February 2010

By Cori Ferguson

Brady Thrasher wants to know what’s affected you, and then for you to buy the T-shirt. The 23-year old Windsor, Ontario entrepreneur is the founder of the Affected Campaign, a line of clothing sporting the word “Affected,” which allows purchasers to direct a portion of the purchase price to the registered charity of their choice. Launched in September 2007, Affected has been able to donate nearly $8000 to 107 charities in Canada and abroad since its inception.

“I’ve hit all markets because it’s such a unique product and it triggers curiosity right away,” Thrasher tells Samaritanmag. “It’s not like it’s flashy clothing; it’s neutral so anyone from a toddler to a senior citizen can represent the product.”

From the sale of each $20 shirt (tax included), $6 is taken off the top for the registered charity designated by the purchaser. Because he prints the shirts on-demand without a large volume contract, each shirt costs him approximately $7.50 to make and the remaining funds are used for marketing and advertising, whether at charitable events or on kids soccer team uniforms.

Thrasher has been amazed by the number of different causes represented by Affected product sales: everything from national charities working to eradicate MS, cancer, drunk driving and heart disease to local shelters, diseases he wasn’t previously aware of, and individuals undertaking humanitarian missions overseas.

Originally launched with three styles, the Affected line now includes men’s and women’s T-shirts, tanks and hoodies, children’s onesies, and sunglasses. There is an Affected style for everyone because, as Thrasher points out, “everyone has been affected by something.”

By Karen Bliss

Pet Fun Fest and Adopt A Pet-a-thon is a unique indoor event being held at Toronto’s Downsview Park, February 13 and 14 at Studio 3 (40 Carl Hall Road) that includes guest speakers, seminars, and more than 70 vendors and animal welfare groups.

Admission is $5 for humans ($3 in advance on the web site), $2 for dogs, and $15 for families (maximum six —humans and dogs). Hours are 10 a.m. ‘til 6 p.m. on Saturday; 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday. Fifty percent of the ticket sales will be donated to the registered charity HelpingHomelessPets.com. Parking is free.

The event is the brainchild of Rob Goddard and Shelley A. Altman. Goddard, one of the founding directors of the non-profit Helping Homeless Pets, has been involved with dog-related events for the past four years, including the Barkham Dog Festival in Markham Village.  Altman is a veteran fundraising volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society and also handled sponsoring and vendor teams for the Agility Association of Canada (she competed in the 2009 Ontario Regionals with her dog Lucky, rescued from Ohio). She is a volunteer at Helping Homeless Pets.

“A big deal in my family is that we’ve always learned about giving back. My mom always wanted me to know that even though we weren’t as fortunate as we are now that giving back was always very important. As much as you could do really meant a lot. So now that I have this platform that I’m able to have my voice be heard, I still have that same mentality, but I’m able to share that and educate my fans and encourage my fans to help as well. It’s all about the simple things. Your voice is the most powerful tool you have so being able to spread the word about organizations and wanting to get involved. It’s all about going online and trying to find places around your community, just about the lesson, I think.” — Selena Gomez tells Samaritanmag.com

Seventeen-year-old Gomez is UNICEF’s youngest ambassador and traveled in September 2009 to Ghana to see first-hand how many of the country’s children lack the necessities we all take for granted — clean water, nutritious food, education and healthcare. Best known for her role as Alex Russo on Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place, Gomez is currently promoting her debut album, Kiss & Tell. She has 3.3 million Facebook fans (second only to Lady Gaga in the top 40 pop world) and more than 1.4 million Twitter followers. That’s a lot of fans to teach about giving back.

By Cori Ferguson

Whether abandoned by overwhelmed pet owners, saved from slaughterhouses or discarded due to disability, an unusual collection of animals have lucked out in finding forever homes at the Snooters Farm Animal Sanctuary, located northeast of Newmarket, Ontario.

Pigs, both pot-bellied and full-sized, make up the bulk of the more than 25 inhabitants at Snooters, although the Morris’ also count two horses, four laying hens, four dogs, two cats, pea fowl and a parrot among their growing menagerie. Many of their pigs have been rescued “without permission,” says the sanctuary’s co-owner Susan Morris, who will only reveal that “they came from a variety of places – factory farms, backyard breeders, auctions.”

Susan and her husband, Brian Morris, both Toronto paramedics for 27 years, launched Snooters in 2001 when they relocated from the suburbs to the hobby farm that now houses the sanctuary.  The proud owners of Valentine, a pot-bellied pig that was a gift for Susan’s 40^th birthday, were disturbed by information uncovered while researching how to best care for her so they took it upon themselves to provide a safe, secure home for other pigs facing certain death to instead live out their natural life spans.