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Just $10 can make a world of difference
By Justin Goldsborough | February 2nd, 2009
Justin case you were wondering…I had never done this before until a month or two ago. I saw a guy on Twitter, Dave Armano, post that he was trying to help Daniela and her family find an apartment. Daniela, a Romanian immigrant with “very little family support” had left her abusive husband and taken her three kids with her. The family was living with the Armano’s and Dave turned to his community of blog readers and Twitter followers on Jan. 7 to help raise $5,000 for the family by Feb. 5.
What happened next showed the power of online communities and literally made my jaw drop to the ground cartoon-style. $12,000 was contributed to Daniela’s cause in under 24 hours. That’s right, $12,000. Simply amazing! I don’t even know David Armano. Never met the guy. But I knew I wanted to be part of a life-changing experience like that.
Enter Danny Brown. Danny is another guy who owns his own PR agency and is trying to use his platform as a blogger and high-profile Twitter personality to make a difference. His cause is the 12 for 12k challenge. The basic idea is 12 charities (one for each month of the year) and 1,200 people donating $10 a month each month. In the end, the goal is $12,000 for 12 charities.
Just doing the math…1,200 is a lot of people. And not everyone may donate $10 each month. So when another Twitter friend, Rachel Kay, asked if Sprint could be a sponsor, I wanted to help. But I’m also very aware that times are tough and we just announced that we’ll lay off 8,000 people in the coming months and won’t have tuition reimbursement or 401k match for 2009. In this kind of an environment, asking for a sponsorship just didn’t seem right. But what about $10?
Obviously this is voluntary. And I understand that in times like these, $10 can be a meal for kids or a third of a tank of gas. So I’ll completely understand if it’s just not a feasible option for you at this time. Also, I’ll be adding this post to my external blog in hopes that folks who come across it will join the cause.
When times get tough for us they get even tougher for those who are really hurting. And being a part of this type of effort is one of the coolest results I’ve seen come out of social networks. So, if you want to participate, here’s how you can donate. It doesn’t have to be every month. Could be just one month if you want. Whenever. There are no strict rules when it comes to helping people out :).
The January charity was War Child. And February is focusing on Stop the Silence. Additional charities will be announced in the coming months and I will post them on this blog for those who wish to participate.
Thank you in advance to anyone who donates. And if you don’t feel you can at this time, that’s ok too. Just share the story of 12 for 12k with your friends and family.
Let’s see what a difference $10 can really make.
“The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of Sprint.”
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