SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 7, 2011 — Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and the philanthropic venture craigconnects, is celebrating his 59th birthday by asking for a unique kind of gift – a tweet on Twitter about what someone considers the perfect gift this holiday season. Each time someone responds and tweets using the hashtag #perfectgift, Newmark will make a $1 contribution to the American Red Cross, up to a maximum of $10,000, for the purchase of military comfort kits.
"For my birthday I hope folks will help me give the gift of hope by telling me what they think the perfect gift is, for themselves or to give someone else," said Newmark. "When they do it on Twitter and use the hashtag #perfectgift, I'll donate $1 per tweet to the American Red Cross for military comfort kits."
Newmark said the use of Twitter would help get the word out quickly to his nearly 45,000 followers and their followers, and use of the hashtag #perfectgift would help him track the results so he can determine how much to donate. Newmark is also promoting the campaign on Facebook where he has more than 123,000 friends and through his blog at www.craigconnects.org. The campaign will run through the end of December.
"The more people participate the more we can help our veterans," said Newmark.
Newmark's offer is intended to not only raise funds for military kits but also to raise awareness of the entire American Red Cross's 2011 Holiday Giving Catalog. The catalog has 25 symbolic gifts representing all Red Cross services that can be purchased in the name of a loved one during the holiday season. Donations can provide food and shelter to a victim of a disaster, purchase phone cards and personal items for a member of the armed forces, or help supply basic necessities to families in desperate need in countries across the world.
Examples of gifts include military comfort kits ($50), a phone card for a service member to call home ($20), hot meals for disaster victims (3 for $30), hygiene kits for homeless veterans (3 for $30), and lifesaving vaccinations for children worldwide (25 for $25).
craigconnects is Newmark's personal venture involving philanthropy and public service. Its goal is to leverage the power of the Internet and social media to identify, connect and empower effective and sustainable nonprofits.
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