It all comes together to total $35,000 for Canadian Red Cross Haiti Relief.

The YYC4Haiti team is so very pleased to announce it will be presenting a cheque worth almost $35,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Relief. The total becomes $70,ooo with the federal government’s dollar-for-dollar match.

A single Tweet from Camilla Di Giuseppe on Jan. 13, one day after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, turned into the one snowflake that starts a blizzard.

Co-organizers Di Giuseppe, Alex Ruiz and Angela MacIsaac used Twitter, which endorsed the event, to spread the word and gather volunteers, donations and gifts to be auctioned off or drawn for. A Facebook page and event page were created as well.

The event, also endorsed by NHL Tweetup, took place one week ago today at a packed Flames Central on Stephen Avenue in Calgary.

“We reached out to Calgary, especially the #yyc Twitter community, and people were jumping at the opportunity to help — whether it was volunteering, attending or donating,” says Di Giuseppe. “We are so very proud of the way Calgary turned out to support this event and the people of Haiti.”

Crave Cupcakes, a local business with four locations in Calgary, created a special edition cupcake, marked by sprinkles of red and blue, the colours of the Haiti flag. All proceeds from the sale of the cupcakes, which quickly sold out each day for a week, were donated, along with contributions from the staff Christmas party and a tip jar.

“Crave came through with a cheque for $5,000, bringing us to our amazing total,” says Ruiz. “It’s a huge help and we greatly appreciate the way Crave contributed, along with all of the other donors, from Strategic Group to the  Calgary Flames and large and small businesses in Calgary and throughout Canada and the United States.”

Strategic Group donated a $15,000 destination package as a grand prize.

WestJet also was a lead donor, contributing return airfare for two to anywhere the airline flies. The Calgary Flames, Calgary Roughnecks, Calgary Stampeders and Calgary Hitmen all donated jerseys and/or tickets, showing a united effort by the city’s major sports teams.

The Calgary Stampede and Kinsmen Club of Calgary sent volunteers to the event to work side by side with members of the Twitter community, keeping the night running smoothly.

“It’s impossible to thank everyone individually but we offer our deepest gratitude to everyone who supported YYC4Haiti,” says MacIsaac. “We had more than $30,000 worth of donations to give away or auction off and we had almost 60 volunteers to help the event keep running smoothly.”

The YYC4Haiti hashtag reached ‘Trending Topic’ status on Twitter for most of the night of the event. In addition, the Ustream webcast had 2,000 viewers at one point of the night.

“Our fundraiser truly shows the power of social media,” says Di Giuseppe. “It’s incredible how we were able to generate such interest and involvement just by using Twitter and Facebook.”

Strategic Group of Calgary has donated a generous destination package to beautiful Kelowna, B.C., this spring.

The prize includes:

• Four days and four nights at the Okanagan Delta Grand Royal Private Residence Club,
  May 6-9, 2010 – coinciding with Okanagan Wine Festival
• 3,000-sq-ft waterfront villa
• Suite sleeps six comfortably – all rooms have king-size beds and views of the waterfront
• Kitchen, dining room and all amenities of home
• Brunch for up to six people at the Grand Bay Cafe
• Return flight for two to Kelowna, via WestJet

Strategic Group is one of Alberta’s largest private owners and developers of commercial real estate. The company owns 71 properties which equal approximately 4.5 million sq. ft. of space, including office buildings, shopping centres, industrial facilities, residential units and development projects.

“We are absolutely overwhelmed by Strategic Group’s generosity,” said Camilla Di Giuseppe, who leads the YYC4Haiti team with Alex Ruiz and Angela MacIsaac.

“So many people are coming forward with donations in the form of door prizes and items for raffle and auction. This prize is the piece de resistance for our event.”

All proceeds from YYCHaiti – a night watching the Calgary Flames-Phoenix Coyotes on Pay Per View at Flames Central – will be donated to Canadian Red Cross Haiti Relief.

The destination package will be available through a big-ticket raffle with a second prize of two return tickets anywhere WestJet flies and a third prize of a Calgary Flames jersey, signed by the entire team. Three individually autographed Flames jerseys, along with other autographed NHL jerseys, will be available through live auction.

