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charity

Kim Kardashian’s Charitable Spirit To Be Applauded

by Blair Kaplan

Credit: justjared.com
Credit: justjared.com

 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not Kim Kardashian’s biggest fan. I don’t agree with her over the top affairs (72-day wedding anyone?), her multitude of daily wardrobe changes, or her obsession with all things vain. So I have to say I was most surprised when I found myself coming to her defense.

Let me be the first one to say that the amount of money that the Kardashian family makes per year is staggering to say the least. While many agree that the famous clan is famous for nothing, it cannot be denied that the Kardashian family members have successfully marketed themselves all the way to the bank. And while I will never begrudge anyone of their wealth (after all we live in a country that prides itself in the American dream), it is understandable that when another has such a large amount of money we expect them to be generous. But I found it hugely shameful that many jumped on Kim for an act of charity.

This past week Kardashian announced that she would auction off some of her designer wardrobe on eBay to benefit victims of Typhoon Haiyan, a storm, which devastated the Philippines.

On her website Kardashian explained her altruistic plan:

“Hi guys, this is a very special auction because a portion of the proceeds of my eBay auction are going to International Medical Corps., a nonprofit organization that provides critical health services on remote islands where families are struggling to access medical care and basic resources like food, clean drinking water and vital medications,” she wrote. “The proceeds will go directly to the communities they’re serving in the Philippines and will help typhoon survivors get access to medical care and ultimately save lives. My prayers and thoughts are with those affected by the typhoon.”

It would seem that because Kardashian was thinking of others aside from herself, we would all applaud such a positive action from such a seemingly materialistic person. However this proved not to be the case. The masses were quick to attack Kardashian for only donating 10% of the auction’s proceeds to charity, calling her vile, and mocking her for lacking generosity.

A rep for Kardashian found the backlash to be disappointing and expressed frustration that she had become an “easy target” for criticism. What many may not realize is that this act of charity is not a first for Kardashian. Inspired by her late father, Robert Kardashian, she has consistently given away 10% of proceeds from auctions she holds on eBay throughout the year. Although the proceeds of her auctions generally benefit her church, she decided to donate the money for this particular auction to a charity benefitting a current global disaster.

That’s why as far as I’m concerned we should be ashamed of ourselves. When did we begin to judge one another for giving in the first place? Sure Kardashian could afford to donate more from a financial prospective, but how many of us have sat silently while others, less fortunate than ourselves, could have used anything that we could have afforded to give? How many of us who continually point fingers and judge have kept that 10% for ourselves? Wake up guys! Sure wealth is relative, but generosity and a giving heart is not. You either give or you don’t. And Kim Kardashian has given when she had every opportunity (and every right as far as I’m concerned) not to. As long as we continue to judge or criticize another person for their kindness, we remain the problem.

During this holiday season (and always,) I urge each and every one of you to put your proverbial money where your mouth is. Rather than pass judgment on someone for giving, get off your asses and give of yourself. You don’t need millions, or even thousands; all you need is your time. Let’s spread positivity and encouragement towards one another; anything helps. As I said, I may not be her biggest fan, but I’ll be the first to applaud Kardashian’s recent actions, and I suggest you be the second.

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, FASHION, LIFESTYLE, OPINION Tagged With: auction, charity, clothing, criticism, designer, eBay, Giving, kim kardashian, Philippines, Typhoon

Three Women Freed in London After 30 Years Alleged Captivity

by Blair Kaplan

UK-Flag1

 

Three women have been rescued from a south London home after one of the women called a local London charity to report that she had been held against her will for three decades. Two other women were also rescued from the house.

The charity, Freedom Charity, notified police of the phone call which occurred in October. According to Metropolitan Police, the phone call to the charity was made after one of the women held captive watched a documentary regarding forced marriages.

Metropolitan police have commented that a 67-year-old man and a 67-year-old woman have been taken into custody upon a slavery and domestic servitude investigation.

“All three women, who were highly traumatized, were taken to a place of safety where they remain,” police said in a statement. They confirmed that an investigation of the “very serious” allegations was underway.

The three women rescued are reportedly a 69-year-old Malaysian woman, a 57-year-old Irish woman, and a 30-year-old British woman.

It has not been reported as to which of the three woman made the phone call for help or how long the other two had been held.

