On February 12, 2009, professionals and students from Cleveland’s social media community joined together to raise money for charity:water (www.charitywater.org) at the city’s first Twestival. The Twestival was a festival organized primarily through Twitter (www.twitter.com) and other social media tools. Charity:water is a non-profit organization which brings clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Cleveland’s combined efforts raised over $1,400 for the charity through a combination of corporate sponsorships, ticket sales, and raffle ticket sales.
Twestival was held at the Harry Buffalo, located at 2120 E 4th St. in Cleveland’s Gateway District, and throughout the course of the night over 65 participants stopped by to meet and mingle with other attendees, purchase raffle tickets, and support the worthwhile cause. Many exchanged business cards, email addresses, and user names for common social networking sites.
Around the world, 202 communities participated in the international fundraiser by hosting Twestivals. The movement started less than four weeks prior to the event, and the Cleveland event was organized in less than two weeks with help from local businesses and sponsors. Individuals and sponsors donated raffle prizes, ranging from movie packages to an iTunes gift card to four Cleveland Indians tickets.
Paul Putman, a member on the committee that organized the Twestival, was impressed with “the quality of our ad-hoc planning group and everyone’s willingness to help as needed to exceed our own expectations.” “In a very short time, Cleveland was able to bring together folks to raise enough money to provide about 70 people with clean water for a year.”
Attendees like Luanne Zemane enjoyed meeting the faces behind their online connections, sharing that she “had a GREAT time at Twestival and I can’t recall the last time I laughed so hard!!”
The event’s success is a tribute to the thriving, growing social media community and a tribute to the community’s willingness to work together for a good cause. The event was a great success in part to its sponsors, AKHIA, Dix and Eaton, Harry Buffalo, Leandog, Liggett Stashower, Michael DeAloia, Positively Cleveland, the Social Media Club of Cleveland, and thunder::tech.
