Because the Red Cross adheres to strict standards regarding who can give, only 38% of the population is eligible. Of that percentage, only a small amount have actually ever given. I didn’t know that tidbit of information when I volunteered to donate. I just thought it was a great cause and would be an interesting experience.

Before donating, I spoke to Collections Manager Laquita Ireland. She said that during the winter months, people are more apt to donate because they feel charitable. In the summer, they get busy and simply forget, even though the need for blood is always there. That’s why the Wichita chapter holds its Zoo Blood Drive each summer.

Finally, the time had come for me to donate. No more stalling. Time to muster all my courage and march my tiny veins in to the donor room. I was feeling a little nervous until the sweetest volunteer I’ve ever met, Ellen Riggs, greeted me. Ellen has been with the American Red Cross holding various positions for over 30 years. She’s so kind and supportive, it’s like having your Nana with you when you donate. Once I read through the preliminary literature and assured Ellen I was confident I met the requirements, I was on my way.

My sister wasn’t available on this particular day, but I was still able to request a particular phlebotomist, Dana, and you can too. Dana took me in to a private room, entered information from my driver’s license, performed a mini health exam consisting of checking basic vital signs, and tested a drop of blood from my fingertip to check my iron count. Once I was cleared for the next level, I was left alone to answer a series of health history questions. Some of the questions are very personal and a few made me giggle, but they’re simply safeguards to make sure you meet all the criteria for donation.

Once Dana gave me a gold star on my health history questionnaire, she guided me to an oversized chair and examined my puny veins. Though she admitted they were “quite tiny,” on the second try she was able to snag an elusive vein. After a quick “pinch” of the needle, I was chatting away while my blood flowed in to the bag. A mere six minutes later, I had donated my pint and the needle was removed. Dana said most donations take about 10 minutes.

A few minutes later, after asking me how I felt and making sure I was able to walk, I was sitting in the Recovery Area happily munching on Nutter Butter cookies and drinking water. I still can’t believe something I feared most of my life took a mere six minutes to conquer. Those six minutes may have saved someone’s life.

As if saving a life isn’t incentive enough to give blood, this weekend the American Red Cross is kicking it up a notch with the Red White & You Community Blood Drive at the Wichita Sedgwick County Zoo. Come to the Zoo between Thursday and Saturday, donate blood and the Red Cross will reward you with a commemorative T-shirt, ticket for free admission and $4.00 entry per person to the Zoo for immediate family members. Discount tickets may be used through July 5. For more information, visit the American Red Cross website.

(Image Credit)

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When I arrived at the Youth Horizons office on east Douglas, I was greeted by warm staff members who led me to the office Earnest shares with his longtime assistant, Willa Gale. Willa, who describes herself as Earnest’s biggest fan, was excited to show me a recently published interview with the popular Christian publication World Magazine. It seems the good word is spreading about Earnest and how he managed to turn a Bible study coffee shop (originally The Dandelion Club) into an organization helping troubled teens through mentoring and residential care services.

When you meet Earnest in person, he is a commanding presence. Standing over 6 feet tall with a booming voice and contagious laugh, it’s easy to see why he’s such a popular minister and guest speaker. He’s engaging and eager to talk about his strong commitment to helping children reach their full potential in a safe, loving environment. Earnest discusses the purpose of Youth Horizons, “to break the cycle of fatherlessness.” Earnest was raised in Selma, Alabama, as one of seven children raised by a single mother. Though his mother worked hard to provide for her family, she couldn’t fill the void left by his father. Earnest mentions the cycle of fatherlessness many times during our interview.

As an internationally known gospel singer who traveled with the Singing Quakers and later performed in cities across Europe, Earnest could’ve pursued fame and fortune. Instead, he heeded the call to worship and mentoring. When I asked why he chose to call Wichita home, he said he felt like Wichita had chosen him. Since coming to Kansas to attend college many years ago, he said he always felt embraced by Wichita and how supportive the community has been. Earnest is trying to give back to the community by helping at-risk youth become productive members of society.

On the Youth Horizons website, the mission statement is very clear, “To empower children and families. . . to mentor and encourage at-risk youth. . . to create a nationwide awareness of the needs of at-risk youth.” In Wichita, Youth Horizons is seeking to accomplish that mission in three very specific ways.

