Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Fundraising or Fashion???

Ok...So Lance Armstrong comes up with this fantastic idea to raise money for cancer. Create wristbands worth a dollar each and people get a chance to contribute towards cancer research and at the same time show that they support it via these yellow wristbands. A fantastic idea indeed.

Although, when people start copying a unique idea such as this, it wears it out and becomes almost...lame.
I mean there is almost a wristband for everything now and they come in all different colours. Everyone wears them...which is great but why are people wearing these bands. I mean is it solely for fashion now that they are available in all different colours according to foundation or do these people genuinely want to contribute towards that particular fund?
It's truly a shame when one comes up with a great idea that works immensely well and then everyone just has to go out and copy it. Also, it’s not just fundraising organizations that are doing this but rather corporations which are just using it as selling ploy.
Anyways...I hope people realise the origination of these bands and give due credit and also if purchasing one...not doing so due to the sole reason of fashion. I personally sport the white wrist band to end poverty from the LIVE 8 concert.
So...if you’re thinking of getting these bands please be diligent in choosing and be conscious of what you’re purchasing the band for.
In connection to this...here are a few organizations which I personally feel are worthy of attention and need to be recognized:

Lance Armstrong Foundation (Cancer) - http://www.livestrong.org/
Save Darfur (The current crisis in Sudan) - http://www.savedarfur.org/
Make Poverty History (The fight to end poverty) - http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/
One (The fight to end poverty) – http://www.sun.com/one/video-60-mov-hi.html

If there are other organizations that you feel need to be noted please feel free to comment.

14 comments:

Keshi said...

Suga wut a great post and a very informative one too.


**I hope people realise the origination of these bands and give due credit and also if purchasing one...not doing so due to the sole reason of fashion.

yes I know exactly where u r coming from. ppl should not confuse fashion with charity and there are so many organisations that rob the ideas for their gain. Well the most we can do is atleast u'stand that and respect the real cause.


Here are some of the charities I have/am contributing to:

1.http://www.starlight.org/
(for seriously ill children)

2.http://www.cancer.org.au/
(for Cancer research)

3.http://www.lifeline.org.au
(for preventing suicide)


Keshi.

Vipul said...

If there is anything you can do
If there is even penny of pennies u can contribute u should do that there isnt any shame , but u will be blessed with the enchantment of those ppl who are being donated to.
Nice post suga:)

Hey wherez ur pic?:(not fair

Unknown said...

Is that what its for??

Damn I thought it was jus for plain ol fashion. You see almost everyone wearing one of those.

I'll go buy one too, choose a colour for me will ya suga??

Sugababee said...

Keshi...
Thank you soo much!
Im glad u agree..not alot of people do...
And yep the charities uv posted are fantastic...thanx Keshi


Wandu...whats with u and the pic huh huh huh...lol:p


Desi...thanx for ur comment mate!


Rooo...
Whats the deal mate...din u read the post at all..lol..choose the oprganization then the band not the other way around...it's in ur hands.

Łóòň Ġãĺ said...

wowww sugababeeeeeeeeeeeee!

u started blogging as well?? sorry i dinnow that!!

wrist bands...yeah tiz only here i'm seeing ppl go mad over wrist bands....n i've seen girls wearin 'em as anklets as well...gosh......well...i also have 3 o them...lol!! and am being honest when i say...i just bought them for the heck of it...just coz everyone had...

Łóòň Ġãĺ said...

cheerzzz!!

Anonymous said...

ITS MY TURN TO COMMENT :p sorrie for the delay... i jus got bak this weekend :) sugga bugga bugga woah intense post.. i must say im class right now n my yahoo's not workin n my professor is just ramblin on :p so i thot of yappin here ..

Anonymous said...

The obsession for these wrist bands.. we have them in the hospital i work at and we actually lend them out to our patients we dont sell them we buy them and lend them out and children actually prefer them when they are done recieving any type of shot instead of candy.. I understand children wear them for the trend and colors but they do noe what its for and i feel it inspires them but as we all noe manufacturers are coming up with their own causes now days since the "Live Strong" came out and some are actually meaninful and beneficial for charity organizations and medical help but some call it charity for their own organizations like we sell candy or banners to represent organizations these people use wristbands for their own charity cause n no one can stop them since we dont stop them to sell banners n candie n wha not..

