(Photo credit: CNS, Reuters. Jonathan Bachman)

VIRTUAL NEIGHBORS is...
A social mediathon for disaster relief. Individuals and groups will choose their own time to show off their talents right where they are, promote their event to their own loved ones and followers, and then livestream or post their appearance on their social media channels, accompanied by direct donation links to Charity-navigator-recommended relief organizations. Keep reading for how to help.

When
October 6-8, beginning Friday night and ending Sunday night, at the time of your choosing

Where
Wherever you are. You can record in your living room or arrange a public space. You decide what feels right for you and what you can pull off: a broadcast from your own backyard, or school, a church, cafe, theater, athletic field, or [fill in the blank]. 

How

• Decide what to do. (See ideas below). This is a natural fit for writers, musicians, and theatre artists, but don’t be limited to the obvious—if you have a talent and friends who’d enjoy it, go for it!
• Decide who will be participating. You can do this alone, with friends, your family, or entire groups. You can set a time just for you on your social media, or get a number of participants to share a longer time slot posted on multiple social media sites at once.
• Announce your event time on social media to your circles, use the hashtag #virtualneighbors, and then remind people as the event gets closer. Encourage everyone who enjoys what you to do to tune in and also use this moment as a way to reach people who never get to see your talents on display. 
• Livestream or post a recorded performance on your platform. Go live on Facebook, Instagram, or Periscope. Post on Musical.ly or stream on Live.ly. Host a video chat on Snapchat. Host a Google Hangout. Start a tweet thread on Twitter. (Consider a trial run first!) Make sure to do so at the announced time and leave up for as long as you like or your platform allows. Remember to identify your event with #virtualneighbors
• Direct your viewers to approved charities: Houston Food Bank (Texas), St. Bernard Project (Louisiana), Direct Relief (Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mexico, and Caribbean), and Global Giving (Caribbean and Florida). All four have Charity Navigator 4-star ratings and have direct links below for donation. Include the links in your post for sure and (either verbally or by signage) include how to donate in your social media post. IMPORTANT: Do not accept donations personally; use the charities’ direct links only. (Virtual Neighbors does not endorse performers handling donations.)
• Encourage others to set up their own Virtual Neighbors events that weekend and raise funds themselves!

25 Ways to Share Your Talent
Do a reading of your written work in any genre; sing solo or with your band or choir; perform an instrumental music solo or with an ensemble; do monologues from a play; have your theatre or drama club perform scenes from a play; do a dance performance; do cheer routines; do a cooking lesson of a favorite recipe; preach a sermon; do spoken work; have your athletic team show their skills; lead a pep rally; host a talent show; show off a collection of your art; make an artwork live while viewers watch; give a lecture; do a Q&A; tell jokes; do an improv show; make your own music video; do a table read of a new play or screenplay; let your kids show their talents; teach a skill; give a tour of a favorite location; or record yourself playing a video game. Bonus: If you're real talent is social, host an online family or school reunion!

Why These Charities

Charity Navigator has given four-star ratings to the following organizations and included them in its list of best charities for Hurricane Harvey and Irma relief. I chose four already mobilized to the affected areas: Houston Food Bank for Texas, St. Bernard Project for Louisiana, Global Giving (Caribbean and Florida), and Direct Relief, with people already on the ground in all three affected US States, Mexico City, and the Caribbean. (Direct Relief is Charity Navigator's highest-rated disaster relief charity.)

Direct donation links to use: 
bit.ly/VirtualNeighborsDR
bit.ly/VirtualNeighborsGG2
bit.ly/VirtualNeighborsHFB 

bit.ly/VirtualNeighborsSBP

6 Things to Know

1. This is grassroots. This is you. To say that you are participating in Virtual Neighbors, follow the no-cash guidelines and post performances October 7-9, but otherwise, do it your way. There’s no staff, no institution, no tech support here—just community spirit.
2. Audience size doesn't matter. Your audience might be six people in your family or 1,000 in your social media circles—it's fine as long as you are providing donation opportunities.
3. It's not about proving how much money you raise. Because donations are direct, you won’t get the excitement of seeing a big number on a screen, and that’s by design: this is about relief, not reward. Whether your friends/followers donate $50 or $500 to a charity on the ground in affected areas, the donations will go to work.
4. We won't know know how many Virtual Neighbors there are. We will likely never know how many performances get posted, and that’s ok too. (See #3!) But we will share as many as we know of.
5. Length of event is up to you, as long as your viewers have a chance to donate.
6. This is not a self-promotion event. Check your ego at the door and make this a community-building, relief-providing experience.

CONTACT

Questions? Contact me through my author page