Shopping for a cause can also be done right here in our own Female Daily Forum. The Charity Beauty Auction started in September 2008 in a gathering in Senayan City. As usual when we have gatherings, people are swapping and selling their beauty and fashion items, and one for sale was a brand new Chanel blush. At that time we were also collecting donations for a charity drive (baksos) we were doing for Ramadan. I don’t remember now whose it was, I think it was from Lita and was bought by mskellybag, and the money was donated for the charity drive (correct me if I’m wrong, ladies).
The idea for an auction was then brought to the forum; after all, who understands the real value of great makeup, albeit used, than fellow makeup addicts, right? So voila! The Charity Beauty Auction thread was born. It was the first auction sales in the Forum. As you can read for yourself, at the beginning there was a lot of confusion on the what and how, but it worked out in the end and people had fun. And so the beauty auctions continued until 2009, raising more than 14 million Rupiah through the 257 items donated. Looking back at the list of items, there were so many steals that could be had, from a Dior foundation for under Rp200,000, an almost new Guerlain lip gloss for Rp100,000, and a Chanel nail polish for Rp75,000!
All the proceeds of the auction sales were donated to various causes, from a baksos we organized ourselves, to recent donations to the United Nations World Food Programme for the famine in Africa. When earthquake struck Padang, we had cash in our coffers and a journalist member were already at the site, so our donation could reach the people who need them within only a few days after disaster struck.
I then became too busy with work and forum moderation functions to continue, until recently. Now the Charity Beauty Auction is back! The mechanics is more or less the same, with the auction ending on a Friday afternoon after having been on display for the week. Usually the last 10-15 minutes of the auction is crucial, as the people who really want the stuff, reveal themselves. So if something caught your fancy, you better bid the highest amount you’re willing to pay, and be there at auction closing because at the last minute, someone might swoop down on your coveted item with just another one thousand Rupiah difference!
Now we have volunteers to help with providing swatches and info about the products being auctioned, and with recapping the bids every so often. We’ve had two successful auctions so far, and so long as there are items up for auction, we’ll keep it alive.
What I wanted initially was for the auctions to yield money that could be used for scholarship for young people with limited means, to learn skills related to the fashion and beauty industry. Nothing fancy, but for example, for young girls to learn to provide messages, to sew, to do hair and makeup, etc. To provide the net and not the fish, if you will. It’s been difficult to find something appropriate, mostly because I lack the time to diligently find means to do it. Those that we could find were too expensive for the amount of money the auctions yielded. So if anyone has any idea of a good way to go about this, please let us know in the comment box below or in the auction thread.
If you would like to donate items, you can let me know via PM. If you’re not a member of the Forum (and why not?!), you can send it to the Female Daily Network office; please indicate that the items are to be auctioned, along with descriptions of the items (whether they’re used, estimated content left, etc).
In the meanwhile, check out what’s for auction this week, and happy bidding!
