Recently I wrote a blog post against poverty for Blog Action Day 2008. At the time I wrote that I would be continuing to raise the issue of poverty via social media in whatever ways I could. The wonderful people at One Home Many Hopes have given me the perfect opportunity.
Founded by Boston newspaper columnist Thomas Keown, One Home Many Hopes – OHMH – is a non-profit organization that offers orphaned former street girls in Mtwapa, Kenya a safe environment to try and reclaim their childhood. Simple things we take for granted like education and family support are sorely missing from these girls’ lives – OHMH offers them a lifeline to enjoy these things.
One of the many challenges facing OHMH is funding, like any non-profit organization. However, thanks to Twitter users Vanessa Leong and Shelley Greenberg, as well as Boston-based social media blogger Graddon Tripp, OHMH could be $20,000 better off within 30 days. Together they have come up with the following challenge.
Dubbed Race to 20k, OHMH is hoping to raise the afore-mentioned $20,000 in 30 days. And with social media, that should be pretty easy. Think about it – if just 1,000 Twitter users pledged $20, the figure would be met in no time at all. Even just donating $10 would only take 2,000 Twitter users. With the popularity of this medium, $20,000 has to be a realistic target.
If you want to make a difference, here’s what to do. Visit the OHMH donation page and pledge your $20. Then send out a Tweet to your Twitter friends, or write a blog post about the event – with the widespread scale of social media, making people aware of this great cause should be pretty easy. Become friends with both Vanessa and Shelley on Twitter to keep updated.
It only takes a minute to make a difference – but that small difference can last a lifetime.
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