Social Media Week is proud to partner with Inner-City Arts, for over twenty years, an oasis of learning, achievement and creativity for underserved children in the heart of Skid Row. They provide a safe place for kids to express themselves, “to fuel the dreams of children, especially those living in poverty who may believe dreams are for other children.” Their grass-roots programs and community and arts/learning agenda fits perfectly with the themes of Social Media Week.
Although there will be dozens of interesting and cool events throughout the entire week, our original intention as organizers was for the entire conference to have a deeper purpose and leave a lasting legacy, demonstrating the power of social media to make a difference. In addition to raising awareness and funds for an important cause and a great non-profit, we also will be creating a prototype for other cities moving forward.
From the opening press conference at 9am on Monday morning (with the Mayor…hopefully) to the closing party on Friday night and every event in between, we will use the entire conference as a platform to raise funds to support arts and learning. Via Twitter hashtags, events designed to raise money (e.g., ‘cocktails for a cause’), a virtual ‘Twelethon,’ a donate now landing page, text-to-give, and as many other creative ways as possible, we’ll provide conference participants with many opportunities to take action and contribute.
This LA conference has taken shape in less than two months. We know we want sponsors, for example, who will match funds raised, donate money for every hashtagged tweet, co-brand the info/donation landing page, donate a percentage of sales from their site during the week, etc. However, to make a real impact, we welcome creative ideas, suggestions and offers for amplifying the effort.
As much as we like social media, it’s really just an interesting subject…a tool…an idea…Using it to make a real difference will give all of us something about which we can feel real pride and satisfaction.
