Today we thought we’d talk a little bit about charity.  Rock the Walk is a non-profit organization started by Allison Gill and myself in 2004. I was raising money for AIDS Walk San Diego and I’d hit my $2000 goal, but wanted to raise more.  So, I turned to Allison, who is an up-and-coming local musician, both with her solo career and with her band, Velvet Tongue (Ali plays bass).  We decided to throw a multi-act concert at a hot venue to help raise more money for the cause and Rock the Walk was born.  In 2004, we raised over $4,100.

This year, Rock the Walk became an offical NPO, with Allison heading up the Board of Directors as the CEO.  We have several board members, including myself (Webmaster & Co-Founder) and we’re holding several events around San Diego solely for the benefit of AIDS Walk San Diego. After two smaller events in May and July, we’re holding a larger multi-act event in August, as well as potentially two larger-name acts in September before the Walk itself on October 2nd in Balboa Park.

Every event helps raise more money and awareness and every dollar donated goes to the cause (minus our very minimal overhead).  If your business would like to support Rock the Walk by becoming a Spotlight Sponsor, please contact Allison. Or, if you’d like to donate a few dollars, we’d definitely welcome your contribution.

HIV/AIDS awareness is an important issue and Moxie is proud to support Rock the Walk. We hope you will, too!

As you probably know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Robyn of Shutterblog has been raising money for Susan G. Komen by organizing a fundraiser every October in which bloggers (and non-bloggers alike) take tasteful photos of their breasts and share them.  Dubbed the Boobie-Thon in it’s 2nd year, most photos are free (please give anyway!), but donations of over $50 will grant you access to the “uncovered gallery” where it’s a little bit more naked!

While some consider it lewd, (as Robyn says they get the “same complaints every year"), it’s truly a wonderful, fun and motivating way to celebrate the breasts we’re trying to protect. All photos not in the “uncovered gallery” are anonymous, cover their “unmentionables” either with wet t-shirts, bras or other ... *ahem* creative means (like food, toys, Post-Its...).  Submissions are accepted from both men and women and those who have been affected by breast cancer are encouraged to participate… to remind us all why we’re doing this. 

Boobie-Thon is in it’s 4th year and has been featured in various press and last year, raised $8696.00 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This year, partial donations will also go toward victims of Hurricane Katrina. To read more about the Boobie-Thon, please visit their site (this link IS work-safe).

Moxie proud to be a supporter of Boobie-Thon for our 3rd year in row.  We hope you will be, too.  Now… show us your tips!

It’s that time of year again!  The time of year when we could all help make a difference in saving lives, one boob at a time.  The Fifth Annual Boobiethon is in full swing and as always, we have made our contributions.  Breast cancer has claimed the lives of so many women, some of which we love so dearly.  It’s time to help change that.  Your support helps the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in its mission to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by advancing research, education, screening and treatment.  Bloggers from across the Internet have donated not only their dollars, but shots of their lovely racks in an effort to raise awareness and money for this great cause. 

We have proudly donated and participated for the last five years and we hope you will too.  Since October is the official Breast Cancer Awareness month, there are many other ways to get involved, such as Pink for October.  Bloggers show their pink to help raise awareness and money for breast cancer research.  Or go to The National Breast Cancer Foundation and click to fund free mammograms.  If you have already donated, we thank you for your support, and if you would like to, please visit The Boobiethon and donate today!

Save the boobies! 

This year has been incredible on so many levels.  We’ve experienced a great deal of growth in 2006 that required cat-like reflexes!  We learned a lot about what to do (and what not to do!).  We also experienced growing pains that somewhat smarted, but one can’t complain about growth, right?  Yay for that, we say! 

We still can’t discuss the most exciting thing to happen to us this year (soon!), but I’ll touch on some of the highlights. In 2006, we…

• … garnered a full 30-second glowing testimonial on Air America’s Majority Report from our fabulous client, David T. Harris, which totally made us make dolphin-like girl noises and clap a lot.
• … were asked to participate on a panel of esteemed judges for the Six Apart Style Contest.
• … flew to Austin, TX for SXSW Interactive 2006 and participated on a panel called ”How to Make $$ with Your Blog Design Skills” (listen to our podcast!), which made the Honor Roll for best panels.
• … were interviewed and featured by the fine folks at pMachine.
• … were each interviewed by Six Apart Pro Network.
• … participated in a charity fundraiser for our client, Hot Sauce Blog, by designing a label for his signature hot sauce. $5.00 from every bottle purchased went to the American Cancer Society.
• … were featured on Designers-Who-Blog.com (thanks, Cat!)
• … supported and participated in the 2006 Boobiethon!
• … had two (not one, two!) of our Moxie Signature Cocktails featured as Drink of the Day on Extra Tasty.
• … became a registered trademark (well Moxie Design Studios℠ did! — ® status is processing).

and last, but not least…

• … welcomed a new Moxie tot — Kathy’s gorgeous (and I do mean gorgeous) son, Reilly (a.k.a. Mr. Poop, which is what I call him).  I could eat that boy with a spoon, I tell you.

Amidst all that, we also managed to accomplish quite a bit of work, completing projects for Chick Chat Radio, The Panama Gourmet, Oh! The Oxygen Network, Mommycast, Architexture Studios, Darby Creek Dog Bakery, madTV-regular Crista Flanagan, Legal Mojo, and author Paula Schmitt, just to name a few!

We are so grateful for all of our patient and wonderful clients, some of whom have been with us since the beginning, some of whom are welcome additions to our Moxie family.  We wish each of you a beautiful, healthy and happy holiday with your loved ones, whatever holiday it is that you choose to celebrate.  May 2007 bring you peace.

And lots of martinis. Merry Christmas.

Fall is here and while I’m running a bit late on it this year, I am participating in AIDS Walk San Diego for the 4th year in a row.  Since I’m late, I don’t anticipate that I’ll rake in the money of years past, but I’d be really honored to offer them whatever I can raise.

AIDS Walk San Diego is on Sunday, September 30, 2007.  I’ve registered to walk and if you’d like to sponsor me, I’d welcome your donation.

Any donation, no matter how small, is appreciated.

Thank you!

We ask you, Internet, do you like boobs? We like ours and want them to stay healthy!  If you’re a boob fan, you’ll be pleased to know the 6th annual Boobiethon started TODAY on Monday, October 1!  We are proud supporters of and participants in the Boobiethon for five years running!

Here are some excerpts from their press release:

That’s right, the racks are back Oct. 1-8 and they’re committed to raising more than $10,000 in one week by unveiling Mother Nature;s greatest gifts. That’s right, we’re saying it, BOOBIES.

In an effort to gain donations for breast cancer research, hundreds of women and men are donating images of their chests for ogglers world-wide to check out. Generous donor bloggers are seriously strutting their creativity in both the clothed and bared arena on boobiethon.com.

They’re still accepting photo submissions all week. If you’re at all interested in participating, go read the rules and start snapping photos!