Mentors: Open to boys and girls, this program matches children/teens with an adult mentor for personal one-on-one time.

Kinloch Price Boys Ranch: This residential program located in Valley Center accepts boys who need out-of-home placement.

Speaking Engagements: Youth Horizons works closely with Wichita-area schools, churches and civic organizations, giving presentations to educate the public about the specific needs of at-risk youth.

Earnest knows children are a product of their environment. At Youth Horizons, they help families grow and heal by offering parenting classes. This is particularly helpful for parents with a child living in the residential program who must be reintegrated back in the home. Earnest tells the story of a teen who excelled at the Kinloch ranch, only to fall back in to negative behavior patterns once he came home. The boy told him, “You fixed me, you didn’t fix who you sent me home to.”

Earnest said Youth Horizons is always looking for kind, responsible men and women who are willing to take training classes and pass the requirements needed to be successful mentors. Youth Horizons also accepts volunteers to work in their administrative offices, monetary donations, clothes and other supplies.

If you or someone you know would like more information about Youth Horizons, please call 316-262-8293 or visit their website.

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As I type, it’s a two-and-a-half-sentence blurb in an untitled Word document. How have I accomplished this amazing feat of soliciting public interest so quickly? I can’t be sure, but the laptop screen full of “AIDS Group Therapy” “AIDS Counseling” and “Treatment for Your HIV/AIDS” tabs might have something to do with it.

While sitting in a café, one out of every three guests to pass my table turns around to get a good look at my face. Some might be taking note should I ever turn up to Thanksgiving on the arm of their son. Some might be reaching out. Some might be comforted by the idea that they aren’t alone, even at the coffee shop. The truth remains, however: These four harmless letters, when capitalized and arranged just so, are unsettling. Nothing could have validated my writing more than that simple realization.

AIDS can stir things up in a way no other subject material can. We can (and do) make light of infidelity, racism, sexism, war and crime with editorial cartoons, one-liners and comedy skits. But AIDS? There isn’t anything funny in Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. The mention of it at a party will only make people uncomfortable. The reference to it while on a date will stop the romance short faster than any talk of exes.  Prevention assemblies in high school made us all squirm uneasily in our seats. Reading about it in the news makes us sad, angry, frightened and exhausted. AIDS is an elephant in the room that we all like to forget about, and those of us who point our fingers at it and shout are nothing short of gauche.

This has to change. AIDS is still a huge issue, even in Wichita. If nobody is comfortable talking about it, how are we going to learn from it? How will we know how to address it? How to treat it?

According to The Kaiser Family Foundation, Kansas spends almost $7 million a year to assist in HIV/AIDS education, outreach and treatment. There are posters in every clinic, pamphlets at every school, and testing centers in every corner of town. With all of the resources available to us, it’s about time we learn to use them properly. To do this we must first learn to be comfortable discussing it. Once we shed the taboo, we should all swallow our pride and get tested… frequently. Finally, we need to learn how to help those who suffer from the disease, as well as those who suffer from (equally dangerous) ignorance.

Wichitans are lucky folks. We have some truly amazing programs in town that provide us with free HIV/AIDS testing as well as therapy, counseling, volunteer resources, assisted living, food drives, benefit galas, school programs, concerts and art shows all aimed to raise awareness and garner support for the disease and its victims. In short, those interested in finding a way to help don’t even have to leave town.

Take, for instance, the Sweet Emergency Fund. If you aren’t familiar with the work of Dr. Donna Sweet, you are missing out on a real-life superhero story.  Based at the KU Medical School in Wichita, she is a motivational champion of AIDS awareness and treatment. The Emergency Fund is a brain child of Dr. Sweet’s which provides patients with a financial “safety net” that can be used to battle the continuous costs of living with HIV/AIDS. The fund depends on donations made personally or through the purchase of auction items or event tickets. On May 3, Dr. Sweet will award Dr. James J. Rhatigan with the Sweet Humanitarian Award.  The Crown Uptown Dinner Theater will house the event, which boasts a mouth-watering menu, live Jazz by The Nouveau Quintette, and KMUW personality Barry Gaston as host. To buy tickets or learn more about the fund, visit Sweet’s website.

