Peace in the New Year

As I promised in my previous blog post, I also found a great accessory for your new year's eve party and a new-to-me non-profit - Peace Games - that will receive 20% from its sale online. It is the Amanda satin fold-over clutch made by Coach ($298). It has a detachable ball chain strap and comes in 5 bright and festive colors.

Peace Games imagines a world where every child has the skills, knowledge, supportive relationships, and opportunities to prevent violence and build safer communities. A world where individuals and institutions believe in the power of young people and that violence – in all of its forms – can be prevented. Peace Games believes that this goal is best achieved by building the capacity of schools and community groups to implement holistic, peace and justice education programs.

Peace Games was born from the vision of Dr. Francelia Butler, who brought together the power of play with the power of peace. Between 1992 and 1996, Harvard University students ran the peace games until it became an independent non-profit organization. In 2000, Peace Games opened its second office in Los Angeles. After great bicoastal success, Peace Games became a national organization in 2005, doubling in size by partnering with schools in both New York City and Chicago. Now in its fifteenth year, Peace Games has worked with over 35,000 elementary and middle school students, recruited and trained over 4,100 college and community volunteers, and worked with nearly 12,000 family members to encourage peacemaking at home.

Combining the power of play with the power of peace - now that sounds like a new year's resolution we should all make. Happy New Year to all and thanks for supporting my new blog!

Coach Cares

There are only five days left in which you can participate in Coach’s "Coach Cares" holiday philanthropic sales event. Coach, an American designer and maker of luxury lifestyle handbags and accessories, has joined forces with eleven celebrity fans’ favorite charity and organizations which will receive 20% of proceeds of the sale of selected Coach bags through their online store. Below is one of my favorite picks which highlights an organization I've supported for many years.

But please check out all eleven gorgeous bags and learn a little about each of the charities – you’ll likely gain a lot of knowledge and inspiration along with a fabulous accessory for the New Year. These are the celebrity fans supporting the following worthy causes: Mandy Moore (Peace Games), Ryan Reynolds (The Michael J. Fox Foundation), Jessica Alba (Youth Mentoring Connection), Elizabeth Banks (LA’s Best), Kerry Washington (V-Day), Evangeline Lilly (Free Press), Ali Larter (The Art of Elysium), Halle Berry (Jenesse Center), Eva Longoria (Eva’s Heroes), Rebeccas Romijn (spcaLA), and Rosario Dawson (Lower East Side Girls Club).

One of my favorites of the bags in the Coach Cares selection is the Leather Large Sabrina ($498) in cherry leather with brass hardware (also comes in 4 other colors). At over 13 x 8 inches, it will hold just about everything you need for an outing, especially if you’re like me and typically carry multiple snacks, toys and changes of clothes for my two kids at all times.

The charity benefiting from the sale of this bag is V-Day, which actress Kerry Washington highlights as follows: “V-Day dreams of a world where women thrive rather than merely survive. Through art and activism, V-Day shatters the silence and changes consciousness around violence against women and girls. Including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sex slavery. In ten years, V-Day has raised over $60 million- educating millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, reopening shelters, and funding over 5,000 community based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Kenya, South Dakota, Haiti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Iraq.” Kerry is also a member of the organizations V-Board.

Founded by playwright Eve Ensler 10 years ago, V-Day has become a formidable movement, launching grassroots campaigns and affecting positive legislation for the protection of girls and women around the world. This year more than 4000 V-Day benefit events - produced by local volunteer activists and performed in theaters, community centers, houses of worship, and college campuses – took place around the world, educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls and raising funds for local groups within their communities. I met Eve Ensler 8 years ago after she spoke at a women’s conference in San Francisco, and I still have a signed copy of her Vagina Monologues book. She inspired me and a dozen friends to gather and perform the monologues to celebrate her and V-Day’s incredible work. And I’m so pleased that I have the opportunity to honor and support V-Day’s work again today.

Through this Coach Cares promotion, I learned about a new-to-me nonprofit that I felt deserved its own feature in my next post. It also has a pretty gorgeous accessory which you may love for your hot New Year's Eve party. So check it out!

Last Minute Stocking Stuffers that Support a Worthy Cause

So we’re down to the last few days before Christmas, and for you last minute shoppers in need of stocking stuffers for your children, here are a few of my favorites, all of which, of course, benefits a worthy cause. The “gifts that give back” theme is quite popular during the holiday season and you will find other lists floating out there trying to guide your charitable intentions. I’ve surveyed a dozen or more of these lists and narrowed it down to a couple gifting categories.

