'Like' this, get a prize from Patterson

Who says the older generation doesn't get Facebook?

The Sarasota-based Patterson Foundation, for one, believes older folks, especially those with arthritis, are into Facebook. To prove it, the foundation will donate $10 to the 2010 Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis for anyone who 'likes' the Arthritis Foundation Florida Chapter's Facebook page.

Of course, you don't have to be old to either have arthritis or for the foundation's donation to kick in. The foundation plans to make the $10 donations though Dec. 19 or until it has given $50,000 to the cause.

The use of social media to generate donations, not only interest in a cause, is the latest trend in the philanthropic community. For example, Lakewood Ranch-based ShelterBox USA, which provides shelter and aid for disasters worldwide, recently traced $50,000 in donations to activity it posted on Facebook and Twitter. (See Business Review, Sept. 24.)

The arthritis cause, meanwhile, is close to the Patterson Foundation. Its founder, Dorothy Patterson, lived with rheumatoid arthritis. “Now anyone with a Facebook account can make a difference by becoming a fan,” says Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation.

To learn more about the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis, go to www.arthritis.org/chapters/florida.