Back Bone: Team Rosie Lives On In All Of Us

As some of you may know, we lost my Uncle Randy unexpectedly this year. What you may or may not know is he was incredibly passionate about supporting Down in the Southland on behalf of his daughter Rosemary. A few years ago he started Team Rosie to help raise money for their Annual Fundraiser Walk.

This is the last thing he posted on Facebook before he passed away…

I am walking again this year to keep his legacy going strong for my cousin and to help raise money for this wonderful foundation he wholeheartedly believed in!

How can you help?

Donate: Simply make a donation on my fundraising page at https://give.classy.org/nicatnight to support Down in the Southland on behalf of Team Rosie. No amount is too small and every dollar helps us to reach our goal. The process is fast, easy, and secure. I truly appreciate any support you can provide and it will benefit a great cause that means so much to my family!

Share: Help me reach my fundraising goal by sharing this page on social media and emailing it to your connections to help raise awareness!

Let’s make my Uncle proud! GO TEAM ROSIE!

Stay Spooky & Supportive!

LDG Nicole

Back Bone: Barrettes for Sophie

As mentioned in my previous post, I reached out to one of my favorite foundations to team up with them. With this week being the 10 year anniversary of Sophie Lancaster’s death, I wanted to do something that will not only give back but continue to help bring awareness to such an important cause. A cause some people in the US might not even be aware of and should actually be something we should be fighting for as well!

I have made 5 limited edition Dead Girl Decay barrettes where 50% of the proceeds earned will be donated to The Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Even though they look similar they are handmade which means no 2 are exactly alike. Unique, just like Sophie!

“Sophie was a thoughtful, sensitive individual and she would not have wanted her death to have been in vain.” – Sylvia Lancaster

In the center of each flower is a rose cameo accented in red glitter to represent Sophie’s thoughtful and sensitive spirit. The black and red rose petals and feathers are symbolic of Sophie’s gothic and artistic style as well as symbolic to the foundation colors. Each barrette has a small iridescent glitter tear drop on one of it’s petals. This is to represent the loss that is felt from Sophie’s death. The loss of a person whose life was taken from her by thoughtless, close minded people. All because she was a beautiful, unique individual.

These limited edition pieces are now available in the Back Bone Section of my Etsy shop. The special section reserved specifically for selling items I make to help the causes I believe in. Don’t wear barrettes? Then clip it up in your home, car or anywhere! Show your support anyway you choose! Buy one for a friend who like Sophie lives an alternative lifestyle! Let’s stop the hate that makes people scared to be themselves!

About The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and why your purchase can help:

“WEIRDO – MOSHER – FREAK, If only they’d stop at name calling” is something I have been wearing on a shirt I bought from the foundation for many years now. It is the motto of the foundation and a very strong one at that.

Following the horrific murder of Sophie Lancaster, her family wanted to ensure a lasting legacy to their beautiful, bright creative daughter and so The Sophie Lancaster FoundationThe Sophie Lancaster Foundation was established. It became a registered charity in 2009. The foundation aims to create a lasting legacy to Sophie by providing educational group-works that will challenge the prejudice and intolerance towards people from alternative subcultures. Read more at http://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com

Stay Spooky & Supportive!
LDG Nicole

To see the other foundations I have supported with my artwork visit the Back Bone section of my portfolio website!

Don’t forget to share and Re-Blog this post! Together we can make the change we want to see in this world! We can either sit back and complain or take steps to do something about it!

Back Bone: Stop making videos, start making a difference!

I want to start off saying that I am pretty sure you are all aware of the various ways I have used my talent to help support good causes. When I am not directly involved if there is something I feel passionate about I always go out of my way to spread the word about it, volunteer my time or help out in anyway I can. I donate something out of my closet every time I buy myself something new. I have done breast cancer walks and other things to raise money in memory of my Mom. I gave back to Mayo Clinic and asked others to do the same after they gave me the answers I suffered years for. I use countless hours of my time on the computer answering questions and emails sent to me from others suffering from digestive motility disorders. I do what I can when I can. I have always been a giving person. It just comes naturally to me. I don’t do it to impress anyone. I do it because I know what it’s like and I want to help.  I have been on the other end of the spectrum asking for help (via GoFundMe) due to my own medical setbacks. There were times the donations were all we had to live off of. You also know how incredibly appreciative I have been for the help that I have received and have expressed it countless times. This is not in any way shape or form a way to pat myself on the back. It is to give you a better understanding of who I am as you read this. 

