The original idea for TweetsGiving came just six days before launch. In six days, we launched a simple site that generated enough interest to build a classroom out of gratitude. A classroom that may last for decades. A classroom where hundreds of children will learn and be loved. A classroom that just might transform Leah into her country’s first woman president, Glory into a human rights lawyer, and Gideon into an astronaut who discovers unknown planets.

In six days.

Sometimes it doesn’t take an organizing committee & 24 months of planning to pull off a miracle. A week of pouring your heart into something can be more effective, and more fun, than the most detailed, well-executed project plan.

To be honest, with all that’s been going on here recently, I have to remind myself daily that gratitude doesn’t need a plan to take hold.  After all, it’s about the gratitude in our hearts, and the transformative power our thankfulness can have when we share it with one another. It’s about giving Epic Thanks for those remarkable souls, like Mama Lucy, who teach us to hold onto hope.  That kind of gratitude may be more squelched than spread by a Gantt chart.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been reaching out to our network to host gratitude parties in cities across the globe – and parties are already planned from Tampa to Tel Aviv. But we’re still hoping you’ll bring your grateful heart to the party. If you’re interested in planning a gratitude party in your city, contact avi@epicchange.org.

A couple of ideas to inspire you:

Celebrate a changemaker

If you choose to honor a changemaker at your event, 100% of whatever you raise will be granted directly to the changemaker you choose (provided their work meets IRS guidelines for nonprofit activities).

It doesn’t have to be a gala. The invite list doesn’t have to include 100 local celebs. You’ll be amazed at what an impact you can have when you gather a few grateful hearts. Here’s a note I just received from Mike Halley, the changemaker who will be honored at Epic Thanks in Tampa, Florida:

You have no idea how much your help means. It is indeed an honor to be the Changemaker, but we were honored just to be nominated. The added promotion is making a huge difference in not only our bank account, but also in our efforts to pass the word along about what we are doing. We are overwhelmed with the generosity and giving hearts of the volunteers.

Just party

Sometimes the people who make us thankful by creating hope & joy our world aren’t changemakers by profession – they’re just ordinary people who make an extraordinary impact in our lives and communities.

Your Epic Thanks party doesn’t have to be a fundraiser – it may just be a surprise party for someone you and your friends are grateful for. It may simply be an opportunity to get together and spend time with people you love.

Take it as an opportunity to let someone who may feel invisible know they’re seen by grateful hearts. Maybe you’ll:

• Organize a flash mob for the bus driver who always gets you there on time & makes you smile
• Chalk thank you notes on the driveways of people you love.
• Interview all your friends about what they’re grateful for this year & premiere your own gratitude movie with popcorn on a Friday night at your house.
• Put posters & signs on every corner of town sharing your gratitude for a hometown hero.
• Organize a thank you note writing party.
• Plan a yoga class where each participant reflects on what’s in their own grateful heart.
• Hold a karaoke party where each singer dedicates their songs in honor of someone or something they’re grateful for.

Gratitude is transformative.  Over the past two years, the gratitude of thousands has built classrooms and a library that serves hundreds of children.  What will our grateful hearts make possible this year?

We hope you’ll join us in giving Epic Thanks November 19 – 25.

Contact avi@epicchange for more info on hosting a live event, or check out www.EpicThanks.org for other ways to join this year’s celebration.