By @ROCTwestival Team member, Jason Breese. (http://jaybreese.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/twestival-why-i-am-onboard/)

So as not to come off as negative, let me say, i love our country, and I love our world. I truly believe we are all made to serve, and serve in every capacity within us. Some of us have the financial resources to reach out to neighbors, communities and even countries. Others have a heart of compassion and a desire to touch hearts of people, with kind words and small acts of kindness. There is no right, wrong or best way of being a servant to others. Its just simply wrong to not do it. We have resources we take for granted, and abilities and gifts we need to fine tune, perfect, and to be quite honest, start using, for the good of others. This country does have a great need, but we are not alone.

I only learned of Twestival a couple weeks ago, and what I learned of it, was very inspiring, and very motivating. 2009 was the first annual event, and this is a global event, organized, orchestrated and hyped about, online, via a global social community of people looking to use the internet for social good. – A quick cap of how this event went down; it began with a tweet, a month later over 200 cities were on board, sourcing out media and organizational skills, all to result in “drinking water” being brought to countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia. Cities around the world hosted an event and raised $250,000 in a single event, to benefit Charity Water .

Drinking water…

You see…thats why I support Global cause. Just in our own community those of us that chose to work, work to earn a dollar, because we can provide for ourselves and families, with that dollar. I see countries that don’t have a dollar to work for, and if they did, they have nothing to spend that dollar on. Food, water, clothing…are all very very scarce. We are all physically here and available within our own communities to exhaust all resources, be it money, extra time and effort. Twestival is one of many organizations simply collecting a little extra money, and handing it to a group that will appropriate it to masses of less fortunate people. Not less fortunate because they chose to be. Remember, I too, turn on my sprinkler and leave it for the afternoon so I can appreciate a plush lawn, because water is plentiful, here.

This years fundraising, will be contributed to Concern Worldwide , in efforts to bring the resources to build and equip schools. In countries where education is simply not available. Why not concern myself with my local struggling school systems? I do. I take your old personal computers that are sitting in your basement, and load them with education software and donate them to local needs. If you’ve sold me an old PC in the past, its in someones house, hopefully educating a young boy or girl, with basic fundamentals and beyond. For me to give to Concern Worldwide, and spread the word of the “Global” cause, well let me just say, the cost of 6 trips to a local coffee shop HERE, could put a kid through school for almost an entire year somewhere I’ve never heard of. I’m talking about clothing, text and writing materials. Every time I turn on the computer, television or open a newspaper (is news still in print format?) I gain knowledge. The basics of education enable me/us to communicate, to share information and knowledge, and its all so readily available to us. Even in the poorest of areas in this country, there is a school system. In some countries, the poorest of homes do not have a roof, IF walls, let alone a school. This contribution of any amount will change that for a small amount of them.

Having joined this planning committee for Twestival 2010, the only contribution I can offer that matters, is asking you to give or to help, or both. The unique and attractive part about it being Twitter based, is that it all began with 1 tweet. A simple 140 character statement, that changed the lives of someone. A small contribution, can teach a child to count to 140…

-Jason Breese (@JayBreese & @VisionFord) - Integral part of the @RocTwestival Team

200+ cities around the world (see map here) will rally on a single day (March 25) to raise money for a single charity (Concern Worldwide for Education).  Our goal in Rochester is to raise $5,000 from ticket sales & online donations from the Rochester Community (and surrounding towns).  We are a small city with a lot of heart for doing good - Our Rochester Twestival team (@RocTwestival) asks you to take a few moments to see what Twestival is all about before you say, “crap, another fundraiser!”.

If you are like us, you have been hit up for a nickel here and a dime there, only to be hit up again the next year for the same cause.  Well this is a bit different.  This is new.  Most of you may have never heard about Concern Worldwide, but they have been around since 1968, providing education to some of the poorest children in the world.  What do you say to give these children a chance to make a difference in their own lives where they live and help us raise money in Rochester toward a common, global goal! 

We ask you to “Think Global. Act Local!”

