AKIRA in HAITI

I got this e-mail yesterday, so I can’t really take any credit for seeking this out, but it’s great to see a brand like Akira getting out there and doing their part to help the relief effort.

I believe there has been over $5,000,000 USD raised for Haiti thusfar, but the struggles continue as distribution efforts for food, medicine and water have been both slow and uneven. Can you tell I’ve been watching a little bit more CNN in the mornings at work? But in all seriousness, it’s been brutally sad seeing how many people have lost their loves ones, how many others have turned to desperation (and as a consequence, violence at times) just to survive and gut retching/painful to watch peril live. Just the other day CNN showed a scene where a girl’s leg was pinned under falling debris from a building. You could hear her screaming out in the background, but no machinery/enough tools were available to free her. They were forced to consider amputation as their only solution. What’s even worse is that early this morning (Jan 20) there was a 6.1 magnitude AFTERSHOCK that hit Haiti just a week after the initial 7.0 devastator. You can read about the aftershock a bit more here.

But anyway, please continue to help in any way you can. This disaster is far from over and with Akira’s efforts here, it’s clear to see that your help doesn’t have to just be monetary. If you’re interested in dropping by an Akira store, but don’t know if there’s one close to you, click here for store locations.

Gaga x Beats x AIDS

Ra ra ooh la la…Gaga has gotten together with Dr. Dre and (PRODUCT)RED to put out a “Red” variant of the very popular “Beats” headphones. I’ve always wanted to pick up a set of these for those late night design and post-processing sessions so I can blast the music loud and let the neighbors get some Z’s. Now that they’re red (both color and in cause), I’m finding very little to hold me back from finally pulling the trigger – these things sound seriously good…and now have a great cause behind them too.

“Two new products have been announced by Beats by Dr. Dre – they have added Diddy to their collection and present the Diddy Beats. Lady Gaga and (red) get together to fight AIDS with collaborative Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. The new Monster (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition Beats Solo Headphone will be available in early February at several US and UK retailers for $229.95.”

[Via CtotheJL]

Needs for Sale

Back in 2007, a New York artist duo created Wants for Sale, a site where they offer up paintings they’ve made of anything they want to buy. Literally anything. Some of the paintings on there range from a “Sham-Wow” for $28.30 USD to “Financial Security” for $1,000,000 USD. For the bargain hunter, there’s some “instant street cred” for a buck. Pretty cool idea and I think they thought so too with their new site, Needs for Sale. It’s essentially the same concept as the “Wants” page, but instead of contributing to the artists’ personal purchases, anyone visiting Needs for Sale site are given the chance to support charitable causes.

A Place to Play – $250 USD

New York Cares

Phone Calls for Our Troops – $250 USD

American Red Cross

As you can probably tell, every painting on Needs for Sale represents a cause the artists (and you) would like to support. Whatever the cause may be, 100 percent of every sale is donated to the cause represented. And although the two examples I posted above are both $250 USD, pricing does reflect the cause. Pricing varies with the cause represented. Paintings of a toilet and kitchen sink, for example, both yielded donations of $100 USD each to Habitat for Humanity.

“In a world where charitable consumers are constantly bombarded with cries for help, there’s something attractive about the simplicity of buying a painting to support a specific cause. Perhaps even more compelling, however, is the tangible, stylish and unique proof of their generosity consumers get in return. It may not be a building named in their honour, but it still goes far beyond the typical tote bag or umbrella to provide one-of-a-kind evidence with a story that can then be proudly displayed and discussed with friends and family far and wide. Nonprofits around the world: time to find a sympathetic artist to partner with!” [Via Springwise]

Although it may be troubling to some that people need to get something in order to give, you can’t deny its effectiveness in unconventionally and creatively raising money (and awareness) to real world cause. This, along with the DJ AM Memorial Fund, Shop & Share and many others represent a much more attuned generation of charitable outposts looking to attract not only the purely philanthropic, but also maybe those who need a little motivation to take out their checkbooks.

All paintings on Needs for Sale are created on 2-inch-deep gallery canvas, come ready to hang and shipping is available worldwide.

Project Heal Manila Awareness Video

While looking back on the Project Heal Manila launch that Yoshi posted up on Fatlace, I decided it’d be a good idea to check up and see how the effort was going. It’s always encouraging to see projects like this going on.

“Project Heal Manila is a global organization dedicated to supporting sustainable community-based projects designed to empower the youth of the Philippines.

Project Heal Manila here to raise awareness about the current situation in the Philippines, the damage caused by Typhoon Ondoy and the ongoing relief efforts of our fellow Fil-Ams here in the US and back home.” – Via Rule 4080

You can see some photos from the launch party back in October here. They actually put together a video that I saw on Ondoy Photos the other day (scroll down to check it out). Unfortunately, they don’t have a website up yet, but you can join their mailing list while the site is being built.

[Via Ondoy Photos]

Try Walking in Your Shoes

I had to wait until I got back from my trip to the Philippines to try these on, but I did end up winning a pair of shoes from the DJ AM Memorial Fund Auction I talked about in a previous post. I originally bid on three pairs of shoes, but having no internet en route to Japan made it a bit difficult to place any new offers on the table before the auctions expired.

Nevertheless, I was happy to donate to the cause – regardless of how small my contribution really was. I ended up winning some blue Nike Air Force 2 High’s. Yeah I know they aren’t the much more infamous AF1s, but my shoe collection is much more about the diversity than it is about the rare pieces. Just picked up my first pairs of Nike Terminators and Air Max 1′s also. Woot!

Okay okay anyway…when I opened up the package, I was pleased to find a little acknowledgement of authenticity with matching numbers on the shoes themselves. It was a nice little touch and it really seemed like the Creative Visions Foundation put some thought into what a sneakerhead would like to see when they received their shoes in the mail. All that aside, they did an amazing job putting together an auction to benefit a very worthy (and real) cause worldwide. Great job to the CVF and congratulations to all those that bid (and won) online.

The Ondoy Efforts: Angel Locsin

It’s no secret that the Ondoy disaster has done more than its share of damage – wrecking havok on the Philippines mercilessly and claiming hundreds of lives. But despite this catastrophe, it’s encouraging to know that there are many people out there willing to lend a hand – even those overseas in the United States through the Red Cross.

What is even more encouraging is that although conventional aid methods are always helpful (and continue to be), some are looking beyond those practices in hopes of providing their own way of helping. Angel Locsin, undeniably one of the biggest actresses in the Philippines right now, is doing just that.

While I was in the Philippines and spending time at ABS-CBN, I read an article on Angel. Of course it paid tribute to how gifted she is as an actress, but I was humbled by her charitable nature towards the Ondoy cause. Upon developing the idea, she quickly called upon close friends like Anne Curtis to not only donate, but help facilitate the spread of her philanthropic efforts.

The website is called Shop & Share and “is a project conceptualized by Filipino actress and Red Cross Ambassador Angel Locsin. Along with her fellow Filipino celebrity friends-Ann Curtis, Kris Aquino, Ruffa Guttierez, Luis Manzano and Pokwang, Ambassador Locsin has posted several designer items up for auction. Proceeds of the sales will go to the Philippine National Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts.” [Via Shop & Share]

Although there are vastly more items for women on the site, there are a handful of men’s goods being placed up for bidding by some very big names – including Manny Pacquiao.

So if you have some time, have a bit to spend and don’t want to just simply donate through the Red Cross conventionally, take a look at Shop & Share. I promise it’ll be worth your while and most importantly, your help would be going to an amazing cause.