Time to do a charity donation drive!
This year’s charity is Women for Women International. Why give to a women-focused charity? I strongly recommend you check out that link — but here’s the short version, from their web site:
- [Women] bear a disproportionate burden of the world’s poverty (They represent 70 percent of the world’s poor)
- Their ability to have a decent life is limited (they perform 66 percent of the world’s work and produce 50 percent of the food but they only earn 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent of the property)
- Investment in women is inadequate (recent data shows that only 3.6% of overseas development assistance was earmarked for gender equality (UNIFEM). And for every dollar of development assistance, two cents goes to girls (Girl Effect).
- During and after conflict, women are particularly vulnerable to violence and exploitation (About 70% of casualties in recent conflicts are women and children (UNIFEM) and the forms of violence they experience include torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution and mutilation (UN)
Women for Women does great work in trying to change all of the above.
And to encourage you to give if you can, here’s the deal: the first 15 people to donate this year will get a galley copy of The Secret Lives of Dresses. (Just email me [erin at dressaday dot com] your receipt and your mailing address).
http://www.networkforgood.org/PCA/Badge.swf?BadgeId=114975
If we reach $1200 in donations by December 25, I will write a new “secret lives” story, that will include the top-two vote-getters below:
http://modpoll.com/poll.js?pid=agdwb2xsMmdvcg0LEgRQb2xsGLvHlwYM&theme=&width=200
Sound good? Let’s go!
(available from Amazon and anywhere boots are sold; I bought mine gently pre-loved — and significantly cheaper than list — on eBay). And I loooooves them. (There's those oooo's again!)
A Dress A Day 