“The donations have been rolling in fast and furious,” said MacIsaac. “Businesses and individuals are sending us their donations from as far away as Ottawa and the United States. We received a Tweet from Canadian rock legend Ra MaGuire of Trooper who is coordinating a prize on behalf of the band.”

The entire effort has been coordinated via social-media platforms. To date, the Twitter account, @yyc4haiti, has attracted 201 followers, the Facebook page has 425 fans and, last but most importantly, the Facebook event page has 228 confirmed guests for YYC4Haiti.

“These social-media tools have given us an amazing ability to connect with people, not only to get them interested in attending the event, but also in volunteering their time and donating to the cause,” said Ruiz.

“We are so excited to see everyone out at Flames Central and we are thrilled with the support we have received to date.”

Contact Information

YYC4Haiti.com

Alex Ruiz: (403)519-4308; alex@calixmedia.com; Twitter: @alex_ruiz

Camilla Di Giuseppe: (403)589-8506; Camilla.digiuseppe@ctv.ca; Twitter: @C_DIG

Angela MacIsaac: (403)466-3574; angela.macisaac@gmail.com; Twitter: @that_angela

What: YYC4Haiti, a Calgary fundraiser for the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Relief
When: Thursday, January 28, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Flames Central
Who: YYC4Haiti, a team assembled via Twitter. Contact information below.

January 17, 2010

CALGARY—Three Calgary women have spearheaded a team to mobilize the city’s social-media and business communities to raise funds for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Camilla Di Giuseppe of CTV Calgary, Alex Ruiz of Calix Media and the Calgary Flames and former Calgary sports writer Angela MacIsaac have joined forces to lead a team organizing a fundraiser, YYC4Haiti, at Flames Central on Thursday, January 28, starting at 5:30 p.m.

The event will take place during the Calgary Flames-Phoenix Coyotes Pay Per View game. The Flames, along with the Calgary Stampeders, Calgary Roughnecks and Calgary Hitmen, have become major donors to the event, offering autographed jerseys, tickets and other items to a silent auction and door prizes.

“It is extremely difficult to watch the images and read the details that continue to emerge about the widespread devastation and suffering in Haiti,” said Di Giuseppe. “To put it simply, we want to help. The concept of YYC4Haiti took its first breath over the social-media platform Twitter, which is our primary tool in engaging and mobilizing the Calgary community.

“Now we are looking at the biggest charity ‘Tweetup’ Calgary has ever seen and we only have two weeks to do it!”

Followers of the #yyc hashtag, the search funnel for all things Calgary-related and named  for the city’s airport code, have not hesitated to get involved, many offering items for auction and door prizes or noting their intent to attend and donate to the cause.

“In just the span of one day on Twitter, we had Calgarians come forward to volunteer, to make donations and to say they’ll attend,” Ruiz said. “We’ve even had people from across Canada and the U.S., who have noticed the YYC4Haiti effort, offer to mail us donations for the silent auction!”

“YYC4Haiti is bringing everyone together. The tragic images and devastation in Haiti affect everyone, so we want to do everything possible to help. We know Calgary can come together and make a huge difference and we’re challenging the business community in our city to match the donations we raise.”

All proceeds for the event will be forwarded to the Canadian Red Cross, which is leading Canadian efforts to provide urgently needed support to survivors in Haiti and to address the longer-term needs of affected communities.

“Our hearts go out to those survivors in Haiti,” said MacIsaac. “It isn’t just about buildings and infrastructure. Lives and entire families have been destroyed. There is still a large number of Canadians missing as well and we can’t help but want to do all we can.”

For more information or to offer donations of cash or silent-auction and door-prize items, please contact:

Alex Ruiz: (403)519-4308; alex@calixmedia.com; Twitter: @alex_ruiz
Camilla Di Giuseppe: (403)589-8506; camilla.digiuseppe@ctv.ca; Twitter: @C_DIG
Angela MacIsaac: (403)466-3574;  angela.macisaac@gmail.com; Twitter: @that_angela