As Karen mentioned in a post earlier this week, we're amping-up our involvement with charity, community, and "for cause" initiatives.  This will involve various company efforts, and for many we'll want Posties to get involved as well.

To kick-off our "for cause" program, we'll be having a new feature every month called "Blogger with a Cause."  Basically, we'll be highlighting a blog/blogger that uses their blog as a platform for raising awareness of a specific cause or need, be it local or global, big or small.  This can be a charity, an environmental cause, a disease....  You get the idea.

Since today is the first day of May, we decided this would be a great jumping off point.  The very first "Blogger with a Cause" is actually nominated in the "Best Charity Blog" category at BloggersChoiceAwards.com.  The blog is titled "Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference," and here's a little bit about the blog, the author, and the cause:

"Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference" is authored by an 11-year-old girl named Laura (with the help of her mother).  She is a fifth grade student who blogs in memory of her grandfather, who lost his battle with brain cancer.  Laura began her blog on December 1st of 2007, doing simple good deeds and writing about them, hoping that she would inspire a handful of others to do the same during the 25 days before Christmas.  She wound up with 18,000 visitors in one month, with dozens of people participating, and generated over 800 dollars in charitable donations in just three weeks.  One classroom of winners won a web-conference with two NASA scientists, who donated their time when they saw Laura's site. All of this has been incredibly shocking and rewarding beyond belief.  Laura did not expect any of this to happen--she is very new to blogging, but loving every minute of it now.

There are a few things you should take note of on the site:

- The "About" section.  Of course this is where you can learn all about Laura, and her reason for starting this blog.
- Badges.  If you feel led, you can help Laura promote her blog by displaying a badge on your site.
- Contests.  There are several contest ideas for individuals and groups.  This is a great way for Laura to engage with her readers.
- Press.  Click the "Press" tab to find out who's featured "Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference."

We have a huge network of bloggers and advertisers, and we're sure you know of some blogs you could share with us (they don't necessarily have to be Posties).  If you do, please drop us the blog url by e-mailing charity[at]izea[dot]com.  We hope you enjoy this new feature, and that it even inspires you to get involved in a cause you're interested in.

Posted by Ashley at 02:42 PM in Blogging , Social Media | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)