With the price of a ticket (see green ticket button at top of home page) you will receive entertainment from bands who have donated their time to play for this cause, food provided by Lovin’ Cup, a drink ticket for beer, wine, or coffe, and some tickets for raffles.

Last year, we had one emcee, Nick Francesco, who spoke the entire time - and Nick, you did a great job! But this year, with Twitter being what it is today, we wanted to share the spotlight with some other key people in our city.  They are as follows..

• Nick Francesco, as returning emcee, computer guru, and RIT dude everyone knows (you’ve probably ran into him selling coffee at the Public Market with his wife)
• Cynthia Benjamn for being the social media editor for the D&C as well as being involved in many not-for-profit activites in the Rochester area
• Rachel Barnhart for being part of the community and really taking reporting to a new level with Twitter for Channel 13 News
• Troy Smith, as entertainment editor for the Insider, an integral read for the music inclined citizens of Rochester.

Additional information for ticket holders:

• Bands include: Willy & Amos of Walri, MOHO Collective, Teagan and the Tweeds, Sinzibukwud, and The Spirit of Ontario
• Food includes: Fresh veggie display, gourmet meatballs & assorted gourmet pizzas from Lovin’ Cup
• Free Drink ticket includes: Donations from Dundee Brewery, Damiani Wines, and choice of coffee drink
• Raffle Tickets: We have a large team working on some great prize packages that we’ll sell tickets for to give away between band sets.  If you are interested in adding a prize, please contact us! RocTwestival at GMAIL.com
• USTREAM: Our entire event will be streaming online along with 200 cities around the world.  We’ll have an interactive booth and TV for attendees to be able to click on various cities throughout the evening to check in on the events they are throwing! I’m looking forward to NYC (@NYCTwestival)! So now.. those that are not able to attend are able to follow our party online, donate throughout the night as they see fit, and add to our on-going online tally.

Supporting Communities that have reached out (currently): @SMC_Rochester, @NextGenRoc

Sponsors for the event: We do have some expenses for this event, and to cover the minimal costs, we are looking for sponsors.  The more we have (at a variety of levels), the more we can do for attendees! And we can talk about what you will get in return.  Email us: RocTwestival at GMAIL.com

Let’s put Rochester on the map again! (18th out of 202 cities last year)

Best Regards from the @RocTwestival Team! We hope to see you at the event - and if not, we hope that you can donate at least a $1 on our homepage that will tally up for our city!

Join us on Facebook!  http://facebook.com/RochesterTwestival

@MatthewRay, @JaimeBarclay, @JennaLKempie, @MithunMukherjee,@JasonBreese, @BGriffin04, @IAmDriverDan, & More to be added…

We’ve been pushing around ideas for our 2nd Annual Global Twestival event here in Rochester for the past few weeks now.  If you are not familiar with a Twestival, it is a Twitter + Festival event to raise money for a single charity on ONE day, across the entire globe!  This year - we raise money (along with 130+ cities) for Concern Worldwide!  Our Event will begin at 6pm at lovin’ cup in Park Point at RIT on Thursday, March 25th!  This event will be streamed via uStream for those who cannot make it - and we’ll also have the luxury to visit other city events during our event on the TV setup this year!

Tonight we met up with the RocTwestival team at @CoWorkingRoc to discuss next steps for sponsorships and prizes as well as to close the loops on bands, expenses, and other great ideas that this talented team came up with.  Please take a moment to follow these local folks on Twitter as they are the team that will make this year’s Rochester Twestival for Concern Worldwide a success! Jaime Barclay (@jaimebarclay) has been making the push this year with Matthew Ray (@MatthewRay) to make this event an even greater success than last year.  Bill Griffin (@bgriffin04), Jenna Kempie (@JennaLKempie), Lonie Bascani (@baslo), Dave Coleman (@FeelsWrite), Aaron Hunt (@AaronCU95) and Dan Agnew (@Dan_Agnew) have helped out in the past, and this year, we have a few new faces that want to get involved from the start! Say hello to Mithun Mukherjee (@MithunMukherjee), Dan DeFelippi (@IAmDriverDan), & Jason Breese (@JayBreese).

