As we all know, the holidays are the time of year for friends and family to gather 'round and celebrate the blessings that life has bestowed upon us. As we prepare to ring in 2011 and make our New Year's resolutions, it's important to remember those less fortunate than us...our neighbors who are currently unemployed and struggling to put food on the table for their children, or working under horrific and abusive conditions, or stuck in hospital beds instead of in the warmth of their homes.
No matter how much or how little we have, there's always something we can do to help.
Dress for Success Worldwide promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. To date, it has helped over 500,000 women work towards self-sufficiency.
Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) helps young women and girls, ages 12-21, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking to exit the commercial sex industry and to develop to their full potential.
Sister to Sister: The Women's Heart Health Foundation is dedicated to preventing heart disease in women. Its services include free cardiac screenings for early detection and treatment, and promoting healthy lifestyle changes that can reduce heart disease risk dramatically.
Rules and restrictions: The contest is open to any U.S. resident. Only those individuals who send in a contribution totaling $25 or more to Glamour Gone Good, Inc. on or before January 2, 2011 will be eligible for the prize, which includes one round-trip flight on JetBlue Airways, redeemable by December 31, 2011 wherever JetBlue flies. Individuals may increase their chances of winning by donating in multiples of $25. For example, a person who donates $100 will be entered into the contest four times. One winner will be chosen at random by Glamour Gone Good, Inc. and will be contacted privately in writing by January 31, 2011. If a winner does not answer and claim the prize within 14 days, another winner will be picked at random.
Donations may be submitted by credit card here or mailed by check to Glamour Gone Good, Inc. 831 Beacon Street, Suite 192, Newton, MA 02459.
Fundraising is the new black, at least in the creative world of the high-fashion industry. Do-good fashionistas out there are working out their passions with style.
At Vivanista, we can all learn from some of the world’s most fashionable philanthropists. Here are the top five role models we can all look up to:
1. Stella McCartney
Last year, Stella McCartney designed a , tailor-made fair-trade T-shirt for the 23rd annual Comic Relief on the British extravaganza Red Nose Day. The comical day is dedicated for people to laugh out loud while raising money to help those in need across the UK and Africa.
For the project, McCartney turned to other fabulous stars for collaboration, including Claudia Schiffer, Keira Knightley, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The T-shirt also featured father Sir Paul McCartney’s The Beatles logo, imprinted with cute red noses on the happy faces of the band members.
The McCartney family’s respect for nature and vegetarianism founded the Meat Free Mondays, an organization that helps promote environmentally friendly eating habit to protect the planet. This has fostered Stella’s founding beliefs of her individual fashion sense – no fur, no leather (Shop: www.stellamccartney.com), and won her the Natural Resources Defence Council in March 2009. “The beliefs I was raised with – to respect animals and to be aware of nature, to understand that we share this planet with other creatures – have had a huge impact on me,” said Stella to The Guardian.
Recently, her L.A. retail store has inspired like-minded do-gooder celebrity Ali Carter, who hosted her own fundraising event at her store on November 12 last week. The eco-friendly (and fashionable!) cooking event benefits Project Peanut Butter, a movement to help malnourished children all around the world.
On the eve of the 2009 London Fashion Week, McCartney also donated a generous amount of 100,000 pounds for the new site of Central Saint Martin’s fashion school. Upon her graduation from the prestigious school in 1995, she made her debut fashion show, which included supermodels Kate Moss, Yasmin Le Bon, and Naomi Campbell. The half-built building is to be completed in 2011.
2. Donnatella Versace
Another reputable graduate from the same school is none other than Donatella Versace, who recently just raised £20,000 for the Central Saint Martin’s 20:20 Fashion Fund from the celebrity dinner she launched on November 11last week. The fund is aiming to provide new equipments and resources for helping educate the next generation of CSM. “I’ve been watching these students – and recruiting them. This is the greatest fashion school in the world,” she told WWD.
Early this year, the legendary fashion icon has also hosted the 2nd annual Art of Elysium “Bright Lights” bash at Milk Studios in New York while relaunching her VERSUS line since its first launch in the 1990s. Versace brightened up the night with an exclusive performance of “American Boy” by Estelle, along with guest-celebrities such as the Olsen twins, supermodel Karolina Kurkova, and fourth season Project Runway winner Christian Siriano attended the event on April 30th, and together raised money for the Art of Elysium workshops, which provides encouraging activities for ill children to embrace their creativity, despite suffering from medical conditions.
