There are two characteristics certainly belonging to
Twilight fans: passion and generosity. On any number of occasions, this fandom has been known to join hands for a given cause and outmuscle even the highest of expectations.
So, what Rob DeFranco and
211me have decided to do, with the help and support of
Twilight star
Peter Facinelli, is create a place where
Twilight fans can go to share in the joy of giving.
"What Rob is trying to do and what I support is this website and uniting the Twihards for a common goal," says Peter Facinelli. "The one thing that binds
Twilight fans is the franchise and the books, and I think that if we band together and have those Twihards focus their energy on things other than the books, I think great things can happen because they’re so dedicated and so passionate."
The website is
www.Twihards4Charity.com, and it has just launched this weekend.
The official mission of the new campaign is as follows:
Twihards4Charity is a new social campaign that helps Twilight fans from all over the world make a difference by uniting them with a common goal - to give to those in need through charities and special causes. 211me has brought in sponsors, brands and support from celebrity favorites like Peter Facinelli to provide TwiHards with Twilight-themed products they love. In return, a portion of the proceeds from every sale will go to a designated cause or charity.
As Peter Facinelli explains it, "Rob Defranco from 211me said 'Hey, what about doing a website?' since a lot of people just don’t know where to go to help. So, this is a way that we can streamline all the people to go to one site and find out how to help, and what Rob did was band together with companies like 1-800-Flowers and he’s working on other companies to come together so that they can work together with Rob and basically put the merchandising up there. So, since people are going to buy merchandise anyway, why not have part of it go toward Haiti relief?"
As a first chosen cause for the page to support, Twihards4Charity has teamed up with 1-800-Flowers, as Facinelli said, to offer
Twilight fans (and others interested in participating, of course) a special Valentine's Day package that will go to benefit Haiti relief efforts by the American Red Cross.
As the charity's first offer, Twihards4Charity "brings you a Valentine's Day bouquet you can't pass up. Whether it's for your sweetheart, your best friend, or a fellow Twihard, this is a perfect gift to say 'Happy Valentine's Day.'" The details of the Valentine's Day offer from Twihards4Charity are as follows: for $49.95, the bouquet contains 12 long-stemmed red roses from 1-800-Flowers, as well as a
Twilight giftcard and poster from Hallmark. For every bouquet sold, five dollars of the proceeds will go to Haiti. Details on ordering this bouquet are available the
Twihards4Charity website.
For now, the focus of the site is beginning with Haiti relief efforts, but Peter Facinelli says that the future of the charity's focus is in the hands of
Twilight fans.
"You know, I’m going to continue doing my charity stuff, but this website is more about uniting the Twihards, and starting with Haiti. So, maybe it is one of those things where we put a vote out [to see what fans want to support next]," he says. This was also figured into the original plan for the page too, he reveals. "When I talked to Rob, I said ‘I don’t want this to be trying to force people to, you know, do our charities, I want them to be able to pool together for a common cause.' But I think everyone would recognize that right now Haiti needs help, so I thought well we’ll start with Haiti and go from there."
Bringing together your favorite goodies with your favorite charity . . . Sounds like a great plan, right?
