The big power of 140 characters

A few days after Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Atlantic seaboard, devastating places like Staten Island, I saw something on Twitter I'd never seen before - a request for a significant donation:

Met and responded to by the Foundation (within hours)

 Agreement reached -

All on Twitter. In a matter of hours.

There's another storm bearing down on the east coast. Many people (family members of mine, included) are still without power (10 days now.) Many lost lives, homes, businesses, loved ones. Recovery takes a long time.

The Carl V. Bini Fund was set up in memory of one of the #FDNY's finest who was lost on September 11, 2001. Anthony De Rosa is a Reuters reporter and an avid Twitterer.