So sorry to neglect all of my wonderful family and friends, of late I've been in a sort of reverie. I've had time to think about recent events here in my current home, the US, plus places abroad, and I'm disheartened that even in this media age so much tragedy is going unnoticed (in favor of the cult of celebrity?), that justice has become a wide net through which so many fall, broken, away. So many that, in fact I don't think there's anyone who has never been touched by some need, some neglect, some grief or some pain. SO Edith Keeler must die ( http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_City_on_the_Edge_of_Forever_(episode), that is, the time has come to close the wide net of large, abstract ideas of peace, justice, mercy, charity with our actual hands. Let us perhaps catch up the fallen not by giving to the big box charities who vaguely stand for the courage we have lacked, and certainly not by looking the other way and expecting our flawed governments to help. Let us come down from the clouds of our own lofty visions, get as is said in nonprofit terms, On the Ground, get our hands dirty and-----
Skirt the Issues!
Yes, and let's scare the pants off pain, knock the socks of hunger, make injustice lose its shirt, dress both fresh and old wounds! Yup, you got it, coming your way will be the Voirrey Group, a "charity" which focuses on the sales of clothing to actually create change for the better. Yes, there are others who have done this, are doing this, but in another blog I or another Group member will talk about that, about what is called the Big Box charities. This Skirt the Issues fundraiser is different in many ways, but first and foremost it will be skirts we'll be selling, though any and all donations will be accepted. Pieces will be antique, vintage, old, second-hand, new, some even unique and quite special. You'll see them on my Facebook page, receive them listed if you wish by email, and maybe even pick them up in stores in places you might not expect. It's going to be as easy and elating as shopping itself. Don't you look at me as if I'm wrong.
Secondly, this charity Group and the Skirt the Issue fundraiser will hold one vital difference: EVERYTHING will be revealed. Everyone involved will know exactly what we're doing, those who buy a piece of clothing will know exactly where their money went, to the limits of the privacy of some. That is, if a family burnt out of their home would not like their name published, we'll be kind but still provide them with needed clothing and maybe school supplies, etc., with the money received from YOU when you bought school clothing for YOUR child. All above board, we'll even keep a blog of our general activities and expenses. Nothing generalized, nothing abstract, and nothing held back.
So, who benefits? Well, right now we are in the middle of nailing things down with a Native American self-run effort at self-sustainability, an urban indigenous mental health and general help center, a children and young people's homeless shelter, a Haitian group actually meeting immediate needs, and an organization of women literally pulling young girls out of the clutches and vehicles of sex slavers at the borders of their country and helping these girls heal. We would love to find a Japanese agency actually helping survivors of the disasters there, please help if you can. A certain amount of money will also help to meet the needs of individuals in catastrophic or chronic situations of suffering as they are detected.
All this time, we'll be working with folks in the fashion industry and trades, to use our combined expertise to mentor those up and coming and promoting their work, even as we work to create from our single true hearts in our fields. After all, that's where all this started, with the joy of adorning ourselves and others. Just because we're giving of ourselves doesn't mean we have to stop giving of ourselves, ya know?
Obviously, I can't do this alone, in fact, I have to admit I really can't do it at all. Oh I'll be around, and I'll do some designing, helping out, advising, but most of all, I'm just the figurehead, the Group's muse, if you will. I'm just too sick to live my fantasy, what I'd foreseen as the remainder of my life. Oh, don't panic, I'll be around for some time, but I have APS, and I'm having to learn that I have to let my fantasy go, I have to inspire others to take up the work, dig in the furrow I started. That's one reason why I introduced you in this blog to SMJ, please, get to know her, rough edges and all. She's not just my right hand, not just a staff member, but my own cousin, who even though she too inherited the disease is ready to step in and use her nonprofit skills to turn fantasy into reality. I'll introduce you slowly to others as well, the volunteers, the models and seamstresses, the shop owners and other professionals. I'll also introduce you to every hero that actually turns a dollar into a diamond, who can MAKE GOOD THINGS HAPPEN, not those who just have good will. I hope you're excited as I am. We may not be an army, just some meek little fashion queens ready to run around the earth with a spirit of true charity, no more and no less. I hope you'll take the ride with us.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you to
The Voirrey Group
I hope you'll Skirt the Issues with us.Sincerely,
V.
