What is the purpose of TweetsGiving Gratitude Parties?
Gratitude Parties are opportunities for people around the world to come together to express thanks for all the beauty and blessings in our lives. Gratitude is a transformative force that powers personal growth and creativity, and inspires dramatic change. Epic Change is looking for organizers in cities and on college campuses around the world to lead this reflection and bring these gratitude parties to life.
What will TweetsGiving Support?
Funds raised for TweetsGiving09: Epic Thanks will be invested to expand the efforts of Tanzanian Epic Change fellow Mama Lucy Kamptoni, a changemaker who invested her income selling chickens to build a school that now serves over 300 children near her home in Arusha. The original TweetsGiving celebration in November 2008 was a 48-hour celebration of gratitude that easily surpassed it’s $10,000 goal to build a classroom at Kamptoni’s school, Shepherd’s Junior. 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.
How can I be a part?
You can organize a Gratitude Party in your community or college campus. Gratitude parties are designed to bring people together in a positive way for a good cause. If you’ve ever wanted to make a difference but haven’t been sure where to start, hosting a gratitude party may be just the opportunity for you.
What do organizers do?
Celebration organizers will lead a team of friends and volunteers to arrange the logistics, promotion, and programming involved in throwing a gratitude party on November 24th or 25th (If those dates don’t work for your community, you can plan your party earlier that week). Our Event Checklist is a good resource to guide you through some of the logisitics involved in organizing your event. Organizers also reach out to local businesses who are willing to make cash or in-kind donations of venue, food, music, and other resources to make your event a success. Epic Change will facilitate online ticket purchase and promote your event on the TweetsGiving community website.
What happens at a TweetsGiving Gratitude Celebration?
Anything you want! As an organizer, you have the freedom to plan your gratitude party in a way that makes sense for your community. We simply ask that every party provide an opportunity for guests to celebrate and express their gratitude – whether it be for one another, members of your community or unheralded changemakers in the world at large. You can plan an art project, a concert, an act of guerrilla goodness, a letter writing station, a novel way of highlighting the work of a local changemaker, or something else entirely – feel free to draw from some of our gratitude ideas and we can’t wait to see the joyful ideas you all dream up!
Will you be available if I need some help?
Absolutely! The TweetsGiving Team is here to help you at every step of the way – whether you need help connecting with other organizers in your area or gathering ideas about how to make your gratitude party a celebration to remember. Contact Avi Kaplan (email hidden; JavaScript is required or @meshugavi on Twitter) with your name, email, phone number, and twitter username (if you have one) and we’ll get you started.
We are available to support your efforts and would love to brainstorm or chat anytime with you about how things are going. Here are some of the additional ways we will support local event organizers. We will work with you to:
- Connect you with other volunteers to join your organizing team
- Set up a page for your party on the Epic Change/Tweetsgiving Community Website
- Set up online ticket purchase for your party in early November
- Publicize TweetsGiving Celebrations extensively through online channels
How do I sign up?
- Complete this short form to become an Event Organizer and someone will contact you with more information.
- Join the Epic Change/TweetsGiving community & confirm registration via email.