In July 2009, Versace has led an art workshop for kids to design a bag for Versace. That would become the unique tote created by 500 children from Starlight Children’s Foundation and 900 from One Foundation, teaming up with co-founder actor Jet Li to fundraise for the Arts Unites program, a global initiative benefiting the needy children in US and China. As the co-chair of the Whitney Museum of American Art, she drove the Arts Unites initiative to inspire these children to become emerging artists. “Versace has always been connected to art,” she told USAToday.
3. Naomi Campbell
After appearing on numerous catwalks worldwide since Stella McCartney’s graduation, supermodel Naomi Campbell recently hosted her own charitable fashion show during London Fashion Week, the Fashion for Relief Haiti, on February 12 this year to help relief the Haiti earthquake.
“I am deeply saddened by the recent tragedy in Haiti. So many have been killed and severely affected by the earthquake – women and children in particular are most vulnerable in disasters,” she told the Daily Star. She sought help from buddies including Malin Akerman, Chris Brown, and Estelle to make it happen. Upon her initiative for the fashion show, she also worked together with luxury car company Lotus to design its 8th special edition cars called Naomi for Haiti.
In 2007, the supermodel has also strutted her philanthropic style on a fundraising catwalk event held at the Natural History Museum in London. Organized by the Rotary Club of Great Britain, the fashion show included designs by reputable designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Dolce & Gabbana, and the proceeds from the night went to the Rotary Flood Disaster Appeal that benefits the floods in UK during the month of July that year.
“I think this is an important opportunity to really show what the fashion community can do to help others,” Campbell says. She now owns Fashion For Relief, the fundraising agency that hosts charitable auctions to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
4. Gisele Bundchen
As Naomi Campbell noted “the last supermodel” of the generation and often referred to as “the body”, Gisele Bundchen has not only been the highest-paid model of the century, but has also helped numerous projects promoting environmental causes. Just this January, she has donated $1,500,000 to relief the Haiti earthquake. Along with many contributions, such as the fundraiser campaign of celebrity-autographed iPods in 2009 benefiting the Hurricane Katrina relief, one of the most notable projects is the reforestation created by NGO in 2004, where the newly-grown Brazilian Atlantic forest will be covering lands up to 15 hectares and called the Gisele Bundchen Sementes.
With tremendous profits from a 15-year history of successful modeling career and her own businesses, eco-friendly skincare line Sejaa and Brazilian sandals Ipanema Gisele Bundchen, the face of ‘Earth Mother’ has recently donated a huge amount of $50,000 on her own for the 8th Annual Brazil Foundation gala at the Met in September, which had a set goal of $2 million. Thanks to Bundchen and her auctioned Calvin Klein gown for the night, the evening was more than successful. In that same week, she has also stopped by the Museum of Natural History for the UN Millennium Goal Summit, where she was designated as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environmental Programme.
5. Donna Karan
Following the 2010 presidential campaign, the legendary DKNY designer Donna Karan has collaborated with Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, hosting a Democratic fundraiser last month to raise money for the First Lady at her penthouse at Central Park West New York on October 18th.
Early this year during the Mercedez Benz Fashion Week that opened on February 11, Karan also hosted the Hope Help & Relief Haiti (HHRH) event, “A Night of Humanity”, an auction event that raised over $1,000,000 and brought together industries ranging from the arts, fashion, and entertainment at the Urban Zen Center. As founder of the Urban Zen Foundation, Karan’s aim for the HHRH movement was to raise funds for creating a new, sustainable community in Haiti.
A healthy woman who knows how to take care of herself, she also hosted a yoga fundraising event on September 29, where supermodel Christy Turlington and fellow designer Lauren Bush attended to benefit the Women for Women International, which was founded to help rebuild women’s lives from war-torn countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Like Stella McCartney, she has also Promoted her passions on giving back to the community through designing T-shirts for the Urban Zen collection.10% of each purchase would be donated to the foundation and help empower children, promote well-being, and cultural preservation.
About the Author: Vivanista is a member-based, lifestyle community for fundraising volunteers. Sharing of unique insights, expert tips and a spirit of giving empowers members to improve their own lives and the lives of others.
The holiday season is in full swing and businesses everywhere are looking to boost their end-of-year sales by offering all kinds of discounts and special offers. While many are ruthless in their attempts to gain customers (starting with 4AM Black Friday sales and countless items on clearance), others take a more inventive and even altruistic approach. After all, 'tis the season of giving. So, why shouldn't the companies taking our money also give a little, too?
