Social media is a great tool for connecting people. It is used for emergencies and disaster relief, so why not soup kitchens?According to a CNN story discussed in this previous Salty Waffle article, social media is a tool that is helping homeless people feel connected and empowered. They are using it to find a voice and housing. Your church can social media to help connect this community. If you host a soup kitchen or any time of community outreach program, social media is for you. Utilizing many social media sites together would create the best result for connecting those you want to serve:.
Twitter: is great for announcements and connecting people to your website. People are quick to react on Twitter.
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Facebook: is for community engagement. Anyone who likes your facebook page is able to post messages about the soup kitchen. Volunteers can post about their experience or grateful people served can say thank you.
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Foursquare: is a location based social media site that would work wonders for showing others who is at your event. When the soup kitchen is open and people check in, others can see that their friends are their and go as well. This is best for volunteers who want to serve while also having fun.
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Yelp: is great for searching and having reviews of your soup kitchen. This is a social media site that homeless people can go on to see where the closest soup kitchen is to their location.
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VolunteerMatch: is your go to site to connect your church with volunteers. In addition to your congregation volunteering, you may be able to connect with others in your community who are looking for the opportunity to volunteer.
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YouTube: After you start your soup kitchen, you can upload a video to YouTube to share what your church is doing. Here is an example of a soup kitchen video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zwwe-WGNfU [/youtube]