“We’ve seen social media can be used to bring people together for all sorts of reasons; I really hope we can bring people together to do good,” said Anthony Berkman, president of BlogCatalog.com, a social blog directory on the Internet, as he launched a social awareness campaign to benefit DonorsChoose.org on May 28.
“Even better, this is a chance to find common interests within BlogCatalog.com and across the Web,” he added.
The campaign asked directory members (bloggers) to write about DonorsChoose.org and raise funds for the non-profit organization. DonorsChoose.org is a non-profit Web site that brings teachers and donors together to fund specific student projects that range from “Magical Math Centers” to “Cooking Across the Curriculum”. Any individual can search teacher proposals and fund specific projects, which are tax deductible.
“Internet social networks from MySpace to Facebook are receiving a ton of media and Internet attention, but we have yet to see an online social community come together to raise funds for a good cause,” said Anthony Berkman, president of BlogCatalog.com. “We see this as an opportunity to empower and recognize bloggers to collectively focus their blogs for good.”
Berkman’s idea is to challenge directory members to draw attention to and raise funds for this underserved non-profit organization. BlogCatalog.com has set a goal to raise at least $25,000 for DonorsChoose.org, which is a member of the Omidyar Network.
The Omidyar Network is a mission-based organization established by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam (pictured above). Berkman said depending on the success of the challenge, BlogCatalog.com will develop a community service page to host and promote more blog events in the near future. All donations made to DonorsChoose.Org will credit the blogger.