If your children aren’t expecting anything in their stockings, you could buy them a goat ($120) or a flock of geese ($20) in their honor (seriously, check out Heifer); or donate money to fund a mosquito bed net in Africa ($10) at Universal Giving. Technically, these notes of donation would also fit in a Christmas stocking. But philanthropy a la mode’s mission is not to try to solicit your donations, but to connect you to products that benefit worthy causes.

So for those of you who are gifting-challenged, any of the products here will have your children doubly impressed by not only your discerning, good taste but also your benevolence. I will feature some of these products and their benefiting organizations and causes in greater detail in future blog posts because both the products and charitable organizations deserve to be highlighted beyond merely this list. And that’s why philanthropy a la mode exists. So here are those few favorites.

Juicy Couture designed this lovely pink heart charm surrounded with pave Swarovski crystals with its logo on one side and the St. Jude’s logo on the other. 100% of proceeds (after all related expenses) go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and is sold in their online store ($48).

Inspired by the children of PBS, philosophy created the tree house, a 2-piece kit containing their 8 oz. red delicious apple hand wash and 4 oz. red delicious apple hand cream. 100% of philosophy’s net proceeds will go to PBS or PBS Kids ($18) and is sold at Philosophy’s online store.

This unique-looking leather coin purse with zipper started off as an exhibit in a New York art gallery, although its origins are much humbler. Artist George Skelcher was inspired to create the purse after seeing the city's homeless using crushed coffee cups to panhandle for change. The design is modeled closely after the famous New York City coffee cup, featuring the well-known blue and gold motif and the phrase "We Are Happy to Serve You". Part of the proceeds from the sale of each purse is donated to HELP USA, an organization that has been helping the homeless since 1986 and can be found at Wishing Fish ($29.95).

This adorable knitted elephant (think sock monkey, but a different species) is hand-knitted by rural women in Kenya using environmentally friendly and ecologically sustainable materials and processes. Sale of this ($24) and other products at Kenana Knitters help support farming communities in Kenya. I really love their Great Giant Elephant which is nearly 2 feet tall ($96) but it may be a little too big for your stocking.

Urban Outfitters and Filter Magazine have teamed up to curate the fifth installment of the Give.Listen.Help compilation series. A large percentage of the proceeds ($13.88 of every $14.99!) from the sale of each disc will be donated to the PABLOVE Foundation, a group formed by Jeff Castelaz, LA-based cofounder of Dangerbird Records, to help the Children's Hosital of Los Angeles (where Jeff's son is undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer). This exclusive 2-disc mix features 1 disc packed with unreleased and remixed versions of songs from an impressive list of artists including Radiohead and Jack Johnson, and can be found at Urban Outfitters.

I love this board book for my 1 1/2 year old son. The third board book from The Global Fund for Children, Global Babies familiarizes little ones with the friendly faces of their peers from around the world ($6.95).

For Little Citizens of the World

Based on the shared mission to serve the little citizens of the world, Tea has created a modern line of baby and kids apparel exclusively for the Global Fund for Children which receives 70% of each sale of their "for little citizens of the world" merchandise ($13-$73 per item). Tea’s beautiful collection has been featured in Vogue and In Style magazines as well as many of the parenting and family magazines like Couture Baby. For the past 10 years, The Global Fund for Children has focused on a single mission: advance the dignity of young people around the world by supporting innovative grassroots organizations working with children whose economic, social, ethnic, or gender status stands as a barrier to opportunity. Since its founding in 1994, The Global Fund for Children has distributed more than $5 million in grants to 205 groups in 61 countries.

You can also purchase through Tea’s online store, one of many original, black-and-white framed images (19 1/4" x 25 1/2") taken by a photography fellow at The Global Fund for Children. You can choose from five different photos ($950) and 100% of the proceeds go to The Global Fund for Children.

GFC’s Global Media Ventures encompasses GFC’s book-publishing program, which produces vibrant photo-illustrated children’s books showing the similarities of children throughout the world and celebrating the shared processes of childhood; documentary photography that illustrates the day-to-day lives of young people served by the community-based organizations GFC supports; and films that profile the issues that children often face in their struggles for dignity.