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, EUROPE, WORLD Tagged With: Against Will, Captive, charity, Held, London, Three, UK, Women

Project Phoenix Rising is here to help Kids in Libya

by Lane Campbell

Today we interview Tommy Jordan. Tommy Jordan has organized Project Phoenix Rising with a small group of volunteers around the globe.  The team is working to bring a modern classroom experience to students in Libya.  Tommy Jordan is no stranger to being in the spotlight having gained worldwide fame after posting a YouTube video of himself using a handgun to destroy his daughters laptop.   That video today has over 38 Million views on YouTube.   The controversy that erupted following the video featuring his non-traditional parenting practice was enormous.  Today Tommy hopes to use that celebrity status to raise money in order to help others in Libya with Project Phoenix.

What is Project Phoenix?

Project Phoenix started out as a plan for western companies to bring tech into Libyan schools; we wanted to augment the learning experience in Libya with modern technology using the same official curriculum that students are learning from books.   We refer to the original concept as our phase one plan but it was more of our first official request to work in Libya.

We hit roadblocks in our phase one plan; infrastructure isn’t in place over there to handle today’s technology.  The electric power grid in Libya has big gaps and is not the most reliable, that alone presented a huge challenge.  The more details we discussed the more roadblocks we conceptualized as obstructions in the process of deploying a classroom experience in the same manner done in the United States.

With phase 2 we began fresh with the concept of bringing an entire purpose built classroom to the students of Libya.  We realized there is a large quantity of storage containers available at steep discounts; these containers are a by-product of our consumer-based economy.  The containers are made of solid steel and are weather proofed to provide protection over months of travel onboard a shipping container.  These containers can also be inexpensively shipped over seas making them the perfect option for our project.

After months of planning we have engineered these containers to be self sufficient in even the most inhospitable environments.  Each classroom facility is designed to accommodate 12 students and a teacher, with tablet computers, high speed Internet, electricity, air conditioning and lighting inside.  The design for a Project Phoenix Rising classroom facility includes electricity provided by solar panels and backed up by a diesel generator.  Then we designed the classroom facility to be transported and accessed while it’s loaded on the back of a truck, making it possible for the facility to visit multiple communities each week. The exterior of the classroom facility features a canopy that will pop out the side for kids to work in the shade if there are too many kids in a community to sit inside the classroom facility.

What was your motivation behind this project?

We can trace the roots of the project back to when I first had the opportunity to work in Libya from 2006 to 2009.  I love to travel and it was the first international work I ever did.   During that experience I learned about the people and culture, it’s a beautiful country.  Unlike so much of the world that has chosen to adopt a “westernized” culture, Libya has retained its own unique culture.

The concept for this project came together back in January 2013 while having a conversation with the head of a large international charity.  I was helping them with something on their website and my ability to recognize words in Arabic came up in conversation.  We started talking about how I learned to spell some words in Arabic, which brought up my experience in Libya.   The project has evolved from those early conversations.

Who is involved in the project?

Many talented folks have been committing resources to this project.  I would estimate that over $250k has been committed in resources from our friends.  Those friends are:

  • Worldwide CAD – Murray and his architectural firm out of Texas has been helping us out with designs.
  • DEI Industrial – Chad and his team out of Texas have been instrumental in nearly every stage of this project.
  • TwistedNetworx – This is Tommy’s consulting company.
  • Lightworks – Lou has been advising on the lighting and electrical equipment, his recommendations have been instrumental in lowering power consumption.
  • Doctor Gillian Gillespie – She has been instrumental in connecting our project with the right charitable organizations and government agencies.

How can I help out?

We are raising money with GoFundMe.com

Please Donate Today! – http://www.gofundme.com/phoenixlibya

Today this is all a concept that requires we raise $100,000 USD to found the charity in the US and UK then to build the first prototype.  The costs for these classroom facilities will be $65,000 USD so out of the $100,000 USD we raise at least that much money will go directly into the classroom. The rest of the funds will be used to properly setup our charitable organization within the United States and for travel.   Donations made within the United States today are not tax deductible.

Why choose GoFundMe.com over using Kickstarter.com for funding?

I checked into using it and indigogo.com as well but settled on gofundme.com for a couple of reasons.  There are big problems with using kickstarter.com for our concept; the first is they hold onto funds until you reach a goal set when you create the funding request.   The second is they return all the funds contributed to the cause if we don’t reach our goal.  With GoFundMe.com our team has access to funds as the donations are made.  As a newer organization we need these funds to help the kids today. If we did the kickstarter.com route and didn’t reach out goal we wouldn’t have any funds to work with.

How is this charity structured today?

The project has undergone multiple changes in the last half year.  It started out as a commercial venture.  We thought it needed to be a commercial venture until we started talking about actually building schools.  Then we realized it would need tremendous international support.  We are going to use the funds donated to form a charitable organization so future donations will be tax deductible.

