Confessions of an FF Writer: September Edition
Of Fandom charity
By: Pemberly Rose
When I joined the idea of “fandom” back in late fall 1998 I was the ripe old age of 13. I had no concept of the word fandom or the ideals of fandoms doing good in the name of the bands/actors/books/shows/movies that they love so much. Flash forward to 2009 and I’m in the thick of the Twilight, HP, True Blood, and really loving the resurgence of supernatural fiction. Be it vampires, werewolves, wizards, or part faery waitresses from Bon Temps. I noticed something begin to happen. Fan related charity fundraisers were becoming more prominent. Donations on celebrity birthdays to certain charities they care about (i.e.: for Kristen Stewart’s birthday her fans donated to Covenant House). Maybe they were always there and I hadn’t ever noticed them before. Or maybe I was just discovering something new. Whatever it was I always wanted to get involved.
For a while I vacillated back and forth with actually doing it. I donated some money a few times but I wanted to contribute some writing to the causes. I’d always talked myself out of it with that negative self-talk that no one would want to read anything of mine.
This past year when the Japanese tsunami hit I was immediately drawn to write something for the cause that popped up for it right after. I did and I couldn’t have been happier to do so. All of us authors and contributors raised a great amount of money for the international relief agencies to help the Japanese affected by the earthquake/tsunami that happened there.
Just recently I turned in this one-shot for the wildfire compilation because so much of the southwest has been affected by horrendous wildfires this summer. My state, Arizona, has been one of them. Now that I’ve started donating I feel even more connected to the fandom around the world.
We’re all connected, despite our physical distance to one thing or another. And that is fandom. We’re a close-knit community that has its squabbles between different branches and even some internal ones. But we’re still a community of fans. Whether you love vamps, weres, wizards, or all of the above it’s so vitally important that we not forget that we’re all basically equals in fandom. There’s nothing more that I love seeing is when active community members pull together to help the less fortunate in their community. Donating time, money, or your work to a fandom cause is doing exactly that.
Have you ever donated to a fandom cause before? If not, was there anything holding you back from even donating something small like an OS? Hit me up in the comments!
Awesome! Every little bit counts. I’m a poor pre-med student so really donating my writing is the best I can do until I’m able to donate money as well as time =).
Hey there – I completely agree about this aspect of the fandom, it is really one of my favorites, the causes. I find it fantastic that these causes get the reconition they so justly deserve and need. I have always been a donor and what people fail to realize is you don’t have to give a lot. I give every month to NYC Food Bank, ASPCA, Komen for the Cure, and WWL League. They all get 5.00. Now that may not seem like a lot but it adds up and definitely helps. Same with the fandom, I donate 5.00 to all that are posted and in return, aside from knowing you are helping, you get these great outtakes. So whether you are giving money, your time, or stories, everyone pulls together for all of them. It really makes you smile to see this go on around all of us that participate in one way or another.