And so I begin my rant…….

People……….STOP these video challenges! Bringing awareness is one thing but doing something just because everyone else is doing it is not helping anyone but yourselves. In actuality it’s not even helping you. All it is doing is showing the world that when the band wagon comes through your town you will hop on board the minute it passes through! All so you can say “look at me.. I am cool too. I can throw water and ice and pies on my head just like everyone else and because of that I helped someone”. Think about that people. What really did you do that was so great? What person suffering is really going to live a happier day of their existence because you decided to throw shit on yourself and video tape it? Then you say..  “But my video raised awareness right?”  No it didn’t. Unless you are a millionaire celebrity looking for the next publicity stunt and can donate tons of money on top of looking like a fool. In case you don’t get it,  that leaves you only with the “looking like a fool” part. Especially those of you doing the video to get out of donating. Well, that is unless you are trying to raise money for selfishness. Then you’re golden!

Money isn’t everything to people suffering with these conditions either. If you can’t afford to donate you can do other things to help those who are struggling.  “But I know someone with that disorder or disease and I did my video for them!” You know what you could be doing for them? Spending time with them instead of wasting it making stupid pointless videos. If you can’t because you live too far away, then go out of your way to do something extra nice for them. Send them flowers, a text, a phone call.  Put a smile on a suffering face! If you insist on video taping yourself  then make a video telling them how much you care about them and how you are there for them through their struggle.  That would mean more to someone then letting them watch you humiliate yourself. I can’t begin to express how much the ” I love you Aunt Nicole” videos I got from my goddaughter Ava got me through my own struggles! Brought me tears of joy. Or how about the the countless cards I received from people letting me know they were thinking of me. They didn’t have to have money in them. They had love and thoughtfulness in them. As I type this I am wrapped in a blanket one of my best friends brought me in the hospital to make me feel “more comfortable”.  One of my other best friends made me a travel package of things for Frank and I to stay occupied when we had to travel out of town to see specialists at Mayo. Another close friend made me a get well care basket of things that would make me feel better. A co-worker stopped by during my recovery with bags of fuits and vegetables to make smoothies because I was on an all liquid diet. Or the people who dropped off groceries or pre-made dinners for Frank. Those are the things I will treasure forever. Don’t know someone that needs help? There are countless every day people on GoFundMe.com that put their pride to the side to ask for help! You can take a moment to donate to them, spread their page for them or even contact them to just tell them that you are thinking of them. Join an online medical forum and try to give back by giving advice to those who have similar medical conditions as you. You would be surprised what you might learn about yourself.

The point of my rant is this…..get off this video challenge trend and start thinking of ways you can make life better for someone else! You can either be the person who looks like they are doing something or be the person who actually is!

Stay Spooky and Supportive!
Living Dead Girl Nicole

Back Bone: Go support Rob Zombie’s new vision and help me win!

Ok so you all probably read my post. You know the one of me feeling sorry for myself and how I am unable to help support one of my biggest inspirations (Rob Zombie and his 31 movie) due to my medical financial setbacks. Not to mention all the amazing rewards available to the backers that would be dreams come true for me.

So anyways…Rob Zombie just added an option for those who want to help but don’t have much money. For only $5 you still get a little something in return. A pretty kick ass bumper sticker that says “31 The Move – This Shit Happened Because of Me and RZ”.

The kicker is…. if you back the project for atleast the $5 amount you get a referral link. You can use it to get your friends involved in helping to back the project. Each of your friends that clicks on your direct link and then donates enters you into a contest to win 2 lifetime laminates. Meaning every Rob Zombie show free for life. So I thought what the heck. Here I get to contribute a little something to the project and help spread the word all while having a chance to win one of the bigger prizes a die hard fan like myself well deserves ha ha.

Sooo if you were planning on backing his movie project I ask you to PLEASE use my referral link to make my chances of winning increase! After all I have gone through this would be the ultimate pick me up if I won 😉

My referral link: http://www.fanbacked.com/c/31-rob-zombie-film/?usr_ref=eY00SIYEBm/H6EuNlRia8Q

Stay Spooky!
Living Dead Girl Nicole