I recently began working with an amazing charity, Women In Need (WIN). They help provide shelter for homeless families in NYC. Believe it or not, over 100,000 people in NYC will have experienced homelessness this year. In college I did some philanthropic work through my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, and always found it to be rewarding, but was never able to contribute too much time to it due to the demands of my workload. Since I began freelancing, one of my goals was to get involved with a New York based charity and when I was introduced to the ladies at WIN, I knew it was the right one.
I paid a visit to one of their six shelters to experience for myself what the living situation was like for these families once WIN came into their lives. To my surprise, they were all set up like college dorms, each family having their own apartment. I always thought shelters were big open rooms with a ton of beds in cold, unfriendly atmospheres, but this one was inviting. It also provided counseling for the guests and child care. I was truly touched.
Currently, homelessness in NYC is at the highest number ever recorded, so the charity is hosting an auction on CharityBuzz.com that starts today and will run through November 30th to help raise money. Here's where it gets fun... they partnered with A-listers, designers, sports stars, hip hop artists and Broadway performers. Each one designed and signed a paper mache house that you can bid on.
Some of the celebs include: Diddy, Halle Berry, Oscar de la Renta, Debra Messing, Mary J. Blige, Sean Avery, Justin Timberlake, Diane Von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Bobbi Brown, Ludacris, Vera Wang, Isaac Mizrahi, the Beckhams and the cast of the musical "Hair"
I got a sneak peak at all of the houses the other night and my favorite is Diddys! Surprise, surprise. It has a helicopter on the top of it. I can see it on his number one fans wish list. Diane Von Furstenbergs is very... well, very DVF of course lined with patterns and Bobbi Brown made her all out of colored cosmetics, very chic looking.
You can check out all of the houses and bid on your favorite one here. To learn more about the charity visit their website and follow me on Twitter @Jeannine_WIN for live auction updates.
