This post is by Epic Change Co-Founder, Sanjay Patel.

On January 20th, the Silicon Valley Tweetup held it’s first event of 2010 for Shepherds Jr. School in support of the Twitterkids of Tanzania. Over 200 people braved the rainy weather to gather in the heart of Silicon Valley, and I had the great pleasure of attending this fun event. In addition to meeting an incredible group of individuals, over $2,300 was raised to support Mama Lucy’s efforts!

All of the funds raised will go toward a much-needed orphanage/boarding facility at the school. The total estimated cost of the facility is USD $50,000 which will accommodate approximately 50 children. Every $1,000 raised will ensure that one more child has a warm, safe place to call home, with a loving Mama from their community to make nutritious meals and tuck them in at night.

I was just amazed by the turnout and felt great pride knowing that such a large number of people support Epic Change and Shepherds Jr. School, a primary school many thousands of miles away in Tanzania. I want to thank Michael Brito for organizing this incredible event and for personally inviting me to attend.

Here’s what Michael had to say about the event.

I’m humbled. I’m humbled because the people of Silicon Valley stepped up big time. The fact that we raised over $2,300 for an awesome cause justifies every stressful moment we had planning this event. And for this reason, we will continue with these tweetups and make an even stronger effort to support local & global organizations.

You can read more of Michael’s reflections on the Silicon Valley Tweetup Blog, view event photos here, or click below to see video from the event.