Our current emcees for the evening include our friends Nick Francesco (@NickFrancesco), Rachel Barnhart (@RachBarnhart), & Cynthia Benjamn (@CynthiaBenjamn)!  That list may expand in the coming weeks

Be sure to follow Lovin Cup! (@LovinCupRoc) for updates on them between now and March 25!  They have some exciting news coming out in a few weeks! And I recommend stopping there for a bite to eat before our event (bring a friend or two!)… because it’ll make sure you come back out on the 25th!  (I recommend the “Hot for Teacher” Panini).

Sponsors, tickets, and more to come later today!  We have some exciting news we are firming up! Stay tuned Rochester!

If you have any questions at all, please email us at: RocTwestival@Gmail.com

On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness.  Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good.  All of the local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to projects. 

The Impact of Twestival

On 12 February 2009, the first Twestival Global was held in 202 international cities to support @charitywater, who we saw doing incredible work to help the almost 1 billion or 1 in 6 people in the world that don’t have access to clean and safe drinking water.  Over 1,000 volunteers and 10,000 donors fundraised $250k+, which resulted in more than 55 wells in Uganda, Ethiopia and India having a direct impact for over 17,000 people. Watch the videos of the first Twestival well drilled in the village of Mai Nabri, Ethiopia.

Here in Rochester, NY, we raised over 2,600 dollars were in 18th place out of 202 cities around the world that came together to raise money for a global cause!

Then over a weekend in September last year, 130 cities participated in Twestival Local which invited organizers to host events and select local causes to support.  Collectively, these cities raised over $450k for 135 charities, bringing the total fundraising effort in 2009 to over $750k.  A remarkable achievement by volunteers working under short timescales and utilizing social media tools like Twitter to make it happen efficiently.

Here in Rochester, NY, we raise just under $1,100 for Discovering Deaf Worlds & Safe Journey.  And on April 30th, we raised over $2,500 for another local non-profit, Foodlink.

In 2010, we turn our focus to education and 72 million children in the world who don’t have the opportunity to go to school. @Concern Worldwide has been selected by the Twestival global team and local organizers to be the recipient because of their comprehensive and well respected approach to education.  This is an issue that involves many different elements; hunger, water, teacher training, building of schools, etc.  We hope to use the power of our global event fundraising and social media influence as a vehicle to give people insight into this cause on a deeper level.

About Concern Worldwide.

Concern Worldwide was founded in 1968 to meet the needs of people living in extreme poverty, for whom every day is a fight for survival. Concern is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of poverty. Their mission is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives - improvements they can sustain without ongoing support. Concern meets the needs of these people in a caring and personalized manner, respecting their human and cultural dignity. They are committed to reaching the most vulnerable, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Concern’s work is informed by a vision for change and their education programs target the poorest people in the poorest countries in the world, with particular emphasis on reaching out-of-school children such as girls, orphans, street children, working children, children affected by conflict, children affected by HIV and AIDS, and children with disabilities. Concern’s education programs currently reach over 700,000 people in 25 countries across the regions of Africa,  Asia, and the Caribbean.  Please follow @concern on Twitter to get a glimpse of their staff tweeting from around the world; including their efforts on the ground in Haiti.

Where the Twestival funds will go.

Each city and school hosting a Twestival will be given the opportunity to select an area of education to support.  This will be recognized with a special icon on their website once they have set a goal.  For as little as $28USD they can provide the uniform, books, pencils, and paper a child needs to attend one year of school. Concern Worldwide are able to guarantee that 100% of Twestival funds will go direct to project costs.  This means that the money would be used for material purchases (curriculum, desks, pencils) as well as project activities such as construction of schools; rehabilitation of classrooms; teacher/management training; PTAs; HIV/AIDS school clubs; water and sanitation in schools; health education in schools; education advocacy; vocational/life-skills training for youth, farmers and women; and curriculum development for secondary school/university. Money will not be used for things like administration, overhead, reporting oversight, etc. Concern Worldwide requires all fields that receive money strictly adhere to a six- and 12-month formal reporting protocol in which the field details the specific activities it has undertaken and how the funds were utilized. This system provides a very tangible case studies, evidence and updates, and other detailed information about how programs have progressed and benefited program participants; including the financial allocation in field; the GPS locations of schools in receipt of funds; digital video clips and photos from the schools; and case studies/quotes from people who have benefitted from the projects.  As cities are confirmed and fundraising goals are set, we will work with the team at Concern Worldwide to identify specific projects we will be supporting.

