Bob And Lee Woodruff Kick Off Holiday Weekend Twitter Fundraiser

Tweet To Remind seeks to raise awareness of the Woodruffs’ organization Remind.org through Twitter hashtags, word of mouth and retweeting. They are hoping to make “#tweettoremind” the number one trending topic on Twitter over the long weekend. The campaign encourages everyone to donate $5.25 to the cause, in celebration of the date of this year’s Memorial Day: 5/25.

At the kick-off breakfast this morning, Bob and Lee showed a few videos illustrating the work done by Remind.org and the Bob Woodruff Foundation, including giving money to injured veterans and their families. The cause is close to the Woodruffs’ heart, since Bob survived an IED explosion three years ago while working as a war correspondent, which left him with permanent brain damage.

Bob Woodruff, Shorty Awards founder Gregory Galant, Lee Woodruff and “Internet Geek Girl” Stephanie Agresta speak at the Tweet To Remind kick off breakfast

“The Bob Woodruff Foundation was established because we got so lucky as a family,” Lee Woodruff said. “And living in Bethesda Naval Hospital for the five weeks that Bob was in his coma, we saw many of these other families and the struggles they have to face.”

Although getting #tweettoremind to be the number one trending topic on Twitter this weekend may not directly translate into donations for the cause, Remind.org has already raised $16,000 since kicking off their Twitter fundraising campaign three weeks ago. Lee said she hopes to extend Tweet To Remind through July 4, another long holiday weekend that honors American servicemen and women.

This weekend, Lee will be heading up to the Woodruffs’ house near Lake George, where she will participate in a small town Memorial Day parade as a stand-in for Bob, who will be out of town working on an assignment, she said.

Although Bob no longer works as a war correspondent, he’s been keeping busy with stories about climate change and veterans. He is currently working with ABC and Planet Green.

“I’m addicted to in-depth pieces and international stories,” Bob said, noting that even since his injury he has traveled to Cuba, Syria, Africa and Brazil. He said he recently worked on a piece in St. John about a company that helps injured veterans with missing limbs scuba dive.