Whole Life Magazine

February/March 2014

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city of angels PHILANTHROPY THAT "CLICKS" WITH DONORS Kasey Luber puts her heart into sharing necessities with the homeless By Elyse Glickman A lthough the winter holiday is high season for charitable giving, the need for donations continues after the "goodwill to all" bell stops ringing. Videographer Kasey Luber knows all about this from her work with Big Happy Day, the LLC she founded to create online video campaigns for philanthropic endeavors as well as for- profi t businesses. Just before last year's holiday season, Luber realized the same social networking tools she uses to spread the word about her clients' causes could get people more actively engaged in a perpetually timely cause—helping the homeless. With business partner Arjuna O'Neal she developed Share Necessities, a unique philanthropic platform that empowers donors to choose where their dollars will go. "I do many projects where I donate my time and skills, but until now, there was a disconnect between the work I was doing and the people benefi ting," Luber explains. "With Share Necessities I'm getting to know the names of the people on Skid Row and other places, hearing their stories fi rsthand." The site (www.thesharenecessities. com) features an itemized menu where donors can choose from a variety of items, ranging from blankets and hygiene kits to mittens. Case purchases are encouraged, and money donated on smaller purchases, such as hats or socks, is put toward the purchase of a case. "I wanted to see what the power of social media could accomplish," says Luber. "Within a week of getting our site up and posting it on our Facebook page, we were in Venice and along Skid Row handing out hats, gloves and blankets to the homeless. During Christmas week we gave out 200 blankets and 200 hat-and-glove sets." As the newly hatched charity continues to grow, Luber hopes Share Necessities will engage donors in a more deeply personal way. "The idea is that if you are buying a blanket through Share Necessities, you are prompted to think about what it is like to be in their position. Hopefully it will spark [the donor] to give back in other ways, whether through us or another charity." Since its December 10 launch in Los Angeles, the charity has added satellites in Phoenix, San Francisco and Detroit, with more in the works. Charitable work anywhere on the planet is a benefi t for all of mankind, but giving in your home city brings a special satisfaction. The next time you pass a homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk, you'll know the blanket keeping him warm may have come from you. LOVE IS IN THE AIR, ACCORDING TO Pew Research, which states both sexes largely believe love is an important reason to get married. But can love and sex share the same airspace? They often go together about as well as chocolate-covered strawberries and a mimosa. If only there were a more quantifi able way to negotiate the heart. Until then, there are plenty of unexpected numbers to smirk about. 2,118,000 Number of U.S. marriages in 2011 877,000 Number of U.S. divorces in 2011 40 Percent of U.S. women who believe their male partners aren't romantic 75 Percent of men who believe they are 60 Percent of U.S. men under age 71 who have masturbated in the last year 2 Ranking of alcohol consumption as a pleasurable activity, closely losing to sexual intercourse 5 Ranking of childcare on that same list 60 Percent of migraine sufferers who claim sex during an episode alleviates the pain 77 Percent of couples claiming to have better sex lives if they take at least a trip a year together 17 Maximum amount of times people are more likely to abuse substances if they engage in sexual promiscuity at a younger age Sources: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Pew Research, AskMen, Cosmopolitan, University of Canterbury, StudentBeans.com, US Travel Association, Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study and Cephalalgia W H AT C O U N T S february/march 2014 9 WLT-FEB-MAR-1-30.indd 9 1/30/14 1:10 AM

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