This Year - March 25h - 6pm - Rochester, NY

Our event this year will take place at Lovin’ Cup at Park Point near RIT at 6pm on Thursday, March 25th 2010.  Sponsors are being reached out to, prizes are being gathered for the raffles, and bands are being finalized.  If you have an event or prize sponsor in mind, please do not hesitate to reach out - the more help, the better!

We are looking to have tickets go on sale by March 5th, 2010 as we finalize everything for the event. 

If you have any questions at all, please DM me directly or send along your phone number and/or email. I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.

And you don’t have to be on Twitter to join in! Just come and see what this is all about, raise money for a global cause, and interact with the USTREAM screen that we’ll have to showcase the other 150+ citites that will be participating in this event!

More to come by the end of the week!

@Matthew Ray & @JaimeBarclay

The total raised was $1,476! - And after expenses from the event, $1,096 goes to Discovering Deaf Worlds & Safe Journey

Find out what Discovering Deaf Worlds & Safe Journey do with the money we raised for them!

Without our local Rochester sponsors this event could not have happened!

Thanks to:

Mac Village Production founded by @SkeeterHarris (also provided photos of event), Fixitology founded by @MikeFixs, Martino Flynn (@MartinoFlynn & @Sharon_Harper) and Foodlink/Freshwise (@FoodlinkNY)

And our Twestival House Band - @Sinzibukwud

and the Hollands

And special thanks to our volunteers who made the event run smoothly!

Our emcee - Nick Francesco

Jaime Barclay

Bill Griffin

Sara Weet

Jenna Kempie

Trevor Burns

Dave Coleman

Susan Beebe

Lonie Basciani

Dan Cepullio

Discovering Deaf Worlds

Dave Justice, Christy Smith, Davin Searls
info@discoveringdeafworlds.com
PO Box 10063, Rochester NY 14610
www.discoveringdeafworlds.com

Funds will be applied to a communication development program for former homeless deaf and disabled children with minimal language skills in Kolkata, India.  This program will provide teachers and role models to enable these kids to live autonomously.  More information here: http://discoveringdeafworlds.com/

Safe Journey

Allison (Alli) O’Malley, Executive Director
safejourney@frontiernet.net
PO Box 21, Fairport, NY 14450
www.safejourney.org

Monies raised by the Twestival will be used to support Safe Journey’s Survivor Transition Program.

Providing support to women who are breaking the cycle of domestic violence is paramount to avoid recidivism. At Safe Journey, our goal is to help women move from surviving to thriving after living with the ravages of abuse. To accomplish this, we provide a multi-faceted, strengths-based program, including: individual and group counseling, buddies/mentors, safety planning, case management, court accompaniment, lifeskill workshops, and resettlement assistance. We do not attempt to prescribe “one-solution-for-all” instead we strive to empower each client in the manner she determines most useful.

We also recognize that while domestic violence is an insidious challenge unto itself, it is also true that it is often the “straw that broke the camel’s back” in a woman’s life and serves as a catalyst for deep rooted self-change that extends well beyond breaking the cycle of violence in her relationships. Our direct capacity to support this fundamental change is limited; however, we believe that approaching each woman from a perspective of her inherent strengths and exposing her to a variety of traditional and alternative healing modalities — while also providing practical life support — may help her become aware of and feel sufficiently empowered to pursue more opportunities to grow and heal.

Without our event sponsors, we wouldn’t be at Boulder Coffee tonight!

@SkeeterHarris & @MacVillageAnnie

Mac Village Productions is Upstate NY’s premiere full service provider for Innovative Web 2.0 Website design work, and Rich Media incorporating virtual interactive presentation through the use of virtual tours, video and photography services.  The founder, William Harris (Skeeter, as we know him around town), joined us a the original Twestival Event back in Feb with event photos, video, and 360-degree tour of the venue.

