On July 19th, I went to Haley House Bakery and Café in Roxbury for the Dear #RoxTweet event. It was hosted by three organizations: Swellr, Haley House, and Discover Roxbury. Haley House is a non-profit organization dedicated to social good and incorporating the community in their work. Because of the many organizations that post in the café about events they are having and causes to get involved with, it can be considered a hub for those involved in social cause to network with each other and share ideas. Thanks to the networking possibilities available, Swellr and Discover Roxbury linked up with Haley House for this tweetup. Swellr is a marketplace that enables community members to fund education projects they care about by shopping locally. Their mission is to harness local purchasing power to boost community investment in local businesses and education. Discover Roxbury is meant for those coming from out-of-town to see what the area has to offer. It encourages participation in the neighborhood’s civic life. With these three joining forces, the event turned out to be very organized and enjoyable.
The event was very easy to get to. It was on the #8 bus route. There was a lot of parking available for those driving to the event. It was also easy to find. There was someone on the street to greet those attending the event. The hashtag for the event was #RoxTweet. There was enough room for everyone to walk and talk at the venue. Because of the hot weather, everyone was moved outside into an alleyway-type side street where it was much cooler. The venue worked for the tweet-up because the theme of the Haley House and the organizations co-hosting the event all coincide with social justice/action and helping the community. There were so many people at the event! I would guesstimate about 50 attendees. Nametags were not available at the event however after speaking to them, this is something they will add to their events in the future.
The event had a great vibe to it. It was very laid back, friendly people everywhere, and all were there with the same objective: to promote social justice in the Boston area. People expected at an event like this are usually working with some type of social mission, whether it be profit or non-profit. Those passionate about social change and organizations working toward a social good can also be expected there.
“This should be seen as an opportunity to network; a chance to meet others interested and working in the same field as you are,” said Nathan Rothstein, co-founder and director of community engagement at Swellr. “Co-hosting an event can bring new connections to your circle and advocate collaborations between different groups,” said Bing Broderick, business and marketing director of Haley House. “The end goal of Dear RoxTweet is for people to promote themselves to a new group of people; introduce people to what the different organizations are doing. To bring likeminded organizations together and network to each other’s fan base is something we strive to initiate. We want to increase the connectivity between people working in the social justice playing field so we can help each other.”
Any last tips or tricks for those interested in planning their own tweet-up? “Challenge people’s assumptions. That’s always fun.” “The more co sponsors, the better. The more groups you have involved, the more people know about the event. This works off the idea of ‘word of mouth’.”
More information
- Organizer: Nathan Rothsteain of Swellr (nrothstein@swellr.com), Bing Broderick (bbroderick@haleyhouse.org), and Discover Roxbury
- Social: @swellr, @hhbakerycafe, Hashtag: #Roxtweet