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Nonprofits Use Technology To Reach Public

Posted: 8/12/2010

Nonprofits are using social media sites, such as YouTube and Twitter, to reach potential donors.

(NewsUSA) - Television news programs don't cover everything that happens in the world. While some stories become media sensations, other events go unreported. For example, Americans see Britain and France in the news far more than they see Africa.

For the nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of people in third-world countries, it can be difficult to draw attention to worthy causes. Fortunately, YouTube -- the source of countless dancing babies and cute cat videos -- may help charities reach millions of potential donors.

YouTube videos offer nonprofits advantages that more traditional media cannot. For example, videos have staying power -- viewers can rewatch them, and older videos still feel fresh. Better yet, charities can use YouTube videos to present the faces and voices of the people they're trying to help.

For example, one charity, Bread and Water for Africa (www.africanrelief.org), recently created YouTube videos focusing on Eldoret, Kenya's Lewa Children's Home. The Home provides a loving environment, nutritious food, clean water, education and support for abandoned, orphaned or abused children.

The videos follow the home's founder, Phyllis Keino, called "Mom," as well as the children she cares for.Viewers can watch as Kenyan orphans eat their meals, go to school and do chores on Baraka Farm, which supports The Lewa Children's Home by providing food and funds from the sale of crops, livestock, milk, cheese, yogurt, honey and sunflower seed oil. The children's smiling faces lend a human element to a good cause -- helping some of Africa's estimated 50 million child orphans.

Other charities are also using social media to draw public attention. For example, Charity: Water, a nonprofit organization focused on bringing clean water to African villages, used Twitter to organize a "Twestival," a series of 200 charity events around the globe. The Twestival raised $250,000 for the charity.

Links to the YouTube videos about The Lewa Children's Home can be found on The Bread and Water for Africa home page (www.africanrelief.org).

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