Tony Chen, 34, of Glenview helped raise more than $3,500 in a single day for Haitian earthquake relief by working social networking sites.
The founder of Savvy Daddy, a social networking site for fathers, offered to donate 25 cents for every person who became a Facebook fan of World Vision(a humanitarian group that has served in Haiti for more than 30 years) in 24 hours time. World Vision has 800 volunteers on the ground in Haiti.
That's when an anonymous SavvyDaddy follower offered to triple Chen's donation --making it $1 for every new Facebook friend..
"When I offered 25 cents a few new fans trickled in, but when the other dad offered a triple match it started to go viral a bit. I was nervous it might explode, but pleased as well that we could help."
In a single day, 3,500 people joined World Vision.
"I made a donation over the phone the next day," Chen said. "It was double good. We were able to give money and now 3,500 more people are staying updated with World Vision on Facebook."
Chen, who traveled to Haiti on a service trip four years ago, said he decided to sponsor World Vision because the group has been working with Haitian locals for decades and will be there decades more.
"Six months from now when all the media is gone and people forget about Haiti they will still be there," Chen said. "And they have the local infrastructure and connections to keep helping people."
World vision spokesman John Yeager said the Seattle-based group has collected $15 million in donations in the last week for Haitian relief and most of it was from small donations via the internet.
"This kind of donation and the work Tony did makes a difference," Yeager said. "He was moved and you could feel it when you saw Savvy Daddy. You felt the urgency and see in his heart that he wanted to help. It makes a difference."