Positive Directions, located in the heart of downtown Wichita, has similar objectives. Faced with the stress and insecurity of being HIV positive, patients come to Positive Directions for help with transportation, housing, nutrition and education. Since the founding of the organization, they have grown to accommodate hundreds of patients, opening a grocery store and a community art gallery. To learn more, visit their website or be sure to stop by Positive Directions’ Jones Gallery on Commerce Street while on your Final Friday Crawl.

In addition to efforts made by private residents of Wichita, Sedgwick County has three KDHE-supported counseling and testing sites we should all be familiar with. Hunter Health Clinic was founded by Wichita’s Native American community, and provides federally funded services to all, “regardless of race, ethnicity, or ability to pay.”  Planned Parenthood of Wichita is open six days a week, and provides clients with testing, education resources and referrals. The main branch of the Sedgwick County Health Department offers anonymous testing and counseling, as well as support for patients without insurance and countless educational resources.

If Wichitans have access to so many organizations and facilities that offer prevention education, treatment, testing, and counseling, why are we not making better use of them? Hopefully you can use this article as a springboard, resolving to become more involved in local efforts to support awareness and treatment. All I ask is that you stop gawking at the lady reading the online “HIV Positive?” brochure and become a smart, well-informed and accepting Kansan, eager to talk openly with your loved ones about a disease that should no longer be dismissed as the invisible elephant in the room.

To the People of Wichita: Talk! Test! Lend a hand!

(Image Credit)

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April 22, 2010 will be my seventh year in a row of attending the event, which is a fundraiser for the Guadalupe Clinic and the first of the two-day Midwest Winefest. Although I’ve heard great things about the Saturday of the fest (a wine tasting at Century II), the Walkabout will always hold a special place in my heart. Here are my top five favorite things about the event.

1. Bang for your buck – This year, tickets were $35 and although the price has increased a little over the years, the event is still an really good deal. When you check in at 5 p.m., you receive a small wine tasting glass, a map of all Old Town businesses participating in the Walkabout and 20 tickets, which get you one wine tasting a piece. At each participating location, there is usually one white and one red wine to try, as well as several appetizers to sample. So, for a bargain price, you can taste up to 20 wines and get a very satisfied belly.

2. Experiencing new spots in Old Town – When I go to Old Town on a typical Friday or Saturday night, I rarely stray from my favorite bar, Mort’s. However, the Walkabout forces me outside of my comfort zone, and over the years I’ve discovered great places that I might not have tried otherwise, like Playa Azul.

3. (Usually) gorgeous weather – Generally, the fourth Thursday in April is a beautiful day, which makes the event all the more enjoyable. It only rained one year of the past seven, but even that didn’t stop us from having a great time.

4. Live music – You can hear everything from jam bands to blues to banjos as you walk around Old Town, and it definitely adds to the spirit of the event. I’ve seen more than one Walkabout attendee break into the some spontaneous dancing in Old Town square.

5. Helps a good cause - Finally, and probably most importantly, the event benefits the Guadalupe Clinic, which is a free clinic that serves the working poor in Wichita. I don’t know about you, but if I can channel my love for vino into helping a deserving organization, I’ll gladly do it.

Unfortunately,  the Walkabout is already sold out for this year (there are only 900 tickets available and they go FAST), but you can still buy tickets for the tasting at Century II on Saturday, April 24. Also, you might try hanging around Old Town on the 22nd – you never know who might have a ticket or two to get rid of. Check back for pictures from the Walkabout, and if you missed out this year, be sure to mark your calendars for 2011. See you there!

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Guest post by Mark Thomas Kenny

As spring rapidly approaches, I find myself anxiously searching for ways to dislodge those 15 pounds of winter-justified warmth that the new Freddy’s in Derby so graciously bestowed upon me. After many midday musings, I concluded that I simply couldn’t be so selfish as to hang my red cape and blue tights in a locker at the Y to go walk aimlessly on a treadmill next to Johnny B.O. when so many people are in need of help. I remembered all the Facebook in,vitations to this walk and that walk, helping this group and that group, and how I had quickly dismissed them all with the almighty Ignore button. So, as penance I have compiled a list of charitable fundraiser walks taking place over the next several months. I can think of no better way to achieve my fitness goal than by helping others in the process. I plan to participate in many of these mutually beneficial events, and I invite each of you to try at least one as well.

