Help Refugees, Get Fic!
Gentlebeings! I call you here today to announce the formal opening of a very special event: A charity fic exchange to raise money to support migrants and asylum seekers on the US southern border.
What is this thing?
As many of you will know, thousands of migrants arrive daily at the US-Mexico border seeking asylum in the US. They are fleeing political oppression, gang violence, domestic abuse, economic collapse caused by climate change, and innumerable other terrible situations. The Trump administration has decided, rather than fulfill our country’s obligation under international law to provide asylum to those who need it, to instead imprison migrants under inhumane conditions, separate them from their families, and deny them access to legal counsel.
Luckily, there are a bunch of great organizations working to provide legal services and humanitarian assistance to these migrants. And we are going to give them some fucking money.
Who are we donating to?
We will be supporting:
The International Rescue Committee, which provides humanitarian assistance to migrants released from border detention;
Border Angels, which provides water and supplies along migrant routes to prevent people from dying in the desert;
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which provides legal and social support for refugees as they settle in the US;
And RAICES, which provides free and low-cost legal services to those detained at the border.
How does this work?
About 200 wonderful fandom creators have offered to provide fic and/or art to those who donate to any of these groups. Detailed instructions about how to get your fic/art once you’ve donated can be found here.
What do I do if I’ve signed up as a creator?
Your instructions are right here!
Where will all this cool fandom content end up?
All of the creators working on this project are encouraged to post their stuff in this AO3 collection!
So what’s in this for me?
Other than, like, helping people? Well. If there’s one truly universal fandom experience, it’s wanting fan content that doesn’t exist. Now you can make it exist! Want a drabble about your favorite villain hugging a puppy? Just ask. Yearning for a painting of your OC as a pirate? An artist is standing by. Need a handholding fic? An absurd bit of crack? An a/b/o smutfest? Now is your chance, my friends. It’s not every day you get to indulge yourself and do good simultaneously. Go for it.
Ok but seriously though.
One of the absolutely amazing things about fandom as a community is the way we are able to organize ourselves. We organize cons, kinkmemes, communities, fucking AO3. We’re a goddamn powerhouse. So let’s organize ourselves to do some good in the world. My original post announcing this project currently has 2,822 notes. That means that, if everyone who interacted with that post donates a dollar to one of these organizations, we