I cry when I see beautiful things. Like babies. And fireflies at night. And classrooms where once were henhouses.

But tears haven’t fallen recently from these eyes. Until yesterday and then again, this morning.

I’ve been so busy that I’ve been unable to really reflect on the miracle that’s unfolding around me. Then two things happened, and finally, it sunk in. The world is changing. And I (actually, we) have a front row seat.

Yesterday, I was on the phone with 10 event organizers I’ve never met in person who are planning parties that will spread gratitude across the globe, and raise funds to invest in the vision of one extraordinary woman in Tanzania. Planners from Istanbul, Israel, Washington DC and more shared their thoughts on how to celebrate gratitude and cultivate local support for a woman, and children, they’d never met. Over 40 events are now planned – and each one will change the world with the power of gratitude.

Then this morning, I got this note from a parent in Tanzania. Mr. Patrokil shared so much kindness, then wrote:

What I want to say here, please would you help me how to sign up to tweeter as I would like to vote on the 24th – 26th Nov.as well as help my friends to open the account with tweetsgiving so that we can join together. Few days remaining now.

Just instructions, then I help to the other.

The world is getting smaller. We’re all participating in the same conversation. Voices seldom heard are getting louder. And I am so excited to see what happens on November 24th when our shared gratitude is unleashed around the world. I hope you’ll join us – and people from Arusha to Istanbul to Honolulu – by:

 
In the meantime, the the world will be coming together in another way too. Mama Lucy and will be meeting me in the Netherlands at the European Summit for Global Transformation – and will then be joining us for the TweetsGiving celebration in New York City. (Will you be there?) She’s never visited the US or Europe before, and I’m so excited I can hardly stand it.

Feeling unbelievably grateful to the Summit’s organizer, Rebecca Self, my friend Jen Lemen who raised funds for Mama Lucy’s plane ticket, and a universe that conspired to make sure her visa came through…

Posted: November 19th, 2009 under The Foundry.
Comments: 1

I originally wrote this note from Tanzania to the many remarkable volunteers
who are pouring their hearts into creating TweetsGiving.
Then I realized, this is what TweetsGiving is all about…

Sometimes, in the trenches, it may seem like this work is about PowerPoint presentations and pitches, graphics and code, social media and strategy.

In some ways, surely it is.  But yesterday, as I sat across the table from Mama Lucy sharing her vast vision for this place, as I played with children who I know in the deepest parts of myself will have better lives because of her work here, I was reminded that it’s about so much more:  this is about gratitude.

There are people across the globe, like Mama Lucy, who hold onto hope.  Who teach us how to hope. Who give us reason to hope.

Today, for them, and especially for her, I am grateful.  And it is this gratitude from which Epic Change and TweetsGiving were born.

Most of you, by now, know this about me:

When my brother Josh died,
he almost took my mom with him.
He left me only with his baby girl
and the knowledge that, when he probably needed me most, I hadn’t called back.

The reassuring voice inside me that had always, even in the darkest hours, whispered:
“it’s going to be okay”
fell silent,
dispelled by a fear I’ve never known that it just might not be.

Two years later, I found that voice again here.
In Africa.
In Mama Lucy.
In the audacious hope of a woman who believed money from selling chickens would be enough to build a school and transform her community.

There is no greater gratitude
Than that for hope restored
when you’ve all but given up.

My work here is no matter of owing or debt; it could never be repayment or reciprocity.

Instead it is my humble beginner’s practice of the lesson she’s taught:
that hope is ours to create, that it never dies as long as we just hold onto it.
that hope is not idle faith, but hard work.

It is saving for months to scrape shillings together to buy a tiny piece of land.  It is taking hours to send a single email if that’s what it takes. It is learning how to use a computer for the first time in a language that’s not your own.  It is negotiating with neighbors who demand dollars from an unknown source to borrow power lines.  It is busing students to town to stand in line all day to vote on the internet, believing their tiny voices can make the difference.   It is trying to understand wireless connectivity when it makes no sense at all.  It is finding a way to keep going when the landlord sells your school.

It is building classrooms from hen houses.

Hope is not easy to create.

Hope is PowerPoint presentations and pitches, graphics and code.  It is social media and strategy.

Hope is hard work.

Hope is holding on fast when the whole wide world and every fibre of your weary being says to give up.

I’m not sure how in this whole, vast, beautiful universe, I found a hope like hers.

But I did.  And I only wish she could know how grateful I am.

In thankfulness for those people create hope in your life, and all the unbelievable beauty this universe holds, I truly hope you’ll celebrate TweetsGiving with us:

• Attend or Plan an event in your city.
• Help us spread gratitude across the web.
• Host a gratitude house party for people you love.

The photo above was taken by my friend Jen Lemen (thanks Jen!).

Posted: November 6th, 2009 under The Foundry.
Comments: 7

This TweetsGiving post is by Avi Kaplan, Global Community and Events Director for Epic Change.

TweetsGiving 2009 is only 20 days away and we are so excited! Things are shaping up great and the first event tickets have already been sold! There are a lot of really great folks organizing gratitude parties and we’d love your help too.

It’s not to late to organize an event in your city. You can learn more about organizing a gratitude party, in your community, check out some of the gratitude party ideas we’ve shared, or view our event checklist. To start organizing your party just complete our event organizer form and we’ll get you set up.

There are other ways to be involved too of course. If you’d like to organize a more intimate gathering with friends and family, consider throwing a gratitude house party. :)

So far there are events planned in…

You can find ticketing and information for each of these events by clicking the city name above or within the Epic Change online Community which you can register to join here.

We Need Your Help!

We’re excited with our progress so far, but there are many places we would still love to see gratitude parties organized. Below is a list of some major cities around the world. Organizing for TweetsGiving is a fun and meaningful way to support a worthy cause. If you know people in these places (or somewhere else) we need your help reaching out to them! With your help we can make TweetsGiving 2009 the largest day of gratitude the world has ever known. So please phone, email, and tweet a friendly nudge about this to your friends and contacts. If you need any help or have any questions, please feel free to contact me at avi [at] epicchange.org.

We’re still looking for event organizers in these cities:

• North America
  • Anchorage
  • Atlanta
  • Cincinnati
  • Cleveland
  • Hawaii
  • Houston
  • Indianapolis
  • Kansas City
  • Las Vegas
  • Memphis
  • Miami
  • Montreal
  • Nashville
  • New Orleans
  • Omaha
  • Ottawa
  • Orlando
  • Philadelphia
  • Seattle
• South America
  • Buenos Aires
  • Lima
  • Mexico City
  • Sao Paulo
  • San Jose, Costa Rica
• Europe
  • Amsterdam
  • Berlin
  • Brussels
  • London
  • Madrid
  • Milan
  • Moscow
  • Paris
  • Prague
  • Rome
  • Warsaw
• Asia
  • Beijing
  • Dubai
  • Hong Kong
  • Sydney
  • Tokyo
• Africa
  • Cape Town
  • Cairo
  • Johannesburg
  • Nairobi

Posted: November 3rd, 2009 under The Foundry, tweetsgiving.
Comments: 1