UNICEF & Halloween

When I was growing up, teachers would hand all the kids some UNICEF boxes to take with us when we went trick or treating and then would beat us if we forgot our box on November 1st. Not so much beating really as yelling. Well, not really yelling as much as scolding. Well not really scolding as much as admonishing. Maybe that's even too strong, but hey, you felt stupid if you forgot it because you had carried it around the night before. That box in one hand and your goody bag in the other. When you rang a doorbell, people had candy in one bowl and pennies or nickels in the other.

Now, I don't see many kids trick or treating, but when I do actually have candy, and am at home and can get my bloated body off the Lazy Boy I see that kids have the bags for candy, but no UNICEF boxes. I think that's a tragedy and so I decided to do something about it.

I called my dear and wonderful friend Fay Aiyana who is a singer I have plugged here before and she told me she gives a portion of all her album sales to charity, including UNICEF. Charities are close to her heart because doctors told her she might never sing again after battling a severe form of acid reflux disease. This is a woman whose entire life is music, and singing is a big part of that. To give up singing entirely would be crushing. Well, after surgery and several years of recovery,she is singing again, and doing it well. So, in addition to all her music coordinator duties in film and television, she has an album recently out called Illuminate The Shadows which documents in song her struggles to sing again as well as her hit You Turn Me On.

For any album Fay sells between now and the end of the year I will match whatever donation she makes, with a minimum donation of $1,000. To listen to tracks off her album, download free ringtones or to purchase the album, click here. I know lots of you are saying, I don't want to buy an album. I am perfectly okay with that. Click on the above link and take a look at the charities she gives to. Even if you can't give a dime, that's ok. Knowledge is power. Learn about them, read about them and spread the word.

The charities Fay contributes to are UNICEF, ASPCA, Toms Shoes for Tomorrow, StopGlobalWarming.org, and One.org. She has links to all of them on her page.

I will be giving out two signed CD's of Illuminate The Shadows to two lucky people who show up to the luncheon on Saturday and two more to readers who can't make it to lunch but have entered the M perfume giveaway. The deadline for the M giveaway is October 25 at 5pm. Send an e-mail to ent.lawyer@yahoo.com and in the subject line mention the contest or anything that will let me know you want to enter and DS will randomly select the winners on Saturday.