Stacy Geisinger, a popular Westchester blogger known as Stacyknows, and her friends gathered outside Benjamin Steakhouse in White Plains Wednesday night holding candles and talking to NBC reporter Ann Curry.
It wasn't Geisinger's original vision for her holiday party, but after the tragic shooting in Newtown, CT last Friday, she was inspired to transform her friendly holiday gathering of Westchester mothers into an event that would honor the memory of the 20 children and 6 adults killed at Sandy Hook elementary school last Friday.
Aptly enough for the digitally savvy blogger, the inspiration for the new theme for the event came from Twitter.
Geisinger plugged into a social media phenomenon started by NBC reporter Ann Curry several days ago.
After Curry's broadcast on the Newtown shootings, the reporter challenged people to create a wave of positive feelings by doing good deeds- 20 acts in the name of the 20 children lost last Friday.
Immediately, the hashtags #26Acts and #20Acts became popular on Twitter as people recounted 'random of acts of kindness' they were dedicating in memory of last week's shooting victims.
Geisinger asked 26 of her friends, all Westchester mothers, to rally around the cause for the evening. In addition to their pledges to do good deeds, the group also held a silent auction and gathered donations.
The group, joined by Newtown Legislative Council member Robert Merola, were united by a desire to find a silver lining of positive inspiration in a tragedy that threatened to leave a dark cloud of sadness over much of the nation.
Benjamin Steakhouse owner Benjamin Sinanaj promised to donate 26 dinners to the Newtown families who lost loved ones. LV2BFIT owner Patty Palmieri generously offered to match her friends' donations of the evening. New Rochelle radio personality Debbie Nigro said she would use her program 'to promote healing.' Another one of the Westchester mothers promised to visit Newtown and volunteer her time reading to school children.
