La Vida Idealist

Thanks to you, we came a close second in October’s Ideablob competition.  But don’t be too down! We didn’t win, but a lot of people learned about our cause.

Now we’re in another competition, this time with better odds and a bigger reward. But we need your vote! No donation is needed. You just need to be on Facebook.

Facebook has opened many doors by allowing people to connect virtually to share resources and ideas. Recently, organizations have been using Facebook as a tool to reach out to new prospective business partners and clients. In an attempt to do just that, the Chase Foundation launched Chase Community Giving, a contest in which they are going to give away $5 million dollars to local charities. The public is formally invited to decide which charities receive this donation, and the 100 charities that receive the most number of votes will win $ 25,000 each.

Catalytic Communities is urging you and your friends to vote for our charity by December 11, 2009. If we win, we´ll be able use this vital money to train over 200 community leaders from across Rio´s favelas (low income communities) in social media and develop an online hub where their stories will be told.

The city of Rio currently has a list of approximately 19 peaceful and innovative low income communities that are slated for removal. These communities learned about their impending fate from the newspaper. City officials have never even been to these communities to talk with the residents or grant them an opportunity for public comment. Especially because Rio is currently in the global spotlight, it is important to teach and empower local residents to make their voices heard in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics. The purpose of our project is to make sure the Olympics bring a powerful and proud legacy for all residents of Rio.

To sweeten the deal, anyone who votes in this competition and sends us a screenshot of them doing so will be in the running for a free round-trip ticket to Rio de Janeiro in 2010. This way, you will be able to see our work up close! Send your screenshot to roar@catcomm.org.  (If you’re already in Rio, we will send you somewhere else.)

Thank you for voting and continuing to support our work!

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