Broadband Now: Season of Giving December 1st, 2009
Portia Krebs

With the holidays upon us, many Americans are not only giving to their friends and families, they are also extending the spirit of generosity to those who are less fortunate.  Traditions of volunteerism from soup kitchens to hospitals are alive and well, but broadband and its virtual worlds have given rise to a new kind of giving.  Thanks to the Internet, charity 2.0 is taking off.  How?  Click on the video, or read below to see featured highlights from our latest edition of Broadband Now:

• 1 in 10 of the 300 million Facebook users participate in at least one of the nearly 200,000 Facebook Causes – that’s 30 million people dedicating their time, support, and resources.

• Online games like “Farmville” are cultivating a new kind of giving, thanks to its “Sweet Seeds for Haiti” campaign which donates 50% of the income earned on sales of the game’s virtual sweet potato seeds to organizations that feed Haitian children.

• Twitter-based fundraising events are also on the rise, with a 2008 event raising $10,000 in 48 hours to build a classroom for students in Tanzania.

In this challenging economy, when more citizens need help and many of us have less to give, online charitable contributions are becoming mission-critical to communities nationwide.  And, lucky for us, thanks to broadband, doing good has never been easier.

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