Autism CARE Walk – Saturday, April 10 at Heartspring, 8700 E. 29th St. N.

Proceeds benefit local children who are on the autism spectrum through workshops and programs offered by Heartspring. This year’s walk is approximately two miles and will start and finish on the Heartspring campus. Registration is free and all participants can create their own personal fundraising page on the Autism CARE Walk website.

Walk MS: Mid America – Saturday, April 10 at Sedgwick County Park, 6501 W. 21st St. N.

Proceeds help create a world free from multiple sclerosis. Participants can choose from a 1.2 or 3.4 mile route with rest stops along the way. After the walk, enjoy a hamburger cookout, music, and fun.

Midwest Hemophilia Association Walk-A-Thon – Saturday, April 17 at The Grove Apartments, 2909 N. Oliver

Raises funds and awareness about hemophilia and other bleeding and clotting disorders.

Step Up For SIDS – Saturday, April 17 at Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University

Individuals and teams are invited to participate in the 5K run through the WSU campus and/or the SIDS memory walk on the stadium track. Plan to stay the whole morning and participate in games and activities at the Children’s Fair.

March for Babies – Saturday, April 17 at Lawrence Dumont Stadium

Proceeds support programs in the community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies and fund research to find answers to the problems that threaten premature babies.

Taking Steps to Cure Cystic Fibrosis – Saturday, May 1 at Sedgwick County Park

Great Strides: Taking Steps to Cure Cystic Fibrosis is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s largest national fundraising event.

Relay for Life – Friday, June 11-Saturday, June 12 at Collegiate High School

Proceeds benefit The American Cancer Society. At Relay, teams of people camp out and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event.

Greater Wichita Start! Heart Walk – Saturday, June 12 at Cessna Stadium

As the American Heart Association’s signature fundraising event, the Start! Heart Walk promotes physical activity and heart-healthy living in a fun family environment.

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Guest post by Dr. Jean C. Griffith

Before January 12, 2010, most Americans didn’t know much about Haiti. Take the cabbie who drove my husband and me from the airport recently: when told where we’d been, he asked, presumably in all seriousness, if Port-au-Prince was in Wisconsin.

By now, he and others know a few things about Haiti: that it’s the poorest country in the hemisphere, that most of the population lives in poverty, that most are illiterate, that Haitians are known for their fortitude, their ability to survive despite enormous obstacles. All of these factoids, which you probably are already sick of hearing, are true, and I hope in the weeks to come, you’ll begin to explore the roots from which these complex truths spring.

As an academic with a personal interest in Haiti and in one Haitian in particular, there is a lot I could tell you about these complexities. But now, with bodies still lining the streets of the capital city and survivors running out of food and water, is the time for basics. So let me take you on a simple drive from the Port-au-Prince airport to introduce you to a certain house whose inhabitants can tell you a little something about Haiti.

When you step out of the plane and into the airport, you’re greeted by musicians playing one of the forms of music unique to Haiti. One result of illiteracy that the news probably won’t tell you is that it tends to foster thriving oral and visual forms of expression.

When you step outside the airport again, you are greeted by quasi-official looking gentlemen who try to grab your luggage, not to steal it, but to carry it for a few bucks to whomever is waiting to pick you up. Once you get in the car, resist the urge to grab your seatbelt—in my experience at least, people who work as drivers for a living remove them.

As you approach the congestion of Port-au-Prince, you’ll see a few beggars, but they’ll be far outweighed by people walking on the street or sitting in tap-tap buses – group taxis – who may give you a passing glance (especially, because you stand out, if you are white) but who have other places to go and things to do. Poor, illiterate, strong, and always busy.

The streets, created before cars and not improved much since, are lined by buildings that, as someone once observed, you can’t tell are just going up or falling down. There are people everywhere, bartering and selling, carrying with grace more than you think humanly possible on their heads, and, of course, busily walking… somewhere.

Look closer, and you’ll see a number of boys—members of the street gangs, not in our drive-by Crips sort of way, but more like gangs at the turn of the 20th century: homeless and trying to survive by sticking together. You will see ramshackle hair salons, private schools (there is no other kind in Haiti), big white UN vehicles. In the distance, you may catch a glimpse of the deforested but still breathtakingly beautiful mountains that give the country its name.

