TweetsGiving is a global celebration that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude.
Scheduled for November 24 – 26, 2009, the 48-hour event created by US nonprofit Epic Change will encourage participants to express their thanks using online tools and at live events to be held globally, and to and to give to a common cause in honor of that for which they’re most grateful.
TweetsGiving 2008: The Classroom Built from Gratitude
Inspired by a moving public note of appreciation posted by volunteer Avi Kaplan,
1 of 4 classrooms Epic Change has built at Shepherds Junior School in Arusha, Tanzania
Epic Change founder Stacey Monk launched the original TweetsGiving celebration in November 2008 as a 48-hour celebration of gratitude and giving that aimed to raise $10,000 to build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania. Participants were encouraged to share messages of thanks on Twitter, and to give to a common cause to celebrate their gratitude. Built in six days by six volunteers for the cost of a $10 domain registration, TweetsGiving was launched 2 days before the US Thanksgiving holiday, and quickly became the #1 trending topic on Twitter as thousands of grateful tweets from across the globe filled the stream, and hundreds of blogs, from Mashable to VentureBeat, spread the story.
Over 15,000 people visited the site in the 48 hours that the original TweetsGiving celebration was held, and the event easily surpassed it’s $10,000 goal. (Click here and here to see additional metrics.) Epic Change invested the funds to build a classroom at a school founded by Tanzanian Epic Change fellow “Mama Lucy” Kamptoni, a woman who used to sell chickens and used her income to build a school that now serves over 300 children near her home in Arusha. In this classroom built from gratitude, the Twitter handles of donors are now painted on the walls.
2009 Plans: Epic Thanks
In 2009, Epic Change will expand this global groundswell of gratitude by including live events across the globe and reaching out to even more online communities.
Most exciting, with a recent grant from IdeaBlob that was also won through successful social media efforts in Tanzania and across the globe, Epic Change will be partnering with Kamptoni in Tanzania to implement a technology lab at the primary school where last year’s TweetsGiving classroom was built. Expect groundbreaking participation from students and teachers at the school in Arusha during this year’s event.
Proceeds will again, in part, benefit the school, where an orphanage, library and additional classrooms are much needed. In addition, TweetsGiving 2009 seeks to fund new Epic Change partners and fellows in other parts of the world. We’ll be looking for changemakers and social entrepreneurs like Mama Lucy who are transforming their own communities in remarkable ways, who could benefit from substantive investment and enhanced visibility to expand their efforts, and who have inspirational stories of hope that have the power to change our preconceptions of what is possible.