fundraiser

Brain Pickings: Trivia Night for Philippines Disaster Relief

Hit by the strongest and deadliest of storms, the Philippines faces one of the largest humanitarian disasters in recent memory. Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda has killed approximately 4000 people and displaced millions of others, leaving truly immense destruction and devastation in its wake. 

Join me at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, November 26 for a trivia night fundraiser to support the disaster relief effort in the Philippines. 

It's only $5 to compete and Pour Girl is generously donating 10% of all sales on food and beverages. All proceeds will go to Gawad Kalinga, a Filipino non-governmental organization, to support the rebuilding and reconstruction process. GK is on the ground rehabilitating damaged homes and relieving crowded evacuation centres in affected areas. 

RSVP on Facebook and get ready to put your thinking caps on! It'll be a night of nerdy goodness! 

Thank you!

I celebrated my birthday just last week and this year, instead of asking for gifts, I asked family and friends to donate to Journalists for Human Rights. And guess what? Through a simple ask, we managed to raise $600 in less than two weeks...all of which will be going to fund our programs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo!

I honestly cannot think of a better gift than your support of an organization and a cause that means so much to me. I've been blown away by everyone's generosity and cannot thank you all enough for making this birthday so much more special.

Here's a short video to express my thanks and to show you where exactly your money is going :)

Salamat, merci, grazie, gracias, danke, bedankt, asante, meda ase, děkuji, thank you!

A Weekend of (for) Good Fun

So the past month has been absolute madness on my end but this weekend, I took the time to kick back, relax, and have a few drinks in support of some really amazing causes.

On Thursday night, I joined hundreds of people at Tryst Nightclub for TwestivalTO (see entry below) where collectively we raised $20,000 in Toronto and nearly $350,000 globally for Concern Worldwide. Truly an amazing feat that I'm just so humbled to have played a small part in. I got to spend some QT with my fave tweeps and as usual, met some fantastic people. Only downside to the event? The music was pumping way too loud for me to have any real meaningful conversations with the people I met. Best part about it? I now have an excuse to catch up with them some time in the near future!

with @coleyeung @andrealiew @carinaaaaa and @aMAYzin

But I have to say, Friday's Night for Rights, Journalists for Human Rights' annual fundraising event was a whole different ball game. Now I realize my position in the organization may undermine my credibility here but really, I played almost no role in putting this whole night together. In fact, my volunteering gig at TwestivalTO was probably a more significant contribution than my role at Night for Rights. See? I'm keeping it real over here!

Having said that, I have to give kudos to Aileen Doyle who did an absolutely stellar job at orchestrating the entire evening. Let me just say that that night I was truly proud to be part of such an amazing team of people who work hard everyday to make this world a better place.

jhr interns

The night oozed with class and sophistication with a live jazz band, African drumming, and Garvia Bailey's wit. And of course, it marked the unveiling of our latest project, Make Media Matter, with a video that gets me giddy and excited every time I watch it (high 5 to Jon Wong on that!). With delicious food, unlimited drinks (took advantage of that open bar, yes I did!), kickass music, and a happening crowd, Night for Rights is mos def the party to boot!

 

with Strombo himself

 

on the dancefloor