Wind through the city and you’ll come to a road that drops off on either side (resist the urge to reach for that seatbelt—it wouldn’t help you anyway) to a dry creek bed where people are busy doing… something. Always busy. As you head up a steep road with holes so large you fear they’ll swallow the car, you’ll see a brightly-painted iron gate on your right. Many houses in Port-au-Prince have gates, flimsy, mostly symbolic barriers against not crime but rather the unrest that has for the last century tested that Haitian fortitude.

As the gate opens and you drive into a small open courtyard lined with bougainvillea, several pairs of eyes, at about the height of your knees, peer at you from between the posts of a fence enclosing the small, open front room of a stone house. It’s a rental, and its current tenant is one of the three branches of the Brebis de Saint-Michel de L’Attalaye orphanage, the one they call “Jamie and Ali’s House.”

Let me introduce you to some of the residents here. Ahead of the pack is Rafa, a wide grin on his face that threatens to dislodge the pacifier in his mouth. A little girl named Farica waits for you to pick her up, although she may scream at the site of you if you’re a white man (she doesn’t see so many of them, but she’s learning). Sitting on the ground is Jake, who’s getting a bit too fat, and Gavin, whose glance already seems far away. A little boy, Samuel, and two older girls, Samantha and Bettania, coddle and coo over the young ones; they’ll make excellent parents someday. If you are patient, you may catch the glance of shy Marie, or a smile from Fredo or Christa, always ready to pose for a camera. Sit down on the floor and you’ll be surrounded by children.

Sitting or standing among them are Haitian women, the nannies and the nurse who staff the house, and two American women, Jamie and her younger sister, Ali. Jamie and Ali, both in their twenties, don’t weigh more than about 200 pounds together. Ali just graduated from high school a few years ago. The sisters live amongst the children, caring for them, eating what they eat, and raising them with as much love as any “real” parent. They seldom get back to their family and friends in Pittsburgh; Jamie seldom sees her husband, who lives there. They have been here through coups, through weeks without power, and now, through the unimaginable devastation of the earthquake, they have refused to evacuate. They take no pay. Officially, they are just “volunteers” who can come and go as they please. In reality, they are the heart of this place, the people who comfort abandoned babies or desperate birth families who relinquish their sons and daughters in the hope that they will live to adulthood.

If you are me, Ali is standing and looking directly at you with a baby boy in her arms named Alexander, or “Ti [little] Ali.” He is beautiful and perfect. And if you were me standing there, he’d be your son, the child you can, for now, only visit, whom you must behind every time you get back on that plane. The child that you wait for and worry about even without earthquakes, the child who is now, as far as you know, alive but, like nearly everyone else in the city, living outside, running out of what food and water there is.

That child is Haiti, and he’d be very glad to meet you. Please, consider yourself introduced.

To follow the progress made in aiding Jamie, Ali and the children at the BRESMA orphanage,  follow the hashtag #BRESMA on Twitter for frequent updates.

If you can help in any way, please email editors@verbict.com.

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This week, we asked the verb [ICT] writers where they direct their spare change during the holidays.

When I give money, I give to the United Way. Lots of local nonprofit agencies receive help from the United Way, so you get to help out multiple causes with one donation. – Denise Grays

I like to give to our local Red Cross. It’s not just because I worked there for eight and a half years. Well, that does make me biased. But I am biased because I’ve seen the organization at work. The Red Cross helps victims of house fires and other disasters, teaches lifesaving CPR and first aid, and takes the elderly to the doctor. Everything they do is compassion in action. – Andrea Anglin

Barnes and Noble has a program where you can donate books to kids in the Head Start program. The average price is around $4. To put that in perspective, the average Black Friday PS3 game costs the same as 10 of these books. And it hits me that there are kids for whom a new book would be great. I’m sure those same kids would love a video game or RC Car, but they’ll be happy with a book. I can’t help but chip in and buy a number of books. It makes me want to do more. – Matt Tharp

My best friend Jen and I take a name of a person served with developmental disabilities who does not have family or extra money off of the Angel Tree at work. Then we purchase gifts so they will have something to open on Christmas morning. This is a cause close to my heart because my clients bring so much joy to my life every day and I’m just happy to be able to bring them something to make their Christmas a happy one. – Carly Holmes