I met Maya Ajmera the founder and President of The Global Fund of Children six years ago. She is not only the founder, but also the author of several GFC books, including their first book, Children from Australia to Zimbabwe. She gave me a copy of that book which I now read to my four year old daughter, and buy as gifts for other children in my life. With beautiful photographs from around the world and interesting facts about each featured country (including an imaginary place called Xanadu), this book will connect you and your children to your global community. The collaborative effort of a socially responsible company like Tea with an innovative non-profit like The Global Fund for Children demonstrates how philanthropy, design, art, and style can coexist beautifully.(Framed photograph Laying Bricks by photography fellow, Malin Fezhal; other images courtesy of Tea Collection website and The Global Fund for Children)

Water Changes Everything

One in six people on the planet do not have access to clean drinking water. So charity: water, a non profit organization is bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations, giving100% of the money they raise to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need.

MONIQUE PEAN, a New York City jewelry designer has partnered with charity:water, a non-profit organization that is providing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. The charity:water fine jewelry collection by Monique Pean raises awareness of the 1.1 billion people in the world who do not have access to safe and clean drinking water. Each piece of jewelry sold provides clean drinking water to 10 people for 20 years. Thus far, sales from the collection have provided clean water to over 2,000 people for 20 years. The charity:water collection draws inspiration from the water purification process. In a nod to the pure water which charity:water is working so diligently to provide, the 2009 collection moves between browns and blues to glistening clear colors (pictured here). Monique Pean combines recycled gold with conflict and devastation free precious stone and diamonds to create a collection that speaks to those who appreciate luxury and look for beautiful and avant-garde jewelry that makes a difference.

I remember watching charity:water's powerful PSA which shows people in a U.S. city carrying large plastic jugs down to the murky waters of a nearby pond to collect their drinking water, and a mother pouring it for her kids to drink. But it wasn't until I fell in love with a necklace that Monique Pean designed - the Drop of Water Blue Diamond Necklace - which is a part of her c:w signature collection currently on her website (it's so gorgeous, and it appears that you can still order it online, $795, not pictured here) - that I learned about charity:water's work to build wells and to raise awareness of the water crisis through events, fundraising exhibitions and other public awareness campaigns. Now that I've read Monique Pean's Water Changes Everything summary about her collaboration with charity:water and her use of recycled gold and conflict and devastation free stones in her collection, I not only know what I'm going to add to my next birthday/anniversary/holiday wish lists, but also how I can be a conscious consumer when it comes to buying precious metals and stones. So walk to your kitchen, pour yourself a cold glass of water from your faucet, and check out charity:water and Monique Pean's websites to learn more. (water glass image courtesy of charity:water website; jewelry images courtesy of Monique Pean)

The Launch of philanthropy a la mode

I've heard that 50,000 new blogs are started each day. So what makes this one any different than the other 49,999 you’ll be browsing tonight? Philanthropy A LA MODE is providing a unique editorial that combines two of my favorite passions – appreciation for beautifully designed or otherwise interesting products and support for worthy charitable causes. This website and blog will showcase some up-and-coming or new-to-you designers, brands and small businesses as well as re-introduce you to some well-established leaders in fashion and product design from businesses that care about more than just increasing their own profit margins. All products featured here will benefit a charitable cause (typically with a percentage of sale going towards the non-profit organization), raise awareness for worthy causes, or positively impact people or the planet. I will not ask you to wear a gel bracelet or awareness ribbon; nor propose to add a new mug or t-shirt to your collection. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with supporting your favorite causes with any of these things. But you won’t hear it from me unless it is the coolest t-shirt you could easily wear to a red-carpet event. All products and organizations featured here are selected by me. I will personally look at, touch, taste, smell, wear, or otherwise sample the product if possible. I will not feature a product that I would not buy for myself or for someone I care about, assuming I had the personal financial resources to do so. So while you "oooh" at the products, you can "ahhh" at some of great works these charitable organizations are accomplishing. Some may argue that I am advocating consumerism; but, let’s face it. Even in these challenging economic times, we’re still going to buy stuff, just not so much unnecessary stuff. And if you’re going to narrow down the stuff you’re going to buy, please pass on the mundane, ugly stuff; stick to that one beautiful thing that makes you drool; and do someone else some good at the same time. For those of you who are fortunate enough to enjoy beautiful things, it’s like adding a scoop of philanthropy onto your plate.