100K: People Are Not Numbers But Numbers Do Count! Support Goals That Matter

I’ve been building a whole website about things that to I love, like explosions and insanely large guns! However, every now and then, it doesn’t hurt to take a look at some of the people and organizations that are trying to make a difference.

TheNerdyBird: For the late shift, help my @MDAnews Muscle Walk team raise our goal this year! http://bit.ly/iawx5m Pls RT!

Jill “The Nerdy Bird” Pantozzi’s use of the word “goal” gave me an idea. It was a good use of the word, a much better use than many.

When people on twitter talk about “needing” a specific number of followers to meet a “goal” with no point to that beyond the numbers themselves, that detracts from goals with meaningful impact in this world.

ActionChick: #twittertip People aren’t numbers. Before tweeting, “I need X # followers,” ask yourself why.

That’s not to say they’re aren’t reasons for reaching certain numbers, just saying to ask yourself why. Don’t get me wrong, a larger following can serve a purpose. It can help you get the word out about a good cause. Actor Joe Pantoliano tweets to promote mental health issues:

nkmtoo: Show your support, make a donation at nkm2.org! Every little bit helps keep the cause alive! http://fb.me/EBBZKTSK

Back when Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) was first approaching 1 million followers on twitter, he got into a bet over whether he or CNN would reach the million mark first. He put the publicity over that bet to good use in promoting the charity Malaria No More, whose services include providing mosquito nets to cut malaria rates and save lives (http://www.malarianomore.org).

malarianomore: @biz: The results of @aplusk‘s “Malaria-No-More” pledge: http://bit.ly/bIIqEu

So rather than waste this opportunity, I’m going to use the impending 100,000 total to make a point and maybe do some good. If I can say support a good cause instead of tweeting, “Help Katrina reach 100K,” then surely people can tweet some of these links for the greater good.

Thanks for helping me double-check Malaria No More: @Carlo_ThChThr @petermdenton @WendyWings @ratpack @SpeedBrkr @ircarter

Clara Mathews: I like donorschoose.org because even the smallest donation can help a teacher fund a classroom project.

 FilmGurl DotNet: Goodwill http://www.goodwill.org/ Great organization to support, everyone has stuff laying around they don’t use anymore – it can definitely go to someone who needs it. And, also they do a great job of providing jobs for others. 🙂

Gabby_West: @ActionChick bowling for boobies http://cgi.ebay.com/260733612862 BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

scottEweinberg: I’m fond of @petfinder. RT @ActionChick: What’s ONE GOOD CAUSE you’re supporting now? And the reason others should share its link?

Christoffer Andersson: MusicVs, a project created to raise awareness regarding leukemia and bone marrow-transplants. http://www.musicvs.com/short-in-english/

Douglas Sharpe: Childs Play, it gives games to sick kids that are at various hospitals around the world.

Tim Jackson: There’s plenty of autism awareness and autistic rights sites out there, and fan pages for those here on Facebook that I support… (continued on Facebook)

Carie Small: Rehabbing With The Troops, it pairs wounded warriors with pro athletes to play video games, have fun, work on their physical and mental fitness together while they’re adjusting to life as a wounded veteran… … (continued on Facebook). http://www.causes.com/causes/499079-rehabbing-with-the-troops?recruiter_id=48512248

FollowHeidi: @ActionChick breast cancer research is my cause. because i want my daughters to grow to be healthy, wonderful and terribly sassy.

Mr_Sahue: @ActionChick @abolishcancer They raise funds for cancer patients through Twitter. I think it’s a great idea that … http://tmi.me/6xdog

deezeegirl: @ActionChick I support @PetDocToRescue! They are a non-profit & all money raised goes directly to the animals care until they get a 4ever Hm

TJSlipperman: @ActionChick For me it’s autism awareness & autistic rights. You might already know that I have Asperger’s syndrome, a form of mild autism.Those on the autistic spectrum have far more difficulty w/ life and fitting in w/ society than normal people.There’s many autism awareness/rights sites, too many to list…and there was the #TeamAutism thing on Twitter a few weeks ago.

callouscomics: @ActionChick I support and am part of #webcomicscookbook cause proceeds go to North American Food Banks. http://tgtmedia.com

furious_element: @ActionChick builtonrespect.com run by @huffpost columnist @HeidiMinx and committed to the people of Tibet. Retweet

elizabethamber: @ActionChick http://bit.ly/ePhaLV I’m raising month this month for the MDA with @thenerdybird. Click the link to see why. 🙂

Dalanna23: @ActionChick i cut off all of my hair and donated it to Locks of Love I think if people are going to cut off a lot of hair, give it to them

ChrisCashSayz: @ActionChick ALL I WANT: is a world in which everybody cares about each other, NOT LOVED, just cared… Imagine That

notmikestark: @ActionChick http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org the greatest casualty is being forgotten. The project has helped my friends & former coworkers.

Shadowbat: @ActionChick That would be @aplacetobark . Bernie saved the lives of 700 unwanted pets last year. Seriously, please promote her. If all her followers contributed even $1 a year she could do so much more

GeekyJules: @ActionChick Lupus Awareness Art Gallery http://s.tt/11Aa5 Because sometimes it is lupus and most people are clueless re: this disease

ReynardCity: @ActionChick Trying to help @UEA_Headlights develop young comedy performers. Need sponsors for trip to Edinburgh Fringe arts festival.

geekyjessica: @ActionChick My friend Josh Tate of Bad Robot is doing @HellWalk2011 to support Children’s Hope Chest. His website tells the story of one man dedicating 5 months of his life completely to a very small, not well known charity. http://bit.ly/hEWyFQ

Please feel free to share other good causes in the comments below. If the spam filter keeps it from appearing, you may need to report without including http:// in any website address.

If you see friends retweeting their friends’ causes, consider reinforcing that by re-retweeting and by following them. #1GoodCause