Glamour Gone Good has had the good fortune of developing a wonderful relationship with Spa Week, a lifestyle brand delivering a robust spa directory, hundreds of spa deals and spa discounts, news and more all year-round.
What makes Spa Week so successful is its approach to marketing, which allows it to develop one-on-one relationships with its target audience. With a powerful online presence, it has successfully harnessed the power of social media to transform its audience into individual ambassadors of the Spa Week brand. And, now, it’s even discovered a way to integrate charitable giving into its online marketing strategy, further engaging its loyal consumer base while also attracting new consumers.
Take a look at the three-step process it has developed for the campaign, which is ultimately meant to encourage SPA gift card sales.
GIVE: With the mission of spreading health, beauty and wellness lifestyle to the next generation, Spa Week’s Holiday Gift Card Sale offers $100 SPA Gift Cards for just $79.99. All other denominations are 20% off – you won’t find this deal anywhere else! SPA Cards are redeemable 52 weeks a year at thousands of day spas, medical spas, salons and wellness centers nationwide for massages, facials, scrubs, pedicures, acupuncture and more, and they never expire.
GIVE BACK: For every new @SPAWEEK Twitter follower we get from now until the end of 2010, Spa Week will donate 10 cents to Glamour Gone Good. Right now we’re at: 8,799.
We chose this organization because we absolutely love their concept, as well as the 3 women’s causes they support. GGG encourages beauty, fashion, salon and spa businesses to integrate charity into their everyday business by giving them fun and easy ways to give back to women in need, even if they don’t have much to give.
TWEET: SPA-liday Gift Card Sale from @SPAWEEK! Follow them to #GiveBack to women in need, and Tweet to Win a $100 SPA Gift Card. http://ow.ly/3gSns
Every Tweet will count as one entry to win a $100 SPA Gift Card from SpaWeek, redeemable all year around for massages, facials and so much more. Contest Ends December 31st at 11:59 EST. Winner drawn and announced on this blog post on January 3rd.
This Spa Week campaign is a huge hit for the following reasons:
It offers a substantial discount on its holiday gift cards.
It has developed a catchy Twitter campaign to promote its gift cards.
It has integrated a brand-appropriate charity into its Twitter campaign, allowing its audience to engage in charitable giving activities while learning about Spa Week’s gift card promotion.
It is offering a free giveaway to further entice its audience to participate in its Twitter campaign, which both raises funds for charity and promotes its holiday gift card sale.
Key take-aways for other brands?
DEALS: Customers want more than just sales and discounts (but they always want those, too!).
DONATE: Tie a suitable charitable partner into your promotion. Customers want to feel good about their purchase and this is an easy way to give them that sense of satisfaction.
FREE GIVEAWAYS: Offer the chance to win something valuable (pick an item to which you want to draw extra attention) and find the appropriate platform from which to promote your contest or sweepstakes.
Matchmaker, matchmaker! Make me a match! Find me a find! Catch me a catch!
All the single ladies out there, are you tired of the bar scene, weary of the club atmosphere, and sick of being set up on blind dates in order to meet someone new?
Why not shake things up a bit with our Matchmaker Party with a Purpose and play matchmaker with your closest gal pals? You can let your hair down with your friends, potentially find your next date, and raise money for your favorite charity all at the same time. Now, that’s what I call multi-tasking!
The Event:
Just like any other party, first start by inviting all of your best single girlfriends over for dinner or cocktails. Before your gals get too excited, let them know that there’s a catch. This party has an entrance fee: an eligible bachelor! Each one of your guests has to bring the hottest, coolest, smartest (unattached) man that she knows. He could be a good friend, a co-worker, a classmate, a cousin, or even a brother! The only requirement is that he’s single and ready to mingle. To keep the party drama-free, you should HIGHLY suggest “dates” with whom you and your girlfriends have no prior relationship. In layman’s terms: No ex-boyfriends allowed!
The Matchmaker Party with a Purpose is an easy way to meet new people and add a little spice to the traditional dinner party. The Matchmaker Party also has a perfect guy-to-girl ratio and is guaranteed to provide some fresh meat for you and your single ladies! Not to mention, all the eligible bachelors are already friend-approved. At this unique get-together, each guest is expected to come with her own date, but leave with someone else’s. Cheers to that!
