'Houston Chronicle' Launches Chron.com Do Good Channel

By: E&P Staff Utilizing technology from Cambridge, Mass.-based good2gether, a social media Web service that connects people to causes and nonprofit organizations, the Houston Chronicle has launched the Do Good Channel on Chron.com.

The channel features information and access to thousands of nonprofit organizations, including those supporting victims of Hurricane Ike. The partnership represents the launch of good2gether's crisis resource, which provides Chron.com a central location for people to connect to relief effort organizations seeking volunteers, and financial and in-kind donations.

"This provides an excellent opportunity to reach out to our print and online readers who are moved by the Chronicle's coverage to do something to help," Chronicle Vice President of Business Development and Community Affairs Joycelyn Marek said in a statement. By launching DoGood.Chron.com earlier than planned, "we can take a more active role in the recovery that will likely take many more months."

As part of an expedited launch to provide support for Ike victims, good2gether simultaneously programmed the site and conducted outreach to thousands of nonprofits to populate the channel with resources and information. Nonprofits can enter profiles and update their information to the Do Good Channel at no cost.

"We designed the platform to launch a channel in minutes, so that our local newspaper partners could quickly and efficiently connect people to causes at the height of the time of need. The new good2gether crises category is a supplement to our other 10 non-profit resource categories, and gives people a single platform for cause engagement so they can respond instantly to a crisis," good2gether founder and CEO Greg McHale said.

Users can search by type of cause and by ways in which they can become involved. They also can look for organizations or events within a certain geographic area. Maps accompany search results. Social tools, such as the ability to e-mail search results or share on social networking and book-marking sites, are embedded within each listing.

good2gether's other media partners, including The Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, are also featuring Ike relief information on their Do Good Channels, allowing readers across the country to obtain information on organizations helping communities affected by Hurricane Ike.