Several months ago, the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance thought up the lofty goal of raising $50,000 to donate to the battle against cancer. An example is rare aggressive cancers like mesothelioma that is triggered from asbestos exposure. The plan was to donate $1 for every new Twitter follower supporting the drive. The fundraising event is organized as a competition, with St. Jude’s hospital, Susan G. Komen, and The Jimmy Fund serving as the top contenders. As of mid-August, the three groups were neck and neck, separated by fewer than 100 votes. The fierce competition is understandable, as the winning organization will be awarded over $20,000 to go towards research and a variety of services aimed at cancer patients.
The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance’s $50k to Cancer campaign has attracted a lot of attention from celebrities. Khloe Kardashian has been a stand-out in the effort. Through Twitter, the reality television star encouraged her four million followers to contribute to the campaign. A single Tweet ended up convincing over 14,000 Kardashian followers to vote for their favorite organizations. This resulted in an extra $14,000 being contributed to the campaign.
Kardashian was partially inspired to contribute to the campaign by her father, who went through the horrifying experience of battling esophageal cancer. Her husband Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom also got in the game by entering his own charity into the running. Odom’s charity, Cathy’s Kids Foundation, focuses on finding a cure for cancer while providing much needed treatments for cancer patients. Like Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom lost a parent to cancer. His mother passed away from stomach cancer shortly after Odom’s 12th birthday.
Lamar Odom isn’t the only celebrity to help out with the campaign. Arizona Cardinals defensive back Kerry Rhodes provided his own assistance by tweeting the message to his 400,000 followers, many of whom were happy to help out with an important cause. With so many high profile people spreading the message, it is no wonder the $50k to Cancer campaign has seen so much success thus far. The campaign is beginning to draw to a close, but it still isn’t over. Organizations have until September 2nd to convince people to join in on the campaign. Collectively, these important groups have the potential to make a difference in the lives of millions of cancer patients.
Developing a Twitter campaign is no small feat. It takes time and patience to develop a large following. Essentially in order to generate the maximum amount of followers is to engage the Twitter sphere. You must mention, mention, and mention.
Getting one of the most popular Twitter presences took a lot of work. It was with the help of her followers and their constant tweeting that Khloe noticed the campaign and re-tweeted. Basically, it all comes down to having a strong message and the ability to spread the word about ones initiatives. If you devout hours a day for weeks or months at a time you can build a strong following. Good luck!