The Set-Up:
The Matchmaker Party could easily be pulled off in your own home or a friend’s home. As long as there is a large enough space for your friends and the bachelors to meet, greet, and mingle, the party should go off without a hitch! If you’re not comfortable hosting a dinner party, you could also make a reservation a family-style restaurant or rent a space in hotel or bar. It all depends on how big or small you would like your party to be. Your Matchmaker Party could also have a theme complete with decorations and complementary edibles. However you choose to deck out your space, just make sure it is inviting and alluring for your new guests.
Activities:
The activities at this event can be as simple or intricate as you would like. With some light music, finger food, and cocktails, guests are bound to have a great time chatting and hanging out. Since many of the people at this party will be new faces, you could also have your guests place icebreaker or compatibility games to lighten the mood and to get to know one another better. You could create randomly selected girl-guy pairs to go head-to-head in games of Pictionary, Cranium, or Charades. After a couple rounds, you can switch up the teams so that your lady friends can get to know more of the bachelors. You can also use these games as another way to fundraise.
Food and Drink:
Food and drinks at the Matchmaker Party should be tasty and filling, but not too messy or difficult to eat while standing and chatting. Also, avoid foods that are too pungent (nobody wants garlic breath at an event where they are supposed to flirt). Easy finger food and hors d’oeuvres are your best bet for an event like this. If you have a theme, you could also have corresponding dishes. For example, a holiday theme could include green cocktails and red treats or a Tropical Island themed Matchmaker Party could feature grilled pineapple and ham pizza and pina coladas.
Attire:
For this event, it is probably best to keep the attire cute and casual. Guests can be cute and stylish enough to impress their fellow guests, but casual and comfortable enough that girls won’t be worrying about tight dresses and guys won’t be fidgeting with constricting collars. If you choose to incorporate a theme, you could turn your Matchmaker Party into a costumed event. A costume contest is also another great fundraising opportunity and certainly a great conversation starter.
How To Fundraise:
The easiest way to fundraise for this event is by having each couple make a donation at the door. This donation could be anywhere from $5 to $50. And of course, the more single girlfriends you invite, the more money that you can raise for charity. Many people pay good money to go to singles events, but the added incentive for your guests to attend this Party with a Purpose is that all the money is going to charity. During the party itself, you can raise even more money for charity using the icebreaker games or a costume competition. You and friends could even take bets on which bachelor each girl will like the best. The girl at the end of the night with the most correct matches will win and can decide which charity the money will be given to.
About the Author: Vivanista is a member-based, lifestyle community for fundraising volunteers. Sharing of unique insights, expert tips and a spirit of giving empowers members to improve their own lives and the lives of others.
NOTE: The Kimpton NYC holiday giveaway contest has officially closed. Thanks to all those who participated.
In the spirit of the holidays, Glamour Gone Good has some really exciting ways for you to both give and get!
Starting December 2, 2010, anyone that follows @GlamourGoneGood on Twitter and re-tweets:I just entered the @GlamourGoneGood contest to win a 2-night stay at @Kimpton in NYC. Tweet and win! http://bit.ly/hpPI8Z #giveaway will automatically be entered to win a complimentary two-night stay at Kimpton Hotel's Eventi Hotel in New York, NY, redeemable through May 2011.
The winner will be announced via Twitter on Friday, December 10, 2010.
Rules: The contest is open to any U.S. resident with a Twitter account. The winner will be picked at random from re-tweets and announced via twitter tweets and a direct message to the winner. If a winner does not answer and claim the prize within 7 days, another winner will be picked at random. The prize includes a complimentary certificate of stay for two nights in a King room at Eventi Hotel in New York, NY (room and tax only). Complimentary certificate of stay expires on May 30, 2011.
As we all know, the holidays are the time of year for friends and family to gather 'round and celebrate the blessings that life has bestowed upon us. As we prepare to ring in 2011 and make our New Year's resolutions, it's important to remember those less fortunate than us...our neighbors who are currently unemployed and struggling to put food on the table for their children, or working under horrific and abusive conditions, or stuck in hospital beds instead of in the warmth of their homes.
With that in mind, we would love for you to make an end-of-year charitable contribution to Glamour Gone Good so we can help our neighbors live a little better. For every $25 you donate, you'll be entered to win a free flight on JetBlue Airways. 
Dress for Success Worldwide promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. To date, it has helped over 500,000 women work towards self-sufficiency.
Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) helps young women and girls, ages 12-21, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking to exit the commercial sex industry and to develop to their full potential.
Sister to Sister: The Women's Heart Health Foundation is dedicated to preventing heart disease in women. Its services include free cardiac screenings for early detection and treatment, and promoting healthy lifestyle changes that can reduce heart disease risk dramatically.
