据alligator网站的报道，来自佛罗里达大学的毕业生Cameron MacMillan和Joey Sasvari正在尝试着改变慈善捐助的新模式。他们创建了New Charity Era（新慈善时代）公司将慈善事业和社交游戏融合在一起，借助社交游戏推动慈善的进程。

raise the village

他们将在10月底或者11月初推出首款产品iphone应用Raise the Village。该应用整合了farmville的商业模式，与Toms shoes鞋业合作，每购买一双该品牌鞋子就将慈善捐赠一双鞋子。

Joey Sasvari表示在farmville中每个玩家都可以为其他的虚拟农场玩家购买产品，但是在Raise the Village中玩家购买的都是为了服务实实在在的生命。玩家可以在该应用中购买食物、水、衣服、医药用品等必需品，这些虚拟交易的同等产品将被捐赠给乌干达的Kapir Atiira地区1400位民众。

捐赠人可以在之后通过详细的图片资料来确认他们捐赠的物资被派送到位，以及他们捐赠所产生的积极影响。

MacMillan表示捐赠人一般会对他们的捐赠物资的去向很关注，他期望通过Raise the Village能真正让捐赠人知道他们所捐的东西最后都能被落实到需要的地方。他们期望这些能让捐赠人有身临其境的感觉。

UF alumni Cameron MacMillan and Joey Sasvari plan to transform charity work, one iPhone at a time.

Their company, New Charity Era, brings together charity and social gaming. The company’s first product, an iPhone application entitled “Raise the Village,” will be available at the end of October or early November.

The application combines the structure of “FarmVille” with the business model of Toms shoes, a company that donates a pair of shoes to underprivileged children for every pair purchased.

“‘FarmVille’ is a popular game, and they make tons and tons of revenue through the purchase of virtual items,” Sasvari said. “In this game, you have a full village that you have to take care of, and all the items that you buy for your villagers in the game, we buy in real life.”

Users can purchase a variety of necessities, including food, water, clothing and medical supplies. The virtual purchases will be donated to the 1,400 people living in Kapir Atiira, Uganda.

After the supplies are distributed, users will be able to see photos of the delivery that will show the impact of their donations.

“People are sick of donating money and not seeing where it goes,” MacMillan said. “We want [the game] to be a portal for people to give. We want people to feel like they traveled to Africa and handed these gifts off themselves.”

The pair found the village with the help of Diko Evarist, a fellow UF alumnus and Uganda resident, who will oversee the deliveries.

In March, MacMillan and Sasvari traveled to Uganda where their idea to reform charity became a reality.

你可以访问：Raise the Village

（source：alligator）