Posted 12:04 am Sunday, April 22, 2012
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Get Connected East Texas Set To Start Playing Matchmaker
Have you ever seen the commercials for computer dating services? Often you have to put down a lot of information about yourself and then wait for someone who is looking for someone similar to you to respond.
And then hopefully, if Cupid is doing his job, a match made in heaven is born.
When it comes to matching nonprofit agencies with volunteers, East Texas has its own version of Cupid - Nan Moore, president of United Way Smith County.
Moore's version of a bow and error is a new web service called Get Connected East Texas.
"Think of it as a dating service between nonprofit organizations and individuals in the community who like to get involved in something they believe in or that interests them," Moore says in an announcement. "If we can tell the story of an agency and get people passionate about what that agency does, tell them about the success they are having, then we get people engaged."
She says a lot of people want to help in the community by giving of their time but are not sure where to begin.
"Get Connected East Texas helps both sides of the equation," says Moore.
The service uses the sharing aspects of social media. Nonprofits have the ability to use Get Connected East Texas as a platform to add blogs, videos and photos, create events and communicate through Facebook and Twitter, the announcement said.
Volunteers will also be able to create a profile, express their interests and search for organizations that match those interests.
Although administered by United Way of Smith County's Nonprofit Development Center, Get Connected East Texas is regional in scope.
United Way administrators and nonprofit representatives learned about this new tool earlier this month. Dozens of nonprofit agencies from throughout the region quickly signed up and created agency pages and many others are expected to do so soon.
You will be able to access Get Connected East Texas through the United Way of Smith County web site. Jo McMahan, director of the Nonprofit Development Center, says the service is scheduled to be up and running this week.
