2-1 Update!! Looks like she did it! Beth, you are absolutely AMAZING…
Final 24 hour countdown! I’m going to place the bullseye on Beth Kanter’s targeted cause for Cambodian kids, to put positive media to use by asking ALL our readers, (particularly parents, academics and educator bloggers) to show how social networking can make a HUGE difference in the lives of these children.She’s soooooooo close (leader board here) to receiving the $50K PARADE prize in the America’s Giving Challenge for her Sharing Foundation, and Michele Martin, who’s hosting Beth’s fundraiser reports she desperately needs to seal the deal in this final 24 hours!
Now’s the time to impart a ‘teaching moment’ to kids, and feel a part of something MUCH bigger…helping to send this little boy to school, and meet the physical, emotional, educational and medical needs of orphaned and seriously disadvantaged children in Cambodia. I wrote about Beth’s amazing work a couple weeks ago, and also talked about her using ‘Twitter’ social media for kids’ in a collegiate fundraising here.
So log in, team up, Twitter, use Facebook causes, and ‘forward to a friend’! $10 will do it! Spread the word and be a part of something big, then e-blast all your friends who care about kids and want to look outside themselves, hear some heartfelt stories, and act upon them, NOW!
Let’s show the power of the social web. Um…Target, are you listening? As the “Star is Born” soundtrack w/Streisand & Kristofferson says, “Watch closely now…”
Hello Amy!!!
Woot! You tear it up! Have you seen http://www.Zazengo.com yet? It’s worth checking out. The woman who is putting that social network for change site up is awesome.
Thought you’d enjoy this lil tidbit:
http://liamodonnell.com/feed/2008/01/30/educon-wrap-up-slightly-delayed/
As always– you rock!
iz
Whoa, Izzy, that Zazengo site looks great! Thanks for the tip! Have you written it up yet on your blog yet? I’m way behind in my Google Reader…Love the educon conf. post too…Too much to keep up with right now, eesh! Back atcha soon…whew.
I feel the collective love – never heard of Zazengo, going to check that out!
AB
Well, we’re in dire need of some ‘collective love’ to balance the wacky ‘collective hate’ spiraling around all the misconstrued contexts of the NYT brouhaha…;-) Eventually, it’ll open up positive conversations that need to transpire, so I don’t mind taking the hit in the interim if that objective is accomplished! Thanks for the virtual hug though, Andre…
p.s. yeah, Zazengo looks cool!
Andre!! Just saw on your site the On Day One link…what an excellent idea for social media aspirations to boost global context and unity and enable people to speak out about the changes we all wish to see, regardless of political views! As I always say, it’s not red state or blue state, but a purple blend of centrist balance and respect for all opinions…
I’ll look into this site further and see the nuances of who’s behind it, etc…for readers who want to check it too, it’s: http://www.ondayone.org
Well…it looks like she MAY have done it! But it’s hard to say as those votes are sooooooooooooooo close…Just found out it’s officially ‘closed’ now and they’re in the #1 spot ‘unofficially’ which is a victory in and of itself for the power of media for positive change…
Looks like they have to wait awhile to sort out/tabulate any margins of error (a whole month though? eesh…pins and needles) http://www.parade.com/givingchallenge
It once again is a tribute to the mass-participatory social media adrenalin rush (kinda like an ebay auction!) that has changed the conversational context and group dialog to interactive mobilization…When it comes to cause-marketing, nonprofit goals, and unique ways of helping others…
Beth is a champion at getting things done. I’m learning so much from her media savvy (which, judging by my NYT debacle I could’ve used earlier in terms of ‘setting the record straight’—ah well…it’s fabulous to see good work reign supreme…
Brava, Beth!! Looking forward to the ‘final, final’ outcome in Feb.!
Beth notes this NYT article on America’s Giving Challenge about various charities vying for the funds:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/31charity.html?ex=1359435600&en=84701e926e017ca3&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Amy, it has been a whirlwind! Thank you so much for this awesome post – we did it – and because of cherished colleagues like you! Woot woot
Update: They DID win America’s Giving Challenge of $50,000 for the kids, and here’s their most recent post from the board to give you a feel for the hands-on use…Thanks so much to all who helped!
“February 2008 Progress Report”—
By Lisa Hicks – Board Member, February 29, 2008 04:52 PM
All of us involved with The Sharing Foundation were totally amazed and thrilled by the generosity of so many donors who contributed to this project and helped us achieve first place in the America’s Giving Challenge. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! With your support, we have fully funded these programs for the next year. Updated information on the evolution of these programs and other TSF initiatives can be found on our website at http://www.sharingfoundation.org.
Below are profiles of additional Cambodian students who participate in the Khmer literacy and English language programs. Thanks to donors like you, they now have the opportunity to obtain language skills that will help them access further education and better jobs. Your contributions really matter! We are extremely grateful for your support.
1. Profiles of Two Students in TSF’s Khmer Literacy Program,
Sok So, age 12, has been in TSF’s Khmer literacy school for three years and really enjoys school. She can now read, write, and spell. She loves the copy books and pencils provided by the school. So’s mother and father are farmers who cannot read or write. She is the fifth of eight children in her family. She now also attends the Roteang village school in the afternoon, in grade 4. She thinks she will grow up to be a farmer, but she wants to go to school “for a long time.”
Kam Samay, age 10, has also been studying at the Khmer literacy school for three years, and can now read and write fairly well. He likes his teacher, and enjoys the lessons with all the other children. Samay’s father died of cancer two years ago, and his mother died last year after a seizure. The family’s small stilt house burned down after a lamp tipped over; TSF rebuilt it for them. Samay and his six siblings have since been separated. Samay now lives in the little house on the farm with his brother, age 18, and one sister, age 11, who also attends the literacy school.
2. Profiles of Student in TSF’s English Language Program
Ly Sophea, age 16, speaks English incredibly well, and seeks out any foreigner who appears in the village to practice her skills. She has studied in the TSF English school nearly every day for the last five years, and with TSF sponsorship, now attends 10th grade in the local public high school. She wants badly to go to University. Attending to studies is her highest priority, so she can pass the National High School Graduation Exam at the end of grade 12. She wants to be an interpreter when she completes her education.
Her parents had only rudimentary education in the first years of grammar school, but support her ambition. They are farmers, growing mangoes, bananas, and some vegetables which they sell in the local Koki market. Sophea says that, without TSF, she could never have gone past grade 6, or studied English. “Now I can hope to have a good job and support my parents.”