Join your favorite YouTube stars and charities for an “awesome” live event on Saturday, December 18

*Update, December 15 at 17:15 PT: The 48 hour period of Project for Awesome starts at 9am PT / noon ET on Friday, December 17, and the live stream will take place from 4pm to 7pm PT on Saturday, December 18.*

Three years ago, the vlogbrothers Hank and John kick-started an initiative called Project for Awesome, which called for YouTube users across the world to “take over YouTube” by creating videos that promote their favorite charities and causes. Project for Awesome built on its initial success again in 2008, resulting in thousands of user submissions and a homepage takeover, as people around YouTube took to the web to make the world more awesome for the holidays. Hank and John upped the ante last year by increasing community participation, making Project for Awesome (#p4a) one of the top trending topics on Twitter in December 2009.



Project for Awesome 2010 officially begins on December 17 at 12:01 AM, when users are encouraged to upload videos for their favorite causes and charities. To celebrate the end of Project for Awesome on Saturday, December 18, join us for a live show on YouTube at www.youtube.com/p4a. We’re teaming up with the vlogbrothers, some of YouTube’s biggest stars like daneboe of Annoying Orange, Michelle Phan, Phil DeFranco, Michael Buckley, Shay Carl, and iJustine, and prominent nonprofit organizations to broadcast a four hour live show from 4 - 8pm PST. The live show involves a wide array of entertainment: from musical performances to user-generated games to special moments that only YouTube can bring. Moreover, this year, Project for Awesome will focus on raising awareness and encouraging action in four areas: innovation in education, health, poverty, and children’s wish-giving.

Representatives from eight charities will be in attendance at this next-generation telethon: including Beatbullying, DonorsChoose, Make a Wish Foundation, Marine Toys For Tots Foundation, Open University, Partners in Health, Save The Children, and Water.org.

And, as in past years, we’re encouraging the global YouTube community to create videos on behalf of these charities and the causes you’re most passionate about. Post them to your site, tweet them, put them on Facebook - do whatever you can to spread the awesome this holiday season. We look forward to seeing what you create, and hope you join us online this Saturday for a ton of awesomeness!

Margaret Healy, Strategic Partner Manager, recently watched "Zeitgeist 2010".