
Let’s face it. Most of us don’t have billions of dollars like Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet, George Soros or Oprah Winfrey. Their combined, personal philanthropic efforts in just the past few years is pushing $100 BILLION dollars! A problem with this is these heavy hitters get the press coverage because it’s a WOW story, leaving the rest of us mere mortals feeling like our contributions would be small, petty or even unnoticed. This is faulty thinking. One big player ponying up a million dollars, or a million less wealthy individuals pooling together $1 each, is identical in how it impacts the world.
In this vein, the Blue Key Campaign simply asks for a small donation of $5 but (here’s the beautiful part) ALSO asks you to help spread the word through your own social network of family, friends and business contacts. This costs you nothing and helps out the cause immensely.
Giving and helping DON’T have to make you feel all scritchy and uncomfortable!
So, how many causes, campaigns, fundraisers, non-profits, charities and philanthropic organizations can you think of that you would fully believe in and MIGHT need your support today? Can’t come up with any off the top of your head? … check out CharityNavigator.org or CharityWatch.org to find some of the biggies. But don’t stop there! Think about your local community; local soup kitchens, Rotary, Lions Club, local schools (sports, arts, music), Boy/Girl Scouts … the list is endless!
… OR, if you need a simple way to get the ball rolling, support the Blue Key Campaign with $5.
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It is the way things are going.
Finally, the true purpose of the Web (to build a useful community) fully realised.
Well said, Kevin. It is stunningly profound how far $5 will go in other areas of the world, especially when combined with many other $5 donations. Glad to be a blue key champion along with you!
Agree with Paula, above, that it is stunningly profound what a difference $5 makes. As a fellow #bluekey champion, what I also find stunning about this campaign is how well they are using Twitter, Facebook, and blogging to promote the blue key campaign with a relatively small budget. This is a fabulous example of utilizing a dedicated group of online fans to propel a campaign forward.