Good news everyone!

Recently I entered charityspam.com in a competition run by Telstra and CBM Australia called #blogforgood.

The competition was open to any blogger who, um, blogs for good – yes a perfect fit for my posts on charityspam.com.

The challenge for me was trying to quantify how my blog has helped effect positive social change and/or highlight a social issue over the past year.  But this challenge is nothing at all compared to the enormous challenge that lies ahead should I win this competition….(more about the prize shortly).

Click here to see my #blogforgood entry, please tell me what you think!

So the good news is….I have been shortlisted as a finalist in this #blogforgood competition.  

I know I will be thrilled with the result either way.  The worst I can do is come 3rd. The BEST I can do, is have the HUGE honour (and enormous responsibility) to #blogforgood from Tanzania for one week, starting on 21 April 2012 (yes in less than 3 weeks) and attempt to shine a light on some of the incredible life-changing projects CBM Australia are working on.

For over one hundred years, CBM has been improving the lives of people with a disability in the poorest countries in the world. In 2011, CBM’s family around the world reached 23.2 million people in need, through over 880 projects in 99 countries. In these developing countries disability often leads to poverty, and vice versa. Their work is focused on breaking this horrific and heart-breaking cycle.

So, I need your help! If I have ever inspired you to do anything kind for another person, or if you think I have what it takes to make a difference and #blogforgood from Tanzania, then I would be very grateful if you could do one, or ALL of these things:

1. View my #blogforgood entry here, and leave me a (nice) comment on how I have inspired you to do something socially kind.  Tell the judges why you love my blog and why you think I should #blogforgood in Tanzania.
2. Visit the CBM Australia facebook page and tell them why you think I should #blogforgood from Tanzania (why not like them too while you are there!)
3. Share my entry on your facebook page, here is an example of what one of my lovely charityspam subscribers wrote:
”Please comment/like/share Tara Castle‘s #blogforgood entry. Changing the world for the better, one blog at a time http://www.slideshare.net/TaraCastle/blogforgood-tara-castle-charityspamcom”
4. Tweet about my entry using hashtag #blogforgood and again telling the judges why I should #blogforgood from Tanzania.

THANK YOU for your ongoing kindness in support of my blog.  The social media love of reshares and retweets (you know who you are) the encouraging comments, all of the clicks, but most of all, I love the action that is a result of my blog – thank you.

Either way, in reading my fellow do-gooders (competitors) blogs, I now have a couple of new-favourite social kindness blogs to follow.  Check out Tina Jensen’s blog You bloody ripper.

I have enjoyed reflecting on the past year and impact of charityspam and know that if I have inspired even one person to join me in making the world a better place, then either way I feel like a winner.

ps stay tuned for my next post, which will be trying to raise a backpacks worth of something (note to self, find out what they might need) to send over with the #blogforgood winner…