Two tech savvy mama’s throw an epic party this Tweetsgiving

Mama Fu’s joins Mama Lucy and Austin’s social media community to celebrate an attitude of gratitude


Austin, TX November 16, 2009 – TweetsGiving, a 48 hour global celebration created in 2008 by US nonprofit Epic Change, seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. On Tuesday, November 24 from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm, Austin area Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube users and bloggers will join EpicChange in celebrating TweetsGiving09: Epic Thanks at Mama Fu’s downtown location (100 Colorado) Festivities include live music by Hopper and Soft Healer, a live auction, free hors d’oeuvres (courtesy of Mama Fu’s) and a cash bar. Tickets are only $10 online or $15 at the door, so guests are urged to buy their tickets early! (http://epicchange.org/groups/austin/home/). This party is one of over 40 taking place around the world. All funds raised will go directly to Epic Change. This marks the first year for the event to be held in Austin.


This worldwide Tweet-up encourages participants to express their thanks using powerful online tools such as Twitter and at live events. TweetsGiving “Gratitude Parties” are opportunities for people around the world to come together to express thanks while raising money for a great cause. Organizers are using popular social media platforms to organize and spread the word about the event. Twitter users can follow @TweetsGivingATX on Twitter for regular updates and special announcements.


In Tweetsgiving’s first year, social media savvy citizens utilized the power of Twitter to raise over $10,000 in just two days, marking the first time a the social media site was used to raise such a large amount of money for a nonprofit cause. The funds supported the efforts of Mama Lucy Kamptoni, a Tanzanian who raised money selling chickens to build a school on rented land near her home. When developers came in and took the land she was using, Epic Change stepped in to rebuild and expand the school that now serves over 300 children. The primary goal of the school is to ensure that all children in the Kimandolu area are provided access to a high quality education. Funds raised from this year’s event will allow the Shepherd’s Junior primary school to build more classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, and an orphanage/dormitory. The 2008 Tweetsgiving event raised enough money to build a classroom at Kamptoni’s school. In this classroom built from gratitude, the Twitter handles of donors are now painted on the walls. The organizers of this year’s events are hoping to raise at least $100,000 world-wide to continue this expansion.

For more information about the event, please visit:
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R_GfRtbJVA
Austin Event: http://epicchange.org/groups/austin
Twitter: @tweetsgivingATXWebsite: http://tweetsgiving.epicchange.org/story/

# # #

About Tweetsgiving 2008: The Classroom Built from GratitudeInspired by a moving public note of appreciation posted by volunteer Avi Kaplan, Epic Change founder Stacey Monk launched the original TweetsGiving celebration in November 2008 as a 48-hour celebration of gratitude and giving that aimed to raise $10,000 to build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania. Participants were encouraged to share messages of thanks on Twitter, and to give to a common cause to celebrate their gratitude. TweetsGiving was launched 2 days before the US Thanksgiving holiday, and quickly became the #1 trending topic on Twitter as over 3,000 grateful tweets from across the globe filled the stream, and hundreds of blogs, including Mashable, Venture Beat, TechCrunch, The NonProfit Times, MTV, Forbes and many others, spread the story. Over 15,000 people visited the site in the 48 hours that TweetsGiving was held, and the event easily surpassed its $10,000 goal. Epic Change invested the funds to build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania at the school founded by Kamptoni, where the Twitter handles of donors are now painted on the walls.About 2009 Plans: Epic ThanksWith a recent grant from IdeaBlob, Epic Change has built a technology lab for the school. Expect groundbreaking participation from students and teachers at the school in Arusha during this year's event, and see #twitterkids for some amazing stories right now! Proceeds will again benefit the school, where an orphanage, library, cafeteria and additional classrooms are much needed.

For more info on global event, please visit www.tweetsgiving.org and www.epicchange.org

-- Jetté Momant
Manna Lifestyle Marketing
www.mannalifestylemarketing.com
Austin Restaurant News Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-21205-Austin-Restaurant-News-Examiner
Décor Jetté : Event Design & Decoration
Haute Couture and Gettin' Hauter
www.decorjette.com