(no subject)

[cleolinda]

Okay. I'm closing the poll (so to speak; you can't actually close it) and making an executive decision, if y'all are amenable to it. Here's why:

1. You can't edit a poll once it's created, and I totally forgot to put Habitat for Humanity, one of the best and least problematic charities of all, on the list.

2. By the time CafePress sends me the quarterly earnings, the need for emergency donations will have passed, but there will still be need. This is actually great, because we'll be sending money when other people have stopped. But the focus will be on feeding and housing the survivors by that point, not rescuing them.

3. Several of the charities I chose turned out to be problematic. (See this comment, among several others on that entry.)

3b. Especially the Red Cross. It was suggested, and I think this is an excellent idea, that if you do want to give to the Red Cross, go down to your local chapter and donate. Give blood, also. It sounds like your donation has more chance of going where it needs to go if you give locally. That, and you can give now, which we can't with the CafePress funds. You can always give directly at the website if you disagree with me on this one, by the way.

So here's my idea: I'm liking the sound of Second Harvest and Habitat for Humanity, which will focus on feeding and housing survivors, which is what they'll be doing when the CafePress money becomes available. No one has come up with any problems these charities have, financial, ideological or otherwise, and some have even said, "I've worked with them, and they're good people."

In addition to that: at this time, the Humane Society is actually leading the poll, so clearly there's a lot more support behind that one than I anticipated. Why don't we donate all the proceeds from any design referencing an animal (polar bear, horsybird, comedy sheep--hell, even werewolves) to them?

So: discuss. We have plenty of time to make a decision, but I'd feel more comfortable putting up products on the CafePress store if I could say, "Proceeds are definitely going to these charities." Rather than, you know, "Uh... we'll give 'em to someone. Promise!"

I'm not sure it was clear--it costs me nothing but a little time to mock up designs (and it's fun at that), so it's not like we can't have as many as we can think of. That last batch wasn't the only batch--it was just all I had at that moment. So don't worry, there will certainly be OMGWTFPOLARBEAR and Lost and all that. (Polar bear, which is almost finished, and comedy sheep are being held up while we get some line drawings done.)



"STFU, NOOB" (Troy/15M, round button, four styles. I may redo this one in a way that makes the picture bigger.)



"PH34R" (Troy/15M, rect. sticker, three styles)



"Cousins 1" (Troy/15M, shirt)



"Cousins 2" (Troy/15M, round buttons, two styles)



"Cousins 2" (Troy/15M, rect. stickers, two styles)



"Sleeves" (King Arthur/15M, for variety of items but particularly sleeveless camisoles and tank tops)



"Make Out" (HP&POA/15M, rect. sticker, 2 styles)

Have I linked to the Hunger Site yet today?

Comments

[keever.livejournal.com]

An alternative for non-monetary Red Cross donations: airline frequent flier miles (http://www.redcross.org/donate/donatemiles.html), which they use to get relief workers to disaster sites.

[mystalkershrine.livejournal.com]

I agree with giving donations to the Humane Society off of something animal related =) And I agree with Habitat for Humanity and Second Harvest =)

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I just did a link on my LJ for a woman who is personally delivering supplies to area shelters. Check it out.

[roseredhoofbeat.livejournal.com]

That is awesome! I am TOTALLY buying the "PH34R!" shirt!

Thanks for doing all this, Cleo, and how you have it set up sounds great.

[roseredhoofbeat.livejournal.com]

OH! Could we have a line of King Arthur stuff about the knights turned horses, and donate it to the USEF Hurricane Response fund?
United States Equestrian Federation is the shiznit. Great people to work with, been dealing with them for years. I know one of the founding members.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I love the idea, but I was trying to keep the charity list from being too fragmented. Hmm.

[haleiwatown.livejournal.com]

Hooray for the binnis about cousins. I was hoping for that.

[redmapletree.livejournal.com]

I adore all these designs. :) I like the "King of Kings" best, however. And thanks for linking to the Hunger Site! *clicks*

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Cleo, I donated a car to Habitat for Humanity, I've worked for firms where we joined HfH on projects, and really? I've found nothing that isn't admirable about their goals and how they're met. I think that's key: Habitat for Humanity achieves their goals.

I've been giving to the Humane Society for decades. All my cats were strays who picked me.

