| Mag |
Miasma
| All Rights Reserved |
| Our Fashion Picks |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Because life has no borders!
You’ve seen the pictures before: A child in torn clothing walks barefoot down the
muddy street littered with garbage and tin shacks.
A voice begins to talk about the lack of education and nutrition in the desolate third-
world country. The child’s dirty face is revealed with big wanting eyes and a sweet
smile gazing at the camera.
We have all seen these commercials and have watched them filled with empathy.
They may have affected us so much that we may have even let out a deep rooted
sigh of pain. The Charitable organization begging for help urged us to call the
number on the screen and donate mere cents per day to save a life.
Instead of changing the channel or telling herself that one day she will help, Joan
Nguyen went beyond these actions and started an entire organization to help an
ailing world. The 20-year-old student at the University of California-Riverside said,
"Fashion does not merely have to be a mode of quenching material thirst, but it can
also be used as a medium to ignite change through creativity and energy;” An insight
she came to after witnessing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Nguyen sought desperately for a way to help ease the despondency she saw every
day as a congressional intern. “Constituents phone calls came pouring in," Nguyen
remembers. "The devastations wrought by the hurricane affected people on both
coasts." Shortly before Katrina, Nugyen had begun designing her own dresses, “My
mother was a sample maker and had two industrial sewing machines sitting in the
garage. For some reason I thought I would like to learn how to sew.” “A lot of people
wanted to purchases my dresses, but initially I didn’t want to sell them.” In her
quest to aid in the relief program the proverbial light lit, and Nguyen says, “I
thought, 'Maybe I can sell my clothes and donate the proceeds to the Red Cross."
Nguyen started Clothing for Charity to do just that and more. In the late summer of
2005, C4C was created to provide a community for artists who are “diamonds in the
rough” and wish not only to sell their designs but to help humanitarian causes in
the process. So far C4C has raised money for several causes which include the
American Red Cross, Darfur, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation,
Gawad Kalinga, and the mudslide in the Philippines. "My personal mission is to
spread awareness about human rights and crimes against humanity," says Nguyen.
With that personal mission in mind, Nguyen says, "I cut, I sew, I package, I ship, I
Myspace, I e-mail, I design." She does all of this in the hopes that Clothing for
Charity can continue to grow and aid in humanitarian causes globally. "It seems like
I do all of the work, but, without the support of my friends and family, C4C wouldn't
still be up and running." In fact, Nguyen's first donors were her friends, but as word
spread, orders have increased and broadened to a nationwide audience. Currently,
designers such as Snake.Horse.Lord, PH by Philla, Moral Fabric, and Batani are
some of the design teams that donate their time and their designs. Nguyen donates
up to 80 percent of each piece's ticket price.
The website clothingforcharity.org has a written piece on each cause that they hope
to raise money for in an attempt to educate their clients about the current status of
the chosen crisis. Presently the Issue of the Moment, as the website has tagged it,
is the Children of Uganda. What many people do not know is that Uganda is, and
has been for the past eighteen years, in a humanitarian crisis with the children
being the targeted subjects of kidnapping, rape, and murder. A rebel army called The
Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has fought a brutal war against the government of
Uganda and its people using one the most malicious tactics, the recruitment and
use of children as soldiers. In fact ninety percent of the LRA’s soldiers are
kidnapped children who are enlisted as young as five years of age through raids on
villages. For fear of their lives these brutalized children are forced to commit
atrocities on their fellow abductees and even siblings. Others have become wives of
the soldiers with the sole purpose of bearing their children. Those who try to escape
are tortured and killed. Since 1986 1.6 million people have been displaced from their
homes with 30,000 children kidnapped since the mid 1990’s. Currently, these
numbers have soared with a staggering 10,000 abducted just in the past eighteen
months. As a result of the LRA’s tactics families have found themselves in
Internationally Displaced Persons camps created by the U.N. Since living in an IDP
camp does not guarantee safety, nutrition, or health care - as demonstrated by
murderous attacks of camps in recent years- many have become “Night Walkers”.
Streams of children and their mothers leave their homes each night walking for
hours to another village in hopes of staying ahead of the LRA. Nguyen fights to
bring such crimes to light using creative energy and consumerism to build
something positive in the belief that every little bit can tremendously help a person
in crisis.
The dream that started as a wish of a young student with a kind heart is still in its
infancy even going through bouts of inoperability due to the one woman staff
consisting of Nguyen who works on C4C full time during college vacations and part
time while studying and working at her two part-time jobs. When asked about the
future of C4C, Nguyen said, “This year we are expanding a lot. For the first year and
a half, I did almost everything by myself. But this year we have a talented and
growing team. We have a photographer, an event planner for charity fashion shows,
and new designers. We are still…looking for a Public Relations person, a talent
scout, and a writer for our issues of the moment [section].”
Nguyen hopes "the Web site will become a conduit for many artists to display and
promote their artwork and [do] something good at the same time." Nguyen
encourages and appreciates all of the e-mails of support she has received and hopes
that more artists working with all mediums, not just clothing, but also art pieces of
all types and even furniture will be joining the C4C in its altruistic crusade. She
believes charity is all about keeping an open heart and lending a helping hand.
