Social media for good: Tweetsgiving San Antonio

* UPDATED TO ADD: The Tweetvite link to RSVP for Tweetsgiving San Antonio is not working consistently. To RSVP please click here and click on “open ticket” to reserve your space at the party. *

Do you remember your school days? The readin’, writin’, arithmetic? Learning your ABCs and, eventually, fractions and maybe even quadratic equations (yikes!)? Who was your favorite teacher? How did attending school guide you to your current profession? How did it shape the person you’ve become?

Did you drop your kids at school today? What are they learning this month? My daughter’s learning to write the alphabet and starting to read. My son is singing his ABCs and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. When they return home from school each day I’m amazed by, and very grateful for, all they’ve learned.

For children in the United States attending school is a given. We all contribute to the costs of their education with our tax dollars. We often take for granted the fact that children in our country have the right to an education. But that’s not the case in every country.

In a small village in Tanzania one woman had a dream. Mama Lucy Kamptoni (@MamaLucy) decided to give her hard-earned income as a poultry farmer to help build a school for local children. She wanted to help raise the next leaders of Tanzania.

The first Tweetsgiving took place in November 2008 when six volunteers came together over six days to launch a fundraising effort over Twitter to help Mama Lucy build a classroom for the Shepherd’s Junior school which now serves over 300 children in Arusha. Just two days before Thanksgiving 2008, “Tweetsgiving” became the #1 trending topic on Twitter as people on Twitter flooded the stream sharing that for which they were most grateful. People made contributions too and their donations were used to build a classroom; the Twitter IDs of those donors were painted on the walls of that classroom.

Join us for Tweetsgiving San Antonio on November 24, 2009, @BrasseriePavil from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.!

This Tweetsgiving we’re hoping to spread the gratitude across Twitter again. Funds raised will again be invested to expand Kamptoni’s efforts at Shepherd’s Junior, where an orphanage, cafeteria, library and more classrooms are greatly needed, and to fund future Epic Change fellows like her across the globe.

This Tuesday, November 24th, San Antonio’s incredibly active, always impressive social media community will gather at @BrasseriePavil to eat, drink, and be merry and to give thanks for the abundance we enjoy in our lives. But we’ll also be channeling our social media efforts for good.

You can be a part of this generous effort by tweeting and blogging about Tweetsgiving on November 24-26, 2009 and about all for which you are grateful. And, if you feel so moved, please consider donating (either online here – see “Additional Donation” near the end of the page or when you attend one of the Tweetsgiving gratitude parties around the globe) to help Epic Change and @MamaLucy continue to help the children of Arusha, Tanzania get the education that our children already enjoy.

@BrasseriePavil will provide complimentary appetizers and free beer and liquor samples from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Happy hour prices will run all night. And, those who donate will be entered into a drawing to win

Those who donate at Tweetsgiving San Antonio will be entered into a drawing to win one of the following great prizes from our generous donors:

- a cooking demo for 10 people from @BrasseriePavil that will take place tonight.

- a one-night stay @WestinLaCantera Resort.

- dinner for two at Francesca’s at Sunset (@WestinLaCantera Resort).

- one of two sets of vouchers each good for 2 tickets to any San Antonio Symphony Pops or Classics concert in the 09-10 season.

(Must be present to win.)

Join us for Tweetsgiving San Antonio @BrasseriePavil or online (on Twitter w/ hashtag #Tweetsgiving, in blog posts, and/or via online donations) or at a location near you to express your gratitude, to have fun and to help others. Social media is a powerful thing and it’s even more impressive when we use our powers for good!

Thank you to all of our Tweetsgiving San Antonio sponsors: @BrasseriePavil, @WestinLaCantera, @SASym (San Antonio Symphony) and your generous donations!

This post was created as part of a global groundswell of gratitude called TweetsGiving. The celebration, created by US nonprofit Epic Change, is an experiment in social innovation that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. I hope you’ll visit the TweetsGiving site to learn more, and to bring your grateful heart to the party by sharing your gratitude, and giving in honor of that for which you’re most thankful.

[credit for all photos: Tim Llewellyn]