Facebook Post Turns into 300 Birthday Bags

Dec 7 2012

@ 5:31 pm

Social media has obviously changed how we share information and connect. It has also changed how we give. On June 14th, I helped Monica promote an event on Facebook. The event was “Twive and Recieve”, a one-day online fundraiser for Cheerful Givers, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that provides toy-filled birthday bags to children who otherwise wouldn’t receive one. My friend Emil saw my post and shared it with his network and the rest is history.

Monica, Emil and I decided to start our very own Birthday Bag Blitz in our area (Northwest Arkansas) to help our local kids in need. The nonprofit’s mission was inspiring to us, because it took a different approach to giving. And so the planning started. We raised enough donations to give almost 300 birthday bags to local shelters.

The very first NWA Cheerful Givers Birthday Bag Blitz took place on Nov. 2, 2012, during Bentonville’s First Friday Toyland event. The Toyland event is Downtown Bentonville’s biggest First Friday event. Toy manufacturers and other kid-related vendors line the streets of the Square and draw in hundreds of families. We decided to publicly stuff the bags at this event (during lunch time) to gain more exposure for the nonprofit and to get the community actively involved in stuffing the birthday bags. We donated half the bags to LifeSource, a nonprofit based in Fayetteville, AR, that takes a holistic approach to help individuals and families in need. The other half went to the Samaritan Community Center in Rogers, AR.

All in all, the event was a success and we enjoyed sharing the mission of Cheerful Givers with our community. What do you do to give back during the holiday season?