For more information or to shop and donate please visit clothingforcharity.org and
myspace.com/clothingforcharity.
muddy street littered with garbage and tin shacks.
A voice begins to talk about the lack of education and nutrition in the desolate third-
world country. The child’s dirty face is revealed with big wanting eyes and a sweet
smile gazing at the camera.
We have all seen these commercials and have watched them filled with empathy.
They may have affected us so much that we may have even let out a deep rooted
sigh of pain. The Charitable organization begging for help urged us to call the
number on the screen and donate mere cents per day to save a life.
Instead of changing the channel or telling herself that one day she will help, Joan
Nguyen went beyond these actions and started an entire organization to help an
ailing world. The 20-year-old student at the University of California-Riverside said,
"Fashion does not merely have to be a mode of quenching material thirst, but it can
also be used as a medium to ignite change through creativity and energy;” An insight
she came to after witnessing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Nguyen sought desperately for a way to help ease the despondency she saw every
day as a congressional intern. “Constituents phone calls came pouring in," Nguyen
remembers. "The devastations wrought by the hurricane affected people on both
coasts." Shortly before Katrina, Nugyen had begun designing her own dresses, “My
mother was a sample maker and had two industrial sewing machines sitting in the
garage. For some reason I thought I would like to learn how to sew.” “A lot of people
wanted to purchases my dresses, but initially I didn’t want to sell them.” In her
quest to aid in the relief program the proverbial light lit, and Nguyen says, “I
thought, 'Maybe I can sell my clothes and donate the proceeds to the Red Cross."
Nguyen started Clothing for Charity to do just that and more. In the late summer of
2005, C4C was created to provide a community for artists who are “diamonds in the
rough” and wish not only to sell their designs but to help humanitarian causes in
the process. So far C4C has raised money for several causes which include the
American Red Cross, Darfur, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation,
Gawad Kalinga, and the mudslide in the Philippines. "My personal mission is to
spread awareness about human rights and crimes against humanity," says Nguyen.
With that personal mission in mind, Nguyen says, "I cut, I sew, I package, I ship, I
Myspace, I e-mail, I design." She does all of this in the hopes that Clothing for
Charity can continue to grow and aid in humanitarian causes globally. "It seems like
I do all of the work, but, without the support of my friends and family, C4C wouldn't
still be up and running." In fact, Nguyen's first donors were her friends, but as word
spread, orders have increased and broadened to a nationwide audience. Currently,
designers such as Snake.Horse.Lord, PH by Philla, Moral Fabric, and Batani are
some of the design teams that donate their time and their designs. Nguyen donates
up to 80 percent of each piece's ticket price.
The website clothingforcharity.org has a written piece on each cause that they hope
to raise money for in an attempt to educate their clients about the current status of
the chosen crisis. Presently the Issue of the Moment, as the website has tagged it,
is the Children of Uganda. What many people do not know is that Uganda is, and
has been for the past eighteen years, in a humanitarian crisis with the children
being the targeted subjects of kidnapping, rape, and murder. A rebel army called The
Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has fought a brutal war against the government of
Uganda and its people using one the most malicious tactics, the recruitment and
use of children as soldiers. In fact ninety percent of the LRA’s soldiers are
kidnapped children who are enlisted as young as five years of age through raids on
villages. For fear of their lives these brutalized children are forced to commit
atrocities on their fellow abductees and even siblings. Others have become wives of
the soldiers with the sole purpose of bearing their children. Those who try to escape
are tortured and killed. Since 1986 1.6 million people have been displaced from their
homes with 30,000 children kidnapped since the mid 1990’s. Currently, these
numbers have soared with a staggering 10,000 abducted just in the past eighteen
months. As a result of the LRA’s tactics families have found themselves in
Internationally Displaced Persons camps created by the U.N. Since living in an IDP
camp does not guarantee safety, nutrition, or health care - as demonstrated by
murderous attacks of camps in recent years- many have become “Night Walkers”.
Streams of children and their mothers leave their homes each night walking for
hours to another village in hopes of staying ahead of the LRA. Nguyen fights to
bring such crimes to light using creative energy and consumerism to build
something positive in the belief that every little bit can tremendously help a person
in crisis.
The dream that started as a wish of a young student with a kind heart is still in its
infancy even going through bouts of inoperability due to the one woman staff
consisting of Nguyen who works on C4C full time during college vacations and part
time while studying and working at her two part-time jobs. When asked about the
future of C4C, Nguyen said, “This year we are expanding a lot. For the first year and
a half, I did almost everything by myself. But this year we have a talented and
growing team. We have a photographer, an event planner for charity fashion shows,
and new designers. We are still…looking for a Public Relations person, a talent
scout, and a writer for our issues of the moment [section].”
Nguyen hopes "the Web site will become a conduit for many artists to display and
promote their artwork and [do] something good at the same time." Nguyen
encourages and appreciates all of the e-mails of support she has received and hopes
that more artists working with all mediums, not just clothing, but also art pieces of
all types and even furniture will be joining the C4C in its altruistic crusade. She
believes charity is all about keeping an open heart and lending a helping hand.
For more information or to shop and donate please visit clothingforcharity.org and
myspace.com/clothingforcharity.
| Clothes with a Conscience : C4C is a Must See |
| Search Miasma |
| Chatterbox |