Whedonesque : Comments on 7744 : James Marsters Fans Launch A Hurricane Relief Fund.

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September 01 2005

James Marsters Fans Launch A Hurricane Relief Fund. I received an e-mail about this Yahoo Group. Information follows.

"Over the years, James Marsters fans have proven themselves to be among the most warmhearted and generous folks one could ever know.

Now, the people whose lives have been disrupted by Hurricane Katrina need our help.

The U.S. government is estimating that this may be the costliest cleanup in U.S. history. But, of course, there's no way to put a price tag on the cost in human lives and suffering.

What we're asking is that James Marsters fans ban together to help raise funds for the relief effort.

A temporary Yahoo group at
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/jm_katrina/
has been set up to coordinate efforts. This is an open group. There are no membership requirements to view the board.

If you are a Yahoo list owner or a board moderator and would like to help coordinate things for the group, just email me and I'll add your name as a
moderator to this list.

Basically, we want to provide information to people interested in making their own individual monetary donations to their charity of choice.

We also want to encourage fund-raisers. The Bloody Awful Poet Society and Support Spike will be holding some eBay auctions to help bring in money. 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross in honor of James Marsters.

If you are a member of a JM/Spike group and would like to organize a fund-raiser on your board, please tell us about it on the new Yahoo list.

As the Red Cross is saying, no amount is too small for a donation. Please help.

And please repost this throughout the fandom -- email groups, boards, LJs.

Thank you.

Alane
alanesue(at)aol.com
Bloody Awful Poet Society Listowner
Bloody_Awful on the web"

Razor | Cast&Crew | 19:30 CET | 16 comments total | tags: hurricane katrina, marsters, james

The Whedonverse.org site has posted a list of links to disaster relief sites where fans can donate. If you have any other suggestions on what the site might do to help out - send me an email. My contact info is in my profile.

killinj | September 01, 19:54 CET

There's a link to the Red Cross site on the sidebar of Whedonesque's front page. There's also an extensive list of voluntary organisations involved with the relief effort at the FEMA website.

This is a truly horrific tragedy that has struck the United States. I can't grasp the fact that New Orleans to all extents and purposes has gone.

Simon | September 01, 20:56 CET

I know Simon...it is possibly the worst hurricaine in history I hear now...and the thought of New Orleans being....gone....God...I can't even imagine what a living hell these poor people are going through. I regret now that I never got to visit that city, but I pray there will still be something left to cling to. There has to be a glimmer of hope somewhere. I know we all have our own problems and none of us are rich, but this really puts things in perspective. I hope that if every person in the nation can give even a small donation it will go a long way towards helping these poor people out somehow.

kathylovesspike | September 01, 21:24 CET

If you have a Livejournal you can participate in fandom charity, where you request a vid or fanfic or fanart, and in return you donate to a charity. This community has been doing this at least since the recent tsunami.

http://www.livejournal.com/community/fandom_charity/

electricspacegirl | September 01, 21:53 CET

Hmmm, I don't really understand that LJ. Easier just to donate directly to a charity like the Red Cross.

killinj | September 01, 22:12 CET

I'm very proud of my company today, they are matching without dollar limit any donation made by employees :))

zeitgeist | September 01, 22:24 CET

killinj, people who use LJ are doing fine with the charity challenges. I know it seems strange from an outsider, but it's really not that difficult once you understand how LJ works. This is a way to get something fun out of giving to charity. Sort of like a benefit concert, where you get to hear some bands play and the money goes to charity. Instead, you get a fanfic of your choice, or a fan music vid, or some user icons. The people in the fandom communities have fun doing this and I just wanted to let people here who use Livejournal know that this is available.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2005-09-01 20:44 ]

electricspacegirl | September 01, 22:39 CET

I understand how an LJ works, but simply looking on that link it isn't clear what people are supposed to do - and it should be whether you're a regular LJ member or not - if you want more people to participate. Thanks for the explanation.

killinj | September 01, 22:57 CET

Thanks a lot for all the info...amd I am proud of my company too...they are having a fund drive all this week and next and matching the donations....makes me feel like we are doing something.

kathylovesspike | September 01, 22:58 CET

From fandom_charity's user info page:

The procedure is simple: Fan #1 posts a challenge, such as "Please write me Heathers fic." Fan #2 replies with, "I'll write you a fic if you give X amount of money to X organisation." Fan #1 agrees. Obviously, you can do it the other way around too and offer to write/make vids etc. even if no challenge has been posted yet.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2005-09-01 21:29 ]

electricspacegirl | September 01, 23:25 CET

I'm very proud of my company today, they are matching without dollar limit any donation made by employees :))
-zeitgeist

Mine too! I just got the email! :)

SpookyRiverFan | September 01, 23:29 CET

Ok electricspacegirl, seems like too much effort to me, but if other people think that's fun more power to them. I'll add a link to the LJ and to this JM fundraiser on my site.

BTW, I'm wasn't sure if this was worthy of its own thread, but JM fans are offering "I heart Spike" postage stamps for sale on a Cafe Press store with $4 from every purchase going to the hurricane relief effort. So Spike fans can send out the postcards for their Spike movie campaign with their very own stamps!

killinj | September 02, 00:03 CET

Keep in mind the Buffy convention scandal a few months ago before you contribute money to a PayPal account or other payment vehicle that is not the charity itself - there are unscrupulous people out there willing to take advantage of your generosity. The best way to make sure the hurricane victims actually get your funds is to bypass group collections efforts and donate straight to the charitable organization...which can always be done in JM's honor.

Saturn Girl | September 02, 01:05 CET

True, the safest thing to do is donate directly to the charity.

killinj | September 02, 01:38 CET

I have faith that Alane will make sure any group or list wanting to participate with be on the up and up.

Reddygirl | September 02, 02:14 CET

Speaking of the hurricane and the relief efforts, I just want to take a moment to brag about the students at the school where I teach. When they heard about what was going on, THEY approached the principal and asked if they could do something to help out. Students submitted several ideas.... We are currently selling tickets for a "uniform free" day for students and for several faculty vs students sporting events.

An area church is taking in about 150 relocated families and quite a few students will be enrolling at our campus. Even though our school is severely overcrowded the kids are so excited about helping out. They are also organizing a donation program for clothes, school supplies, toys and such. Keep in mind that the majority of our students are classified as living below the poverty level themselves.

This is above and beyond what the staff, school, and district are already doing to assist these unfortunate victims.

Although I admire all of the relief efforts, my contributions will be funneled through these children who never cease to amaze me.

Rank Amateur | September 02, 03:41 CET

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