One way I support causes is to purchase greetings cards. I don’t mean school fundraisers, but cards from organizations like Independent Living Resource Center, KMUW, NPR, Monart School of Art, Ten Thousand Villages, Unicef and other non-profits that sell them to generate revenue. I send a lot of handwritten thank-you notes at work and get many positive comments when I use cards that I’ve purchased from nonprofit organizations. – Kris Schindler

Around this time of year, I always try to direct a few bucks in the direction of Feeding America (the charity formerly known as America’s Second Harvest). A small donation goes a long way toward providing a meal to the hungry around the country. – Steph Barnard

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Do the Deed is the brainchild of Wichita advertising agency, Greteman Group, which was looking for a holiday project and came up with the idea to promote intentional acts of kindness. Tracking cards for good deeds are customized by the good-deed-doer and handed to the recipient of their kindness. The card tells the recipient about Do The Deed and encourages them to pass the good deed – and the card – along to someone else.

“With the card, you can see how far the deed goes,” said Executive Vice President, Deanna Harms. “Instead of just encouraging people to smile at one another, we wanted to reinforce that this is an intentional act.”

Other community partners such as  The Wichita Eagle, Intake Studios and Donlevy Lithograph are also supporting the project. Girl Scouts are planning to hand out Do the Deed cards at this Saturday’s Festival of Giving event.

The website contains a Deed Kit, which provides a card, stencil template, poster and program guidelines. The site is also the landing page for good deeds that are tracked or submitted. More than 70 entries have already been posted since the site launched on Dec. 4. One of the most interesting components of the site is the card tracker function which allows people to see how many times their act of kindness has been registered. “It will be interesting to see who sees it, but more importantly, who acts on it,” Harms said.

The spirit of the movement has already taken hold in the community; Harms pointed out that on Friday, competitor Associated posted on Twitter about DotheDeed, asking people to check it out and help out their friends at the Greteman Group. “It was definitely in the spirit of the movement. Individually we can do little, but together, unified, we can make a difference.”

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Are you looking to do more this holiday season than spend money? Think outside the gift box and volunteer for one ofthe more than 260 nonprofit organizations in Wichita, many of which have holiday opportunities. But how can you decide which organization is a good fit for you? The United Way of the Plains Volunteer Center is ready to match you to an opportunity to do good things, this holiday and every day.

According to Volunteer Coordinator Becky Springer, the United Way Volunteer Center has helped match 7,000 people to volunteer jobs in our community. “With 260 agencies which each have five to 10 programs, we have 1,600 volunteer opportunities for people to choose from and there are new ones every day,” Springer said.

Individuals interested volunteering just have to call United Way’s 2-1-1 number (yep, that’s it: 211) and answer a few questions to make sure the best match is made. Data such as the number of people in your group (or just you), what days and times you are available to work, and what kind of opportunity (long-term or just a special project) you are interested in is used to search the United Way database and match volunteers to organizations that need help.

The program isn’t just for individuals. Need an activity for your church group? Corporate team-building? School groups? Girlfriend get-together? There are opportunities for practically any kind of group, including families. The minimum volunteer age for most agencies is 14, but some will accept volunteers as young as 10 as long as a parent volunteers with them. For children younger than 10, the United Way has a list of ideas families use to get everyone involved.

“One woman called us because her birthday was on Dec. 22 and she wanted to do something for her birthday with her girlfriends, so they are stuffing stockings for children,” Springer said. “There are all kinds of ways to get involved.”

For the holidays the United Way has put together a special Holiday Volunteer Connection on its website. You can help an organization wrap gifts, sort donations – even bake cookies and treats. To take advantage of one of these good deeds, just call 211.

Make sure you end up on Santa’s “nice” list and volunteer this holiday season. Ensure you stay on the list throughout the year by picking up a regular volunteer gig. In the end, you will find you get more than you give.

Image Credit

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Yes, you heard it right, social media. That includes sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo.  While some might view these sites as a way to procrastinate through the work day, more and more local and national charitable organizations are using them to share information about their missions with the public.

