At my first Tweetup, I was nervous to actually speak to people I’d only “met” via Twitter. In anticipation of this Thursday’s Tweetup, I am actually more nervous about NOT talking. But I think it will be fun!

Yep, Pizzeria Venti will be the site of the first-ever Silent Tweetup this Thursday at 8:00!

Why?

Well, it all started with Clark Harris of Atlanta. He is the man behind the @SilentClark Twitter account. This month, he has foregone the most traditional forms of communication — speaking, written notes, text messaging, sign language and even email. His only forms of communication have been social media, including his Twitter account, his blog and his Facebook page.

Clark started this silent social media journey to raise awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). And he wants to raise money for leukemia research in honor of his mother, Ruth Harris, who died on February 14, 2009, after a 10-year battle with leukemia. (He’s also curious about the applications of social media…)

When the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society — originally called the Robert Roesler de Villiers Foundation — was founded in the 1950s, most leukemia patients, especially children, died within three months.

Today, patients diagnosed with blood cancers have many reasons to hope for a good outcome:

• There are an estimated 912,938 people in the United States who are currently living with, or are in remission from, leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myeloma.
• In the past 48 years, the relative five-year survival rate for people with leukemia nearly quadrupled
• Hodgkin lymphoma is now considered one of the most curable forms of cancer.

Source: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Success in treating blood cancers is due in large part to treatment advances related to the $600 million in research funding from LLS since 1954.

But the LLS isn’t done. According to the organization, “Every ten minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer. This statistic represents nearly 146 people each day, or more than six people every hour. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20.”

It is important that the organization continue its mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

Clark’s ultimate goal is to raise $100,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You can put him closer to his goal on Thursday.

Won’t you join these great Atlanta folks on Thursday to help SILENCE CANCER?

The tweetup starts at 8:00. We’re planning to be in the private back room at Pizzeria Venti. There is a $10 cover — all of which will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Pizzeria Venti will provide free appetizers. To order drinks and anything else, just show us your tweet at the counter!