It caught my attention because of the nature of the story, obviously an important topic. But the story was also about the couple, who are based right here in Nashville! They also talked about how they are not that savvy with ecommerce, but are learning as they go. How cool is that?

I pictured my dad who refuses to learn anything new, especially when it involves something that plugs into a wall. I hope he takes notice of Charles and Anne Riddle.

It just goes to show you that you can be any age and make a difference, while learning something new at the same time. Not too shabby, eh?

NPR’s summary is…

A retired minister in Nashville is using an online store to help keep Cambodian women out of the sex trade. Socially-minded entrepreneurs have used the Internet to help artisans from remote regions earn a living wage selling their wares all over the world. WPLN’s Blake Farmer reports on one such project supporting silk weavers in Cambodia called Mekong Blue.

Take a listen to the short interview here.

What can you do?

Buy one of their beautiful scarves. 100% of the proceeds goes to provide education, job training, meals, daycare and—ultimately—a better life for the women and families of the Stung Treng region.

Here’s a closer look at the presentation slides. Cheers.

My presentation today (9:30am) at BarCamp Nashville is called “Microblogging : Fast, Fast, Good, Good“. My main goal is to express how quickly we can do good things using microblogging as a tool.

I was inspired by Beth Kanter‘s presentation at Gnomedex this year. Beth was able to earn $2,657 in 90 minutes to cover the costs of college tuition for a Cambodian student. If it can be accomplished in Washington, I’m sure it can be done in Tennessee.

Donors Choose is an organization that provides a free service for school teachers to set up donations for classroom projects. I first heard about Donors Choose watching The Colbert Report.

I searched Donors Choose today and found a classroom in Tennessee which needs our help. My challenge to the participants of BarCamp Nashville and our friends everywhere is to meet or exceed the goal. The donation period will end today at 3:00pm CST, I will post a list of everyone who contributed here.

Should we surpass our goal, any extra money received will be donated to another Tennessee classroom on Donors Choose. I will provide details here should that be the case, which of course I hope it is.

You can contribute by clicking the Chip In button on the widget above. Thank you for helping and using social media for good.

Please be sure to click the ShareThis link below to tell your friends, the donation period ends today at 4pm CST. Thanks.