tabithalaine:

The expansion of social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are most notable for bringing stars and corporations closer to their target audiences and fans. Companies, such as Urban Outfitters, can post links to new collections and specials, while the Hollywood elite can invite the world into their personal lives with updates of pictures, videos or statuses. Some skeptics say these outlets have disconnected members of society from one another due to lack of personal interaction and depth, but what if the benefits have yet to come to full fruition? Could social networking, in it’s maturity, be the very tool used to rally the human race under a common cause or movement?

On Friday, November 27, 2009, the Pundik family didn’t spend Black Friday shopping in the early morning like most families. An unidentified infection instead sent mother, Maureen Pundik, to Broward General Medical Center CVICU and left her in critical condition. Though she was stable, Maureen’s heart was functioning at 10% and a heart transplant became necessary. As if the situation wasn’t urgent enough, the Pundik’s then received word that their insurance would not cover the surgery. On December 1, 2009 HelpMendAHeart.con was born and the Pundik’s reached out to friends and family to help spread the word. The site emphasizes Maureen’s faith in prayer but also allows people to write her a message of support, call her or even help chip away at the financial mountain. With Help Mend a Heart also popping up on Twitter and Facebook, the Pundik’s have seen a viral outpouring from their local community and around the country. In just under a week, $41, 000 has been raised. While the amount is significant, it’s still not enough to move forward, which has caused another community to rally around this family. Maureen is the mother of Jordan from New Found Glory and the South Florida music community has decided to support one of it’s own by throwing a benefit concert in her honor. On Friday, December 11, 2009 at the Talent Farm in Pembroke Pines, FL, over 5 bands will perform and over a dozen companies will raffle off prizes in an effort to give back to this family a token of what Jordan Pundik has already given to them.

While firm arguments have been made that virtual networking is the demise of actual relationships, the story of support and encouragement for the Pundik family raises a different alternative. Maybe social networking doesn’t have to be so shallow in nature. Maybe it can bring people of various communities together in an effort to bring change and consequentially impact an individual’s life. Maybe, just maybe it can bring hope in the most dire of situations.

Links:

HelpMendAHeart.com

Help Mend A Heart Event Information