It's my pleasure to welcome fellow romance blogger, Limecello.  I asked her to join us today to tell you about how she - with some help from fellow romance writers and readers - is making a difference with her annual "Social Media for Social Good" charity fundraiser.   Please give her a warm welcome!



A Simple Comment Can Change a Life
Thank you so much to the ladies at the Romance Dish, and all of you for letting me visit here today, to talk about something very important to me. It's my third year running my annual "Social Media for Social Good" (SMSG) charity fundraiser. I started it this year, on October 27, which is Make a Difference Day.

The romance community is made up of wonderful, amazing, generous people. In 2010, I saw some blogs running charity drives, and thought, "I bet the romance community could do something incredible like that." And we did. The first year, we raised $1,337 in less than 12 hours, for (RED). Last year, in a month, we raised over $8,000 for Save the Children. This year, I chose charity: water as the organization. I spent a lot of time researching charities, and felt water is a universal cause and need. The point of SMSG is to ask the romance community to contribute to charity. To raise awareness on important issues. To step up, and step in to make a difference.

How does it work? Well, first and foremost, it's a comment drive. Every comment on my blog post Water Changes Everything  raises money for charity. That's right, you can raise money for charity just by leaving a comment. How? There are some incredibly generous people pledging donation amounts based on the number of comments that are on the post at the end of the drive. It's the social media aspect.

I chose a comment drive, because it's something everyone can do. (As well as your friends and family members, so please spread the word!) I'd love if you would stop by and check it out. If you'd like to join us in donations, that would be amazing. Any amount helps. To that end, there are a few people issuing challenges as well. One, is mine. I said that if 50 readers or bloggers donate - even $1 to the charity, (link: http://mycharitywater.org/albtalbs) I'll increase my pledged donation by $25, for a total of $325. 

My goal is to have the post reach at least 1,000 comments. And raise $10,000. I know that's very ambitious, but I think it's possible. I'm constantly pleasantly surprised by how giving and wonderful this community can be. However, if we end up short of the goals, that's okay too, because people have given, and doing even a little makes a difference. So regardless, it's a job well done. Life, and the world has been... eventful, shall we say, so instead of leaving SMSG12 open for just a month, I decided to extend it until December 26. (The official charity: water campaign ends on December 30th, but I figure people need some time to check and do administrative things.)

Anyway, that's why I not only love romances, I also love the authors, readers, and people involved in this community. The care, concern, wonderful friendship and support that comes from it - that's inspiring. So I hope you'll join me in my little endeavor to try to give back.

Thank you! <3

http://tartsweet.com - A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet


Thank you, Limecello!  

Readers, I hope you'll stop by Limecello's blog and leave a comment or, if you can, make a donation for this very important cause. In this season of giving, share with us how you make a difference; in your family, in your community or on a larger scale.