After the charity is formed we intend to get registered with the United Nations in order to obtain additional funding from the international community.

How can I learn more?

Tommy has featured Project Phoenix Rising on his website with far more information than we included on ManhattanDigest.com for this interview.  If you are interested in learning more about the project or want to keep updated with the latest news it would be best to head over to http://8minutesoffame.com/phoenix-rising/ for the latest news and information.

Filed Under: AFRICA, BREAKING NEWS, WORLD Tagged With: charity, container schools, Dr Gillian Gillespie, internet celebrity, Interview, libya, libyan schools, project phoenix rising, schools, tommy jordan

Charity, Music, and Prom; My interview with Brittany Smooch

by Ryan Shea

Brittany Smooch
Brittany Smooch

Brittany Smooch is a young, up and coming teen pop star and Hip Hop artist.  Brittany’s music is fun and catchy and her personality is similar.  I had the pleasure of speaking to Brittany yesterday about her music and charity work she has participated in.  On the phone, Brittany seems sweet and determined.  She knows what her goals are and she is pursuing them with great success.  Brittany recently did work with the WGirls for their charity Project G.L.A.M, which gives prom dresses and accessories to girls who can not afford them. You can check it out at http://www.wgirls.org/get-involved/project-glam/

 

Brittany Smooch at Project G.L.A.M
Brittany Smooch at Project G.L.A.M

As soon as Brittany answered I knew she was going to be fun to interview.

When did you get into hip-hop?

I have always been into hip-hop music.  But when I started writing my own songs it just came out that way.  It just sounded like a rap.

When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in music?

I have been involved in music my whole life!  At 5 years old I was taking singing lessons and by 7 I was writing my own music.  I have always known that this is what I wanted to do.

Who is your favorite rapper?

Oh my God!  I have so many favorites.  But I guess if I had to pick it would be T.I.  He is amazing!

You have a unique Urban style, where do you love to shop?

I love Patricia Field.  They have a store in the City and the clothes are so crazy and cool.  I really like anything that has a unique feel.  I also really like Betsey Johnson.

Brittany Smooch
Brittany Smooch

How did you become involved with the WGirls and Project G.L.A.M?

I have always been involved with charity work.  I really enjoy it.  I was working with the NY city charity NY Cares and when the chance to do Project G.L.A.M came along I took it.  Its really an awesome charity and I love being able to help young girls.

This charity is so amazing, and it must have been cool to see the girls faces as they got their dresses, how was that?

Seeing their faces was priceless.  Watching the girls try on dresses and find ones they loved was really exciting.

Brittany Smooch at Project G.L.A.M
Brittany Smooch at Project G.L.A.M
Brittany Smooch Project G.L.A.M
Brittany Smooch Project G.L.A.M

What did you wear to your prom?

Well, I’ve actually been to a few proms.  But my favorite dress was one I wore to a Long Island prom.  It was really girly and looked like a Princess dress.  It was pink and lacey.  Usually I don’t like really girly clothes but this dress was beautiful and really made me feel like a princess.

Do you have any advice for prom goers this year?

“Don’t fall into peer pressure.”  Have fun and enjoy this time in your life but don’t think you have to do something you don’t want to.  That is really important to me.

What do you have coming up?

Well, I just released my EP and now I am working on my new album.  I just finished up my High School concert tour and am getting ready for my next performance.  I am performing at Six Flags Boston on June 29th.

Who would you love to collaborate with?

Well of course, T.I. since he’s my favorite rapper, but I also think it would be really cool to work with powerful women in music.  I’d love to do something with Nicki Minaj, Fergie, or Britney Spears.

What is one lyric to describe your life right now?

It would definitely have to be the chorus of my song, “Super Turned Up.”  Because that’s how everything in my life is right now, “Super Turned Up.”

You can check out Brittany Smooch on her website http://www.brittanysmooch.com/

Follow Brittany Smooch
Follow Brittany Smooch

 

You can also check out her interview in Vibe magazine.

http://www.vibe.com/article/new-music-brittany-smooch-booty-bounce-gal-behind-booty

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, FASHION, LIFESTYLE, MUSIC, NEW YORK, STYLE, U.S., uncategorized Tagged With: betsey johnson, britney spears, brittany smooch, charity, clothes, dance, dancing, fergie, hip hop, long island, music, NEW YORK, nicki minaj, NY, patricia field, project G.L.A.M, project glam, prom, prom dress, rap, t.i., Urban, vibe, vibe magazing, wgirls

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