Since 2009, Twestival Phoenix has raised almost $60,000 for global and local causes. What started as a real life tweet-up to raise money has become an entire month of fundraising in Phoenix online and in person.

This year Twestival Phoenix is raising money for Teen Lifeline, an established Phoenix 501c3 organization working to give teens ways to cope with life- being different, being bullied, being human. Every year they take 12,000 calls from teens and children, often offering the last hope many of these kids have, and offering kids paths to leadership to help their peers.

Social media has brought us together, and for some people, has opened a whole new way to be part of the world- but the same tools that we use to be social can be used to bully. From September 16-October 16, we’re going to take a measure of the kindness in Phoenix. Every time you tweet or instagram with the hashtag #takecharge, the meter on twestivalphx.com will measure it using bleeding edge sentiment analysis tools.

 

Every positive mention will drive the meter up, and each negative, trolling or spam message will drive it down. As it dips the community can respond with more positivity to keep the meter in the green and drown out the negativity. Every weekday the meter remains in the green at midnight, Cox Communications will donate $750 to Teen Lifeline and we’ll reset the meter for the next day. That’s $15,000 to help give kids hope, to give them coping skills, to give them skills to be better peers.

More importantly, it shows the world that social media can be used for good. You never know if the simplest kindness can turn around someone’s day or be what they need to hear to have hope. We can show that good CAN be louder than bad. We can set an example as adults of how media should be used, and maybe by exercising how it feels to be kind over a month, affect how people use social media in Phoenix for the rest of the year.

 

“We’re proud to partner with Twestival Phoenix again and excited to help address this important problem by supporting what Teen Lifeline is doing to combat bullying,” says Greg Ensell, Manager of Government and Public Affairs for Cox Communications.

So start tweeting and instagraming good today- use our tweet generator if you need ideas, and help us #TakeCharge of bullying in Phoenix. Then come celebrate our success October 15, at the Clayton on the Park for our Twestival Tweet Up! Tickets are available now.