Started by Tour de France legend and testicular-cancer survivor Armstrong to benefit his research and advocacy foundation.. the awareness bracelet as a fund-raising tool has since been copied across the nation by scores of churches.. schools.. charities.. and sports organizations with a color for every cause...It turned out to be one of the savviest marketing gimmicks since the Pet Rock.. one that other charities are busy emulating.. selling their bracelets from $1 to $5 each...

i buy the yellow ones and the ones for breast cancer for our hospital..but nuthin beyond that i mean its not even for me its for the people here.. if u wana make a difference donate some money food wha eva u want to big organizations that are out there.. i dont believe in donatin n havin somethin for myself..thats not me .. n these wrist bands r popular cuz ppl get to keep for themselves lets see how many ppl donate a buck or five bucks widout gettin somethin in return ..i bet half the population in this gimick wont even think twice :)

My intention here is not to be insensitive about what I see is a great need.. but merely to put the very thing we often glaze over because of the exterior of "good" under a necessary microscope...A rainbow of wristbands are now being sold to promote awareness of everything from breast cancer to "sharing the promise" n what ever logos ppl use for their organization..

I agree..we all need to appease our consciences and make up for the lack of charity we show the entire year... Still, I feel more inclined to seek out other ways to help this cause... There's too much room for my dollars to end up in the wrong hands...i dont need nethin in return thats how i see it ..

My favorites are walk-a-thon's mara-thon's n relay's .. what bout all of u ??

Keshi said...

omg look at Zillie, he's written a library...lol so cutte! I think he caught mah germs...:)

Keshi.

Łóòň Ġãĺ said...

Keshi n Zillie.....u both sure did have a night togetha....oh no...am not being dirty.....was just referring to zillie's comments for keshi n vice versa on his own blog!!

lol ;) ;)

Łóòň Ġãĺ said...

oh...btw...i was talking abt zillie's never - ending comment here! lol

Sugababee said...

Feathered....
Yep...a fad of sorts i guess u can say...
Thanx for commenting...and damn it sure is getting cold


Ado...

True...as long as part of the money is going to the charity that's great but a fair deal of the organizations which use this band to get donations are those which need people to become more aware of their situations and make individuals knowledgable on their cause as oppose to merely rasing funds.
I see where your coming from though...


Cheesy...

Lol...I'm not an intense blogger like you guys but once in a while doesnt hurt I guess lol...don say sorry:p
And ur just following the crowd eh....tisk tisk...lol

Zoollu...

Ok wow....ur comment is longer than my post lol:p

Well...it's great that it inspires the children I mean theres nothing better than that...to make them happy and feel good.
This is also true that we can't stop organizations from making these bands but all I'm saying is that it is pretty petty of them to do so in this fashion...

And it's tru what u said about how people just donate beucase they are getting something in return...which is a shame that our society would do that. I mean I'd hope that we has humans would be more aware and feel an inclination to contribute towards helping people around the world as oppose to merely purchasing a bracelet and saying that they made a donation.

Thanks for ur comment Zille...very nice point of view...refreshing if u ask me.


Cheesy Keshi Zille..
Lol...whats this bout the Zoolu and Keshi having a night together and that too on my bloggy...lol:p

Laura said...

Hi Suga!

I recently found your weblog through a search at technorati.com and as you seem to have an affiliation with Western, we would like to add your page to an online directory of weblogs we are creating, called Weblogs at Western.

Weblogs at Western is a Web site built around the use of weblogs in the Western community. Of course, inclusion in the directory and all additional information is optional. If you are interested, or know of additional blogs that may be added, please let me know by replying to laura.kishimoto@gmail.com.

--
Laura Kishimoto
Internet Assistant
Communications and Public Affairs
The University of Western Ontario
laura.kishimoto@gmail.com

Keshi said...

lol Suga ;-)

hahahaha Cheesy yes he's written a text book on it nah :)

Keshi.