Tweeting the Most Good

More than 50 of St. Louis’ most influential Twitter users were on-hand for The Salvation Army’s annual #TweetTheMostGood event held Tuesday at the Moonrise Hotel’s Eclipse Restaurant.

The tweetup – sponsored by Social Media Club St. Louis – encouraged discussion among social media newbies and experts alike about “Doing the Most Good” in our community and sharing the Army’s message through Twitter.

Don Hutcheson, regional vice president for Panera Bread (@PaneraBread) was the keynote speaker for the evening. He discussed Panera’s newest social experiment in St. Louis, the Meal of Shared Responsibility, and its effects on the community. The initiative provides Panera patrons a meal of turkey chili in a sourdough bread bowl at no set cost. There are three payment options: pay the suggested amount, pay more than suggested to compensate for someone who can’t afford to pay; or pay what you can afford. The option allows a much-needed opportunity for the 1 in 6 St. Louisans who suffer from food insecurity.

Hutcheson explained that – similar to the Panera Cares community cafes – the Meal of Shared of Responsibility is well on its way to being a self-sufficient program.

“It’s really showed us what kind of community we have here,” Hutcheson said. “St. Louisans have really stepped up to help their neighbors and make this as successful as it is.”

Even the Moonrise Hotel patrons that were not in the restaurant as part of the tweetup stopped what they were doing to hear more about the philanthropic tendencies of fellow St. Louisans.

After an uplifting and inspiring presentation from Hutcheson, participants heard from Raven Steele – a member of the Salvation Army communications team and success story from the Army’s Adult Rehabilitative Center (ARC).

“The first time The Salvation Army saved my life was when they found me bleeding to death in a gutter with a gunshot wound to my back,” Steele began. With an opening line like that, the audience was captivated from the get-go.

Steele – involved heavily with drugs and gangs since he was a young boy – was delivered to the ARC in shackles, given the choice of years in a state penitentiary or changing his life with a stay at the ARC.

“I chose The Salvation Army and have never looked back,” he said. “That was the second time they saved my life.”

Dana Biermann, the Army’s Digital Marketing and Communications Manager, closed the program by explaining the importance of events like #TweetTheMostGood.

“Our motto at The Salvation Army is ‘Doing the Most Good,’ and while we work diligently to do that, we also know that we’re not the only ones,” Biermann said. “Recognizing businesses like Panera and sharing what they’re doing for the betterment of our community is beneficial for all of us. It uplifts and inspires others to ‘do the most good’ in their own way, making St. Louis a better place to live for us all.”