Sacrifice to the party gods

Call it karma, call it feeling good, call it whatever you want… but it works.

I discovered it one Saturday night when a homeless person asked me for help as my friends and I walked to a night club. I had leftovers from dinner in my hands, and he lit up in gratitude when I handed him the bag. Suddenly I felt a lift in my spirit and I was in a great mood for the rest of the night. 

Now, rather than leaving these moments to chance, I make a “sacrifice to the party gods” before the weekend begins.  I like that term because it’s an acknowledgment that not everyone is free, and not everyone can even eat. But rather than feel guilty about it, I turn it into an opportunity to do something.  And call it a placebo if you like (placebos are proven to be quite powerful)…my weekends are much better when I do.

To me, giving is about finding projects that excite me, where I feel like my hard-earned money is making a major difference. Here are the organizations I have chosen:

Charity Water

This is literally saving lives, and 100% of my donation goes directly to the work (because sponsors cover their operation costs).  Every $20 saves a life.  How amazing is that?  I’ve already had one well funded (serving 250 people) by rallying friends and family. Now I auto-donate monthly so it never skips my mind.

Somaly Mam

Human Traffiking and sex slavery is the 3rd most profitable organized crime. It breaks my heart to know these kids are going through it. Oddly enough, it was a song by the New Pornographers (“When I was a baby”) that educated me about all of this.  I also auto-donate here to make sure I don’t forget.

Donors Choose

This site is really cool because you have the power to greenlight projects. It’s entirely focused on under-funded schools. Last time I funded a project the teacher sent me a package with photos and letters from the kids who were thankful for the supplies I bought them.

Try getting into giving as a habit…I find it feels oddly selfish and enjoyable when you do it right.

$10 to feed a family for a week

I was touched by Keith Ferrazi's Facebook post about his trip to Guatemala:

The staple of their diet is a tortilla with a little salt to give it taste. one woman shred a story of christmas this year where she told her kids that tonight they would eat tortillas but because they had none she pretended and boiled rocks and sat next …to… the fire all night until the kids gave out from exhaustion and went to sleep. She at least wanted the kids to go to sleep thinking that they would have food.

Here is where you can give $10 to feed a family for two weeks.

Tonight is a great night to do it.  It's what I call the "sacrifice to the party gods."  Just before the weekend or a party starts, I like to give to a charity to remember that while I get to go out and have a good time, there are others who cannot even eat.

Save 400 lives, NOW (and look good doing it)

There are many causes to champion, but my favorites are the ones that clearly, without a doubt save lives.  Clean water….How can life truly be possible when your children are drinking from polluted swamps?

In January I dedicated my birthday to raising enough money to build a well that would provide 400 people safe drinking water.  All of the money goes to building the well because Charity Water‘s administration costs are covered by sponsorships.

It is not complete. And I have less than a month to fund this well.

But this is not about making me look good. 
This is about making YOU look good… literally.

In exchange for helping NOW… I’m offering a gift…

Some of you know that that I co-founded a fashion company called “The NOW Project” – a clothing and jewelry line dedicated to inspiring people to live in the moment, and make a difference immediately.  Together, my partners and I helped bring yoga to at-risk youth.

We had a line of jewelry and clothing designed by the wunderkind talent, Erica Rose Trumpower. Our flagship product was “The NOW Watch.”  It was a reminder to be in the NOW.  I called it “The Reverse Time Machine” – rather than going to the future or the past, you go to the present… it’s a watch that does not tell time.

But they never came to market…
It’s a very long story, but even though we fought for two years for the trademark that our brand eventually received, we were sued by a brand that owned the word “now” on all watches.  While we had a 50% chance of winning, the cost and time involved would have killed us.

These are the remaining NOW pieces. And here are the reasons I think you’d like one:

• They are contraband.  You won’t see find this on the free market
• They cost us over $1500 each (R/D, production costs, legal, etc)
• Designed with unique shapes to an eye-catching conversation starter
• Stainless steel, heavy quality design
• Makes a great gift for the holidays

So…
The first 9 people who donate at least $75 to fund this well, will get a NOW piece.

1.  Go here to donate $75 or more!
2.  Email me your receipt (Robert@Richman.LA)
3.  Tell me if you prefer a men’s or women’s piece

As I said, only nine remain, so I’ll give them on first come, first serve basis.

Thank you for reading this far, and thank you for being a part of this!