I learned so much at PodCamp Pittsburgh and I was thrilled to be able to present, but what I loved, loved, loved was the great people I’ve met and have gotten to know on Twitter since. I feel like I’m part of a greater community, like I’m sitting with the cool kids now (In high school I was on the drill team, played in the band and was the Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook. Need I say more?).

I went to PodCamp having recently discovered Secret Agent L (AKA Laura Miller) and am really inspired by her and her project. But you know what surprised me more ever since? She’s not alone. I’ve discovered that BurghBaby (AKA Michele) started Christmas Crazy for Kids, that JanePitt (AKA PittGirl AKA Ginny) started Make Room For Kids, and that the two of them (with the generous support of their readers) raised over $6,000 for their charities this week through Crazy Scary at The Scare House. I learned that ChachiSays volunteers monthly at a local “store” for the needy (by “store” I mean that they sell items at an extremely low price).

I have found my people. These people are like me – they see a problem, and they work to fix it. I give you this example (and I’m not saying this to blow my own horn) from my past. I worked for the Allegheny County Department of Human Services my coworker and I started Project Prom. While working on a fund to help kids served by DHS, we saw many requests coming in for kids who needed help with prom expenses. That may seem frivolous, but many of these kids were were dealing with Real Life issues at an age when they should have been dealing with High School issues. We started small, collecting dresses and tuxedos (we didn’t forget the guys!) and opened up our “shop,” pairing the students with personal shoppers. For one night, these kids were able to have a normal high school experience. They didn’t have to worry about their drug addicted parent coming home and beating them, or if they had enough food to get them through the week, or if they would be evicted that day when they got home from school. They got to be high schoolers.

My point is, The Secret Agent L Project is one example of the kindness movement right here in Pittsburgh, and I couldn’t be happier to see it growing.

Back to this session, The Secret Agent L Project: Social Media and the Kindness Movement, by Laura Miller. I had tweeted with SAL a few times and had become an Affiliated Agent (someone who does random acts of kindness on her behalf), but I was really excited to hear her talk and meet her.  And let me tell you, she did not disappoint. Laura is not only a good, sweet person, she’s funny as hell. And that, my friends, makes a great combination.