Once you have the Cafe Press goods up, I shall pimp your offerings.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Awesome! I respect your opinion a lot, so it's kind of a relief that HFH gets the all-clear from you. : )

[ter369.livejournal.com]

*cyber-blushes*

Thanks, Miss Cleo.

[sualocin.livejournal.com]

I like the PH34R with roman numerals, and the first makeout.

Plus the no sleeves is great!

a followup thought

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Will it be possible at Cafe Press to offer links back to the original M15M parodies? When we urge people to buy the goodies, some of them might not have read the inspiring shenanigans.

Really. My friends? Love parody, not all in online fandom.

Re: a followup thought

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

No, no, I totally intended to do that. I figure, if nothing else, people offline will see the stickers/etc. that people have bought, and if they get the link to the sto', it'll help to have everything in one place. Like links to the parodies, etc. I was wondering if I should put them just on the front page, or also put a link with each design ("cousins" = Troy, etc.).

Re: a followup thought

[ter369.livejournal.com]

I was wondering if I should put them just on the front page, or also put a link with each design ("cousins" = Troy, etc.).

A link with each design would encourage people to make the connection at a direct level. If they don't know the parody, the lines taken out of context might intrigue them ... and then they might want the sticker, since you've gifted them with entertainment, etc, etc. ka-ching! for good causes.

[missmp.livejournal.com]

Cousins! Yay! Great graphic for that one.

I haven't been commenting on your news roundups, but I've been reading everything, and I'm so grateful to you for doing this. I don't have the patience or the endurance to go through the news sites, so your updates have been invaluable to me.

I've been leary about making a donation to the Red Cross. Thank you for reminding me about habitat for Humanity.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_waterlilies/]

I'm so in love with the "The Romans wouldn't let us have sleeves" tank/cami. That's one of my favorite m15m lines.

You're probably not doing any designs based on the book parodies, are you? I can understand why, but I love your icon and I went, "Heee. That's so wonderfully nerdy. It must be mine!"

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm not even sure I can do book designs *after* the book comes out, though--I'd love to, but my publisher might have something to say about that.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_waterlilies/]

Ahh, well, that's understandable. There's enough good stuff in the original web parodies to keep it going, anyway. :)

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

people can now also donate time onlint to help gather and consolidate missing persons / found persons messages from all over the place:

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/09/04/katrina_help_process.html

[leucocrystal]

Thanks so much for all the charity updates -- it's all a huge help. And I agree that it'll be a good thing that the T-shirt and other CafePress items' profits will be going down there when most people will have thought the need is over. Many people don't realize, or might forget, how much long-term damage has been done.

Hee, my friend Wayne is going to have to get a "cousins" shirt, 'cause that's only his fave M15M line ever. ♥

[elistaire.livejournal.com]

I really appreciate this post about the different charities. I've been looking at them to see which ones to donate too. I knew about the RC's troubles with misappropriating funds, but not the United Ways problems. So now I know to avoid them. And to go with the others. Again, thank you.

[roseredhoofbeat.livejournal.com]

OK, I officially HATE the Red Cross right now.

They're telling people not to open their homes to evacuees (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9205236/)- but it's great to give THEM more money!

Has anyone told them that this is TEXAS? We all have GUNS for crying out loud! If someone tried to make off with the good silver, we can legally shoot them, because THIS IS TEXAS!

Hey

[rosemarie16.livejournal.com]

I didn't relize what I did til a few min. ago. I had told you that if you wanted, you could put me on your friends list.. but I forgot that my journal was all under lock and key! Anyhow, Its public, so if you want to, thats fine with me. ^___^


My Journal isn't much to read... I'm just a kid..but I'm welcome to any new readers. ^_^


~ Rosie ~

I guess 17 isn't really a kid is it.... :shrugs:

[metonymy.livejournal.com]

HFH and the Humane Society are great choices.

One tiny note, though - as a Classics major, the fake-Greek font on the Troy designs causes me physical pain. Could you please consider using just the normal fonts for those? *nitpicky*

[roseredhoofbeat.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. I wasn't the only anal retentive one.

[vampychick.livejournal.com]

Me, too. The gamma for 'f' has me twitching.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, the complete crapitude of those fonts in regards to accuracy was part of the joke, as far as I was concerned. : )

[edda.livejournal.com]

I am laughing too hard at the designs to actually pick just one. Much-needed. Thank you!

