Life Preservers Project

beyondneptune: The 5th Annual KSK Kares Kharity Drive: the...

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:21:00 -0400

The 5th Annual KSK Kares Kharity Drive: the Fight Gone Bad Never Nude Challenge

by Matt Ufford at Kissing Suzy Kolber

One week a year, we here at Kissing Suzy Kolber take a week to raise money for a good cause. Over the last four years, we’ve raised tens of thousands of dollars for wonderful causes like Fisher House Foundation and Wounded Warrior Project thanks to your generosity. This year, much like the last two years, our method will be to send grumpy ol’ Ufford into the woodchipper known as Fight Gone Bad, a punishing 17-minute CrossFit workout that benefits different charities every year. As you can see from this video, the more money we raise, the dumber I’m willing to look for your entertainment.

This year’s primary charity is the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. SOWF provides two main services. First, any time an American special ops soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine is severely wounded while deployed, the fund immediately cuts a $2000 check to the service member’s family so that they can afford travel and lodging to be at their loved one’s bedside as they recover from their injuries (a lot of combat wounds are treated in Germany, Walter Reed, etc.). Second — and more impressively — if a special ops warrior gets killed in the line of duty, SOWF pays for the surviving children to go to college. Full ride — tuition, room and board, books, everything.

Think about that for a minute. On August 6th this year, a helicopter crash killed 31 personnel in the special forces community, 17 of them Navy SEALS. They died in Afghanistan a couple months after killing the world’s most renowned and infamous terrorist, and you can help put their orphaned children through college. That is an awesome privilege. If you’re so motivated by that information that you don’t want to hear the rest of the details of the KSK Kares drive, you can go here to donate now.

ANYWAY, a lot of people have asked me what I could do to top last year’s gloriously sexy workout in rainbow snakeskin short-shorts with matching headband. It was a tough question, because I refuse to wear less clothing than that, and it’s impossible to find a pattern as gaudily flamboyant as rainbow snakeskin. But I think I found a way to go bigger than last year: FIGHT GONE BAD 6: THE NEVER NUDE CHALLENGE

On Saturday, September 17th, I will subject myself to the misery of Fight Gone Bad for charity — and with enough donations to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, I’ll do it dressed as David Cross’s never nude Tobias Fünke from “Arrested Development.” Here’s the breakdown:

Ten thousands bucks gets you a video of the event. $20K and I’ll do the workout in nothing but jean cut-offs. $30K and I’ll spend $87 of my own money to buy these awful jean short boxer briefs from Japan. $40K and I’ll don glasses and a fake mustache for the workout (due to testosterone issues, I can’t grow my own). And the $50,000 goal: I’ll shave only the top of my head so that I have the male pattern baldness of Tobias Fünke. (NOTE: Said head-shaving will happen a week before I appear at the Blogs with Balls convention. High stakes. Donate accordingly.)

Every day for the next week, I’ll give away prizes to each day’s biggest donors. These prizes include:

A brand-new, never used Slingbox.

DVDs of acclaimed TV shows that are perhaps not available on DVD yet (specifics withheld because certain TV bloggers would NEVER give away screening DVDs).

NFL officially licensed Super Bowl XLI Aaron Rodgers Packers jersey.

Signed copy of The Postmortal by Drew Magary.

The most generous NYC-area donor will be invited to my home for a bacon-and-bourbon party.

Other TBD swag.

So let’s do this, people. Go here to donate. Every dollar goes to a good cause: my public humiliation. Oh, and also the children of deceased special ops servicemen going to college. Whatever motivates you.

Life Preservers as an Art Collective: The Goal of any collective...

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 18:21:05 -0400

Life Preservers as an Art Collective:
The Goal of any collective is to have as many artists and designers as
possible collaborating and combining different visions and thus creating a beautiful collage of ideas and images with a singular goal in mind.

It’s the goal of Life Preservers to raise awareness regarding homegrown human trafficking in the US and to educate through fashion and art.

Through our efforts we wish for survivors voices to rise and be heard loud and clear.

With that said; the most important message we can spread is
that this is happening here in the US to young girls. Not in some third world country, but to the girl next door and to girls of all classes and nationalities, though generally it’s poor Latina or African American girls. These are beautiful young women and sometimes boys that are coerced into acts of prostitution or servatude.. Americans must face this truth and start to address ways to stop this form of modern day slavery. Art and Design is one of the most powerful mediums of educating without preaching or turning off our intended audience. Art gives the the viewer the opportunity to engage as much as they want to in the moment; visual art can then be carried in memory along with the message.

