In the 16 years that I have been doing sponsored events, the generosity of the general public, especially Geordies, never ceases to amaze me.Saturday evening was the very first ever #tweetupnufc. This was essentially a social meeting of some Newcastle United supporters, who had never met each other before, in The Strawberry pub in Newcastle. Other than our great club, the thing that had brought this particular group together was the use of Twitter.
Sadly, due to my "bionic ankle" bedding in, I could not attend the event. I did, however, send a message on Twitter to one of the organisers, @helush, to ask if it would be possible to have a whipround in aid of the 2 charities. I got a response almost immediately and she said that it was a great idea. There were also a few other messages that day from other attendees who said they would try their best to raise a tidy sum for charity.
Sadly, due to my "bionic ankle" bedding in, I could not attend the event. I did, however, send a message on Twitter to one of the organisers, @helush, to ask if it would be possible to have a whipround in aid of the 2 charities. I got a response almost immediately and she said that it was a great idea. There were also a few other messages that day from other attendees who said they would try their best to raise a tidy sum for charity.
I suppose it can be quite daunting to attend such an event. I've ran with people who I've met via Twitter before. It's quite a strange feeling to have to introduce yourself to a complete stranger at first. However, I can appreciate where #tweetupnufc attendee @NewcastleDavey is coming from when he blogged "... it wasn’t long before a healthy gathering of like-minded folk were chatting like old friends and discussing all manner of topics, NUFC and otherwise.".
He went on to say "@HuddoHudson hopes the events will help to engage fans. Along with bloggers, the Newcastle United Supporters Trust, local journalists and possibly even the club, the idea is that these events can assist in rejuvenating the social fabric of the club - the fans.".
So what of the whipround? I was really chuffed when I heard that £55 had been raised. £25 was paid to The Children's Foundation and £30 was paid to St Benedict's Hospice via justgiving.com. That £30 donation to the Hospice saw the amount raised for them burst through the £5,000 barrier. The overall total for both charities stands at £10,684.68. It is the kind of generosity shown by all of the folk at #tweetupnufc that is going to make a real difference to people's lives in our region.
He went on to say "@HuddoHudson hopes the events will help to engage fans. Along with bloggers, the Newcastle United Supporters Trust, local journalists and possibly even the club, the idea is that these events can assist in rejuvenating the social fabric of the club - the fans.".
So what of the whipround? I was really chuffed when I heard that £55 had been raised. £25 was paid to The Children's Foundation and £30 was paid to St Benedict's Hospice via justgiving.com. That £30 donation to the Hospice saw the amount raised for them burst through the £5,000 barrier. The overall total for both charities stands at £10,684.68. It is the kind of generosity shown by all of the folk at #tweetupnufc that is going to make a real difference to people's lives in our region.
Thanks to @helush, @huddohudson and @sh**eseats for organising the do and to everyone else who contributed. I look forward to meeting you all and being able to say thanks in person at the next #tweetupnufc.