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Heh, I like "Cousins 2." I've seen the original of that image on a vase (urn?) when I was in Greece. It was, to tell the truth, a beauty.

[vampychick.livejournal.com]

It's on a plate, actually. I spent my entire trip to Greece trying to find a reasonable reproduction under fifty euros.

I ultimately failed. But now, I can have a shirt, yay!

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're right-- the trip was when I was 15 (I'm now 26), so I'm getting confused. But shit, it ruins my joke!

[vampychick.livejournal.com]

*totally gets it now*

[sturmclan.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love them. These are gonna be great & I don't know how I'm gonna choose.

I'm all for 2nd Harvest & HfH. Great charities & I'm very supportive of the idea of being able to give after the initial "OMGIVEGOTTOHELPNOW!!!" people have gotten bored & found something shiny to distract them. There will be a huge need in the months to come, so being prepared to give over the long-term is an excellent idea.

Thanks-- and more news

[promise19.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the new designs, and I'm really happy to know that OMGWTFPOLARBEAR is coming! :-D

That said, here's a link to a NYT article that confirms the reports that have been floating around about the NOLA police department. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/national/nationalspecial/04police.html?th&emc=th

[songstressicons.livejournal.com]

Everything sounds peachy-keen to me. I like the animal idea! It's a good way for people, like me, from other countries, to contribute, because we know that the money will go someplace useful. It's hard to know where to give HERE that will end up THERE, if you follow. Thumbs up all around!

[carmine-rose.livejournal.com]

I love the animals for animals idea. Nice and apt. And then we can be contributing to both people and animal charities, instead of choosing either, which is cool.

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

I'd be a lot more kindly disposed towards Habitat For Humanity if they didn't only build homes for families with children. Other people need places to live too.

[allova.livejournal.com]

I totally adore all the Troy designs. Especially the 'cousins' t-shirt.

[gryphonmage.livejournal.com]

Cleo, I don't how true this is nationwide, but my local Smith's (in New Mexico) grocery store is allowing you to include a donation to the Red Cross on your grocery bill. Smith's is part of Kroger, and according to the Smith's website (http://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/press_tmp.asp?fileId=08312005&Category=speeches&SubCat=newsspeech)

all the store's in the Kroger chain will be doing this, so for people who want to donate, but like me, don't have a local Red Cross office or have one that seems like it is always closed, or just don't want to use the website, they might want to check out this option.

[shesnotallthere.livejournal.com]

Food World (owned by Bruno's) here in Alabama is doing the same thing, but they're only matching up to $25,000.

[tenebris.livejournal.com]

I'm all for the idea of donating to the Humane Society with "animal" purchases. And I love the mockups for the "Cousins" shirt, the "Sleeves" shirt, and the "Make Out" stickers. Nice job on these! Bring on the Polar Bear!

Also, nice job on collecting and collating (I really hope that's the right use of that word) the link posts you've been doing. They've been fantastic for information, and you've been fantastically fantastic (cheese much? MEH) for keeping up on them. Thank you, Cleo. Thank you.

[eve-the-just.livejournal.com]

If I had to guess, I'd say the support for the Humane Society might stem from a general feeling that the other charities are getting enough press and enough cash. Also, the pets, not being allowed in the shelters at all, are the most in need right now.

For the Romans/sleeves one, I'd prefer if the writing were more Roman and less, um, Mariah Carey (no, I don't know why that came to mind, but it does have a certain um, "glitter" element to it). I LOVE the font on cousinsshirt1!

[soleta-nf.livejournal.com]

Ooh. I want the second 'make out' shirt.

I love that you're doing this for charity, btw. Very cool.

[olga-theodora.livejournal.com]

I'm late on this, and I love the stuff you are coming up with (totally buying). Just one thing: please, please, PLEASE for the love of all classics majors everywhere, don't use the Greek alphabet to only look like English (for instance, the "Cousins, totally cousins" actually reads "Cthysiees. Tthotallg cthysiees"... although I still can't figure out where you got the c, since Greek only has the kappa...).

I'll, you know, run now.

[olga-theodora.livejournal.com]

I see I've been beaten to the punch. Definitely running now.

(Although I will definitely be buying a Cousins and Sleeves shirt when they come out.)