Our collective has been doing some amazing things this year:
Most recently we collaborated with KayeRachelle designs, EmeraldLydia Jewelry and Laura Trevino Photography to run a 10 day pop up gallery @RSPop Shop in NYC.
2 weeks ago we partnered with JLucas Clothier and JensenMartin designs to host the most amazing runway show @ Nikki Midtown. A score of amazing models, make-up artists, event directors and photographers came out to help make the night a hit. Hundreds of folks from the NYC legal community donated thousand and came to lend support! Finally the survivors from GEMS (home/outreach for domestic trafficking survivors) designed and silkscreened 7 kick ass T-shirts that were shown on the runway.

The TShirts and the girls that came out from GEMS that night were the definition of what Life Preservers is all about! The survivors shined through and showed us their poise and beauty through art and fashion. These girls/women rock!

The goal for Q3 2011 is to build a larger, stronger community of artists so we can keep collaborating in order to produce these events that benefit the survivors of domestic trafficking.

Shana Pederson, President
Life Preservers Inc.

livinglifebymymeans: always need to remember this!

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 17:04:33 -0400

livinglifebymymeans:

always need to remember this!

London City Hall

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:50:38 -0400

London City Hall

When Tumblr And Fashion Collide: The Best Fashion Tumblrs

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:01:58 -0400

When Tumblr And Fashion Collide: The Best Fashion Tumblrs:

Its no doubt that Tumblr is pretty damn addicting. Its so amazing that plenty of fashion houses, magazines, models and insiders have joined the ever-evolving bandwagon to launch their own Tumblr pages, using the site to share photos and videos from photoshoots and events. Here’s a look at some of the coolest fashion Tumblrs we’ve seen so far.

9 Well-Designed User Registration Pages To Learn From

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 07:54:51 -0400

9 Well-Designed User Registration Pages To Learn From:

Captchas, confirmation emails, account activation, and credit card details — let’s face it, user registration can be a headache. When your goal is to convert visitors to users and get as many sign-ups as possible, the last thing you want is for your registration page to act as a barrier. Unf…

Fab Find: The World Without Art...

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:22:38 -0400

wetheurban:

Designer: The Ink Society

So incredibly true! More like “the Earth without art would take away our humanity!”. Just look around you. Art is everywhere. Available here

June Fundraising Event

Fri, 20 May 2011 08:03:53 -0400

We’ll be @ Nikki Midtown all night June 28th with BDisovery, legal industry peeps, JensenMartin doing a fashion show and lots of other goodies!! Come help us raise money for GEMS

Psst- We Got A Secret...

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:55:00 -0400

So come a little closer! Come June, there will be a TON of news to share. Very exciting partnerships are being created as I write this. So much awesomeness( and yes this isn’t a word but really it had to be created for this) to share but not yet- so hang tight. In the meanwhile pay close attention to our Facebook page and Twitter feeds. There’s new stuff cropping up daily- so stay tuned.

A Tale of A Do- Gooder

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:35:00 -0400

Hi my name is Cindy, and while I work for Life Preservers Project you should really know who is the heart and soul of this organization. Allow me to tell you a little about our Prez, Shana Pederson. In the over ten years we’ve known one another, she’s always come through for me. She saved me when I was planning my wedding. She threw me a rehearsal dinner at her home. She was there when I needed a job. She held my hand when I was trying to concieve. She even held my newborn the day after he was born. See, Shana is one of those: the proverbial do-gooder whose natural maternal instincts allow her to help those in need of it. My story is only one of many.

The day Shana approached me on starting a charity with her, I was shocked but not surprised. Shocked because I couldn’t believe she was brave enough to initiate such a huge undertaking yet not surprised; if there was anyone who could handle it- it would be Shana! There were were on the floor of Barnes and Noble in Union Square piling over how to start a charity books (and yes there is actually a starting a charity for dummies. Who ever coined that title must be sipping on a mojito in the carribean somewhere) nervous and excited to go on this new unchartered territory. Our hearts were in the right places, but boy were we not prepared for what we had to accomplish! We kept facing more and more obstacles. Shana, worried brow ever present, would fret she had taken on far too much when suddenly the light would shine in and a friend would come through and help her out. That in it of itself is a testiment to Shana. So often in this charity process was she assisted by so many people wanting to help her. I guess in a way, they were finally able to return the favor she had offered so many times before. As I mentioned before, behind me, there’s someone she helped along the way.

Life Preservers Project is just that. We’re throwing out the safety net so that others can get the assistance they so desperately need. However, let it be noted that this charities backbone is Shana Pederson. A modern day crusador. A woman with a mission. A heart a big as a hug that holds us tightly to safety.

Find out who were are and how you can help!

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:19:00 -0400

Find out who were are and how you can help!

Photo

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:03:59 -0400

Tales from our LifePreserversProject Collective. RSPOP Shop...

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Tales from our LifePreserversProject Collective. RSPOP Shop vids rock and it gave us the exposure we needed!