Tonight, Skeeter is donating his time once again for us to benefit these two charities!  At a $500 value, a lucky raffle winner will have access to Skeeter’s professional services!

@MikeFixs

At Fixitology we believe in positive, creative and intelligent relationships. We believe in Social Media and the power it offers businesses to engage with customers.

We know that business challenges come in all shapes and sizes. We also know that many obstacles to success will have some or all of these basic ingredients:

• Customers
• Products and services
• A crowded marketplace
• Employees
• Suppliers

We believe that many of these challenges can be solved with Social Media tools that better connect you to the people and services critical to your business’ success.

@MartinoFlynn

Martino Flynn - Ultimately, our job at Martino Flynn is to help our clients generate higher revenues and profits. It’s that simple. How do we do that? With innovative strategies and creative executions. Because the best solution is rarely obvious—and it’s never dull, since you can’t bore people into buying. In short, we use smart, creative thinking to drive sales and build brands. (It’s not always easy, but someone has to do it.)

Based in Rochester, New York, Martino Flynn, LLC is a full-service advertising, public relations, and digital media agency serving: business-to-business clients in biotechnology, imaging, manufacturing, professional services and telecommunications sectors; and consumer clients in financial services, health care, sporting goods, and education.

@Freshwise

Our Mission is to raise the bar of institutional meals for children by focusing on fresh, nutritious foods for our community’s youth.

In 2001, Foodlink established the Foodlink Kitchen and began serving hot, nutritious prepared meals. By the summer of 2003, its operations had grown to serve over 1,100 lunches and 500 breakfasts per day to children in need. Freshwise Catering, formally known as the Foodlink Kitchen, is expanding its nutrition and wellness services - partnering with organizations and schools that are committed to healthy living. In addition to our Child Nutrition services, Freshwise offers a unique catering menu for special events.

Our house band for the night is Sinzibukwud! They will play originals plus a variety of covers that you can tap your toes to. See poster below!

Sinzibukwud is a side project spawned from the fallout of Ned Pepper.  After a large implosion in March of 2003, Ned Pepper finally was not so lucky and disembarked.  The members went seperate ways to follow music, career and family goals.

 

Initially Sinzibukwud found its two former Peppers (Tom and Aaron) back in a stripped down (equipment, not clothing) format playing acoustic shows for happy hour crowds and electric shows for festival crowds.  In November of 2007, enter Larry Kovnat and Jon Renault. 

 

Together, they play a mix of fun-ky rockin dance-able groove standards and originals or maybe not. They play a musical cornucopia of well over 100 cover songs and originals. Have a perspiration laden dream about bands like Greatful Dead, Stones, Widespread Panic, Blind Melon, Doors, Police, Allman Brothers, Petty, Crowes, Van Morrison, Janes addiction and the Beatles and you’ll know what they’re talking about. You never know what they might play but they sure aim to please a large crowd with antics, group singing and socializing. -Amen

 

Take a minute to meet the band.  http://www.sinzibukwud.com/

These 11×17″ posters will be posted around RIT campus and various areas around town!

Saturday 9/12 6PM

We are still looking for prize and event sponsors! please email me at mray84@gmail.com or call me at 585 415 9951 for more information.  We’ll accept donations and prizes up to the day of the event! 9/12 6PM.

Hope you can come and enjoy!

Buy your tickets now! 

The Twestival Local event in Rochester will be held for…

Discovering Deaf Worlds & Safe Journey!

$10.00 | Event Admission (includes free drink and snacks)

$20.00 | VIP Event Admission (Price includes 2 drink tickets, snacks & 5 raffle tickets)

Sponsorship (organization or individual)

Accepting prizes for the raffle as well as event sponsorships for the event:

Local Rochester Sponsors are needed: $150.00 to sponsor the event; includes two of the above VIP tickets, mention in the Press Release, Special thanks at the event, as well as areas to place marketing materials!

More info here