Donate to Houston Area Women’s Center & get your tickets to Twestival Houston now!

Twestival Houston’s goal is to raise $3000 to help Houston Area Women’s Center in their mission to end domestic and sexual violence. Every dollar raised through Twestival Houston will support HAWC’s Children’s Court Services program, the advocacy service for children who have been victims of or witnesses to violent crimes. But we can’t do it without YOU! Please help us help HAWC by becoming a sponsor at http://amiando.com/twesth!

THANK YOU to our current sponsors:

You can also help us raise awareness by adding the following image to your Twitter page:

TWESTIVAL HOUSTON DETAILS:

* WHEN: September 13, 2009 : 3:30pm - 8:00pm
* WHERE: Caroline Collective : 4820 Caroline, Houston 77004 | http://carolinecollective.cc | @carolineco
* WHAT: An exciting afternoon of entertainment, art, and community, featuring:
- Headlining Houston bands performing outdoors
- Raffle prizes donated from local theaters, museums, and restaurants
- Bounce palace and games for children
- Performances and live painting by local artists
- Food and beverages donated by local suppliers and restaurants/caterers
- Co-nominated charities to participate and promote their organizations, to help them raise awareness and foster community partnerships
- Local press coverage
- Ustreaming and live-tweeting for Twestival Houston (#twesth), projected on the wall for all to enjoy

We expect over 350 people to attend, based on the great success and word-of-mouth received after the first Twestival for Charity:Water!

For daily updates, please follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/twesth.

You can also engage with us on the Twestival Houston Facebook Fan Page:

Started in London in 2008, Twestival was born out of the idea that if cities were able to collaborate on an international scale, but work from a local level, it could have a spectacular impact. By rallying together globally, under short timescales, for a single goal on the same day, the Twestival hopes to raise awareness for a good cause and be a force for positive action.

On February 12, 2009, over 105 cities around the world hosted Twestivals, bringing together Twitter communities for an evening of fun to raise money and awareness for charity: water. Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States and home to a diverse population and vibrant digital community, was one of the premiere cities for Twestival Global.

Nominations for the local non-profit organization to benefit from Twestival Houston have closed. You can vote for your favorite among the nominees at http://poll.fm/130jb - voting ends Friday, July 31, at 12pm. The winning charity will be announced at Coffee Groundz (2503 Bagby) at 7pm, during their 2nd Anniversary party!

There have been some concerns as to voting and how the votes will be tallied:

1. Twitter was the primary tool used to put out the call and receive nominations, giving Supertweeters an advantage in rallying voters for their pet cause.
2. New organizations were added each day, giving earlier nominations more time to gain votes.

Because this is a Twestival - a Twitter+festival centered on the mission “Tweet. Meet. Give.” - people who use and engage with Twitter regularly would obviously have an advantage in learning about the opportunity, and learn about it early enough to promote it for a longer period of time. I hope organizations who don’t already utilize Twitter learn from this and start to recognize that using and engaging in social media should become an important part of their overall communications and branding strategy. If nothing else, you’ll be the first to hear about the next Twestival opportunity!

For the nominees who were added later, here’s how the votes will be weighted and tallied: Jul27(10% ) + Jul28(20% ) + Jul29-31(70%). It seems there may have been some vote-tampering from ardent fans of one organization, which members of the organization are currently looking into. If that’s the case, we’ll have to discount those votes and/or remove them from the running. Otherwise, good luck to all the nominees!

Best regards,

@GraceRodriguez - Twestival Houston Coordinator

P.S. Sorry the old info hasn’t been updated yet. Twestival is all volunteer, and I’m trying to squeeze set-ups and updates and polling and [you name it] in between life, the career, and everything; so it may take until the weekend to finish. Thanks for your patience and understanding!