Non-profit organizations are turning to social media sites to get people involved in fundraising efforts, to share information, to find volunteers and to connect with others all around the world. Really, this connection seems logical due to the availability of this media and because of its appealing price tag.

In Wichita, Heartspring, a center for children with special needs, is one organization that uses social media to further its mission, promote events and connect with people who need its services.

“Heartspring is able to help children with special needs across the nation and all around the world,” explained Katie Grover, Director of Marketing for Heartspring. “Parents of children with special needs often struggle to find resources and once they are found, lack of funding or financial resources prohibit them from utilizing those resources. Because social media is typically free, [these] parents… who often hit dead ends… find a place where they can share their story and ask questions while others can respond with suggestions, tips, how-tos and support.”

Edurelief is another national charitable organization that uses social media. Edurelief “is a development organization focused on breaking the cycle of poverty, improving quality of life and encouraging hope in the future of people’s lives around the world through sustainable education, training, and advocacy on their behalf.”

“Many people argue that social media marketing is a waste of time for nonprofits because the monetary return is small compared to other methods of fundraising,” said Jonathan Renich, founder of  Edurelief. “While this is generally true, there are many examples of organizations utilizing social media in effective fundraising campaigns. I believe if organizations can learn to look past the question of donations and into the realm of building relationships with people they will begin to see that social media is, and will continue to be a very important part of any organizations promotions.”

Renich said some of the organization’s best volunteers have come from social media contacts and that the work of those individuals has taken Edurelief to a higher level.

“I believe, while social media maybe doesn’t provide organizations with the traditional results they may be seeking, it brings an entirely new, and very important, aspect to their work: community,” Renich said.

One of the more powerful ways Renich said he has seen social media work for Edurelief is in the story of a girl from France named Capucine.

“[Capucine] has a vivid imagination and…is an incredible storyteller,” Renich said. “Her mother started recording her stories which became quite an internet phenomenon. After learning about our organization, Capucine and her mother made a video asking for people to buy t-shirts and buttons they had made to help support school children in Mongolia.”

The response to Capucine on Vimeo, Facebook, and Twitter was huge, according to Renich, and has already raised over $3,000 for Edurelief programs. More information about Capucine can be found here.

Many other powerful examples of how social media has helped provoke social change exist. Michelle Riggen-Ransom, Blogger-in-Chief at PopTech started this blog after being inspired at a South by Southwest panel discussion in 2008. Her goal was to chronicle some of the notable examples of the use of social media.

“‘12for12K’ is a year-long effort to raise $12,000 per months for 12 different organizations, using a variety of different social media channels,” Riggen-Ransom said. “And my friend T.J. just wrote about how he took part Epic Change’s ‘Tweetsgiving,’ which enabled a small village in Tanzania to build a classroom with Twitter-donated funds.”

Although she no longer updates the social change blog, Riggen-Ransom said the experience was eye-opening.

“I’ve learned how many folks are out there in the world trying to make a difference,” Riggen-Ransom said. “I’ve also learned that as big as the world is, technology has made it very easy to connect with people from many different countries, backgrounds, and viewpoints. For that I am very grateful.”

Based on the success it has seen so far, Edurelief is launching a new social media based campaign called the Avatar Project which, according to Renich, will give people a chance to be “a small piece in a much  larger puzzle working to bring change in Mongolia.” Edurelief will approach users for this project through Twitter, Facebook and other platforms.

Grover has seen many benefits from the use of social media as well.

“I’ve been surprised and pleased with the amount of ‘re-tweeting’ that I’ve seen after posting information about a special event or conference we are hosting by people who live well outside Wichita or Kansas,” Grover said. “There are so many people who are passionate about helping children with autism and other special needs, and social media sources are a fantastic way to share resources, successes and challenges.”

Lights on the Lake and The Autism CARE Walk are two events that Grover has promoted through social media. She also uses it to share information about the organizations Conference Series, the monthly E-newsletter and other activities in the world of special education and special needs children.

“Having mediums that can convey real time information has…allowed us to get our message to individuals that might not have been accessible, as easily, through traditional means (i.e. TV, print, radio),” Grover said. “Most importantly, putting ourselves out on social media outlets costs Heartspring nothing. And as a non-profit seeking to invest every dollar we have back into the care and education of the children we support, that is a priceless gift.”

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