One of the big lessons learned from this past election is how much of an impact ordinary people can have in a collective effort. Barack Obama raised more money than any candidate in history, largely due to the small contributions of everyday Americans. We witnessed similar efforts take fruit in other campaigns, most memorably after Michelle Bachmann's Hardball incident. I want to share my own little effort to see how much good can come from the collective effort of everyday people.
Ever since our new president took office, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I can do to help out my community. I admit that I've never been much of a volunteer, but given the situation that our nation is currently enduring, I've been motivated to do what I can to benefit others. I spent the National Day of Service boxing up belongings that were no longer needed and driving them down to Goodwill, and used my account on Facebookto encourage others to do the same. Five people responded, and said that they were (or did).
That little effort got me thinking about the positive impact that could be had if we use the tools on social networking sites to put forth charitable efforts and, hypothetically, pass the virtual collection plate.
About three weeks ago, I launched the Fat Tuesday Food Drive. I wanted to see how many people would be willing to pledge no less than ten dollars in cash or material contributions to local food banks. After putting together the event, I used Facebook's communication tools to spread the word.
As of today, 70 people have pledged a contribution, so because of this little experiment, no less than $700 is going to food banks. It's a good start, but I think that number could be significantly higher if enough people are willing to take a few minutes to spread the word.
Facebook users, please take a moment to check out the event. If you're in a position to make a $10 pledge, hit the attend button. Either way, I would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to promote this cause by using the "Invite People to Come" function, by posting the event to your wall, by posting it to groups, and/or by linking to it from your blog or website.
Look at this way: Facebook now has 175 MILLION users. If a mere 1% of those users would pledge a $10 contribution, that would raise no less than $17.5 million for local food banks that are desperately in need of help right now.
President Obama demonstrated how much of an impact we can make if we work collectively. This is another opportunity to demonstrate the power of regular people to do good, and I'd appreciate anyone's help to make it happen.