Taya Starling

It’s that time of year again… my favorite! Okay well my favorite after Christmas… and summer… and the week after Halloween or Valentines day when all the candy goes on sale… okay okay so after all that, VIRGO SEASON is my favorite.  It’s birthday month and not only do I get to celebrate my life but more importantly I get to celebrate so many of the people who mean the world to me who are also Virgos 🙂

So years and years ago I started “donating my birthday” as they say which basically means that instead of asking for gifts I ask people in my life to make donations towards a charity I’ve chosen.  A few years in a few friends decided to join along and now we’ve got even more people on board! WOOPWOOP!  The power of giving, people! Even in all the BS awful crap happening in the news, at the end of the day the dreamers and the lovers and the fighters for justice just want to help and give back and pay it forward.

So here’s your chance to join us.  This year with so many natural disasters hitting us globally, we at team #VirgoSeason have decided to take on donations for them all.

If you’re interested in reading more info about what we’re doing and what’s been going on in the world, here’s the lowdown-

Years ago when we discovered that our birthdays all landed in September (Taya & Phi on Sept. 15; Myron on Sept. 19) we decided to start celebrating together. We also decided that the best way to celebrate is to give back to those who need it more.  As the years have gone by we’ve picked up a few more awesome Virgos along the way- Utt on Sept. 3, Ashley on Sept. 14, and Pani Sept. 27.
And  so here we are, another year gone by, a new one approaching and to celebrate our birthdays this year we’ve decided to help out the flood victims in Houston, Hurricane Irma victims in the Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Florida & the SouthEast United States,  as well as the millions affected by severe flooding in South Asia.
We would love it if you could help us celebrate by donating.  We will be dividing all the money raised between the 3 catastrophes but if you feel strongly that you’d like your donation to go to one of the three causes, please say so in your comment when you donate so we can ensure that your money goes where you want it to.  Thank you for helping us make this another memorable birthday by paying it forward & spreading the love!

Here’s some info about the catastrophes:

Since mid-August, South Asia has been hit by long periods of heavy rainfall leading to devastating flooding and landslides. Hundreds of people have died across India, Bangladesh and Nepal, with millions affected by the disaster.

Thousands of homes and schools have been destroyed, and access to shelter, clean water, nutritious food and education has been cut off.

Children desperately need life-saving supplies like clean water to stop the spread of deadly diseases and prevent further loss of lives.  For this disaster we will be donated to UNICEF.

Whenever or wherever disaster strikes, Unicef responds rapidly to deliver life-saving food, medicine and water so children in danger get the help they need.

By donating today, you can help us reach more children in emergencies around the world, like the flooding across South Asia.

$30 could provide a child with ready to use therapeutic food for a month in an emergency.
$75 can provide an emergency water and hygiene kit for two families in an emergency.
$96 could help pay for school supplies to help at least 20 children continue their education in an emergency.

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Many of you know Hurricane Harvey has been devastating Houston & its citizens for almost two weeks now with catastrophic flooding; Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate from their homes & at least 60 deaths have been counted.

We’re teaming up with artist/activist Rapper Trae Tha Truth & his organization Angel by Nature to help out those in Houston. He recently launched a gofundme that’s raised over $131,000 and his org Angel By Nature, is also accepting clothing, food, baby items, pet food and other supplies. Since we can’t link this to the gofundme page we’ll be taking donations here on behalf of Angel by Nature.

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Hurricane Irma has caused widespread destruction across the Caribbean, reducing buildings to rubble and leaving at least nine people dead.

The small island of Barbuda is said to be “barely habitable”. Officials warn that St Martin is almost destroyed, and the death toll is likely to rise.  Prime Minister Gaston Browne told the BBC that 50% of the Barbuda population were now homeless and that it would cost $100m to rebuild the island.

Irma is a category five hurricane, the highest possible level.  A state of emergency had been declared for Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, mobilising federal disaster relief efforts.

For this catastrophe, as we continue to watch it unfold, we will be donating the proceeds to World Vision

World Vision has relief supplies pre-positioned to assist in responding to the needs of those affected after the storm passes. Your donations will go towards needed supplies for the victims.  Supplies include:

13,500 bed sheets
35,230 20-liter jerry cans
9,963 flashlights
7,075 hygiene kits
2,666 blankets
8,796 buckets and Sawyer water filters
4,174 tarpaulins
705 tents
1,731 kitchen sets
800,000 Aquatabs
19,674 mosquito nets