A child dies of starvation every 6 mins in Somalia. Thanks for helping raise $18,000 so far!

No doubt.  I'm just letting it circulate around the front page at the moment so we can build some momentum. 
Unfortunately, people often ignore the pinned topics.  We want as many people to find out about this as possible - but we'll need your help. 

During the morning lull, this topic will be pinned to the top of the forum and copies will be added at the top of all major forums as well, but you can really give us a boost by promoting this in your signatures, through social networks, etc.  I know a lot of you have more followers on Twitter than our official account, @niketalk1999, does.

I would love for this fundraiser to be as successful as our efforts to raise money for Japan, but we'll really need to pull together to compensate for the lack of media attention.  People don't seem to realize that this is EASILY on the same scale in terms of lives lost.  

theconditioner should be very proud of fundraising efforts to date.  You definitely have to applaud his initiative.  We're very fortunate that he's lent his dedication to such an urgent cause.  

Badges are non-transferable, just like join dates and post counts.  We want to encourage everyone to keep their accounts in good standing.  It's important to be a good citizen of the world, but we'd like you all to remain good citizens of NikeTalk, too. 

 

1.  NikeTalk is an international community.  We have members from all over the world.  NT's founder, Nelson C, lives in Canada.  Should we start there? 
2.  This is the worst drought the region has experienced in over 60 years.  It's an extraordinary circumstance and it requires an extraordinary response, just as the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti did.  Thankfully, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina people around the world didn't sit there and say to themselves, "yeah, but who cares about people in the US?  We have problems of our own."  Think about the resources that Somalia, as a country, has to devote to this problem.  They need international assistance. 

3.  All of the organizations you listed are international anyway.  If you donate to the general fund, a good portion of it will go to overseas programs. 

Conversely, Doctors Without Borders also does work in the United States.  

We're all connected and, in the words of Dr. King, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."   Make no mistake, it is a profound injustice that starvation persists on such a massive scale in Somalia at this moment - and it's one we have the power to address.

I just received notification of your donation a moment ago.  I'll add your badge shortly.  

Keep in mind that the code for these has to be added manually and, at the moment, I'm the only one doing so.  I appreciate everyone's patience.

I'll look into the banner change.  Part of the problem is simply timing.  We experience a seasonal lull during the summer months and receive roughly half of the traffic we experience at peak, which is in December/January.  

We'll have to fight for it, but we can meet our $3,000 goal by the end of the week if we make a concerted effort.  I may create a reminder thread on Friday, since so many people are waiting until they get paid.  

Hopefully people will keep in mind that this is indeed a life or death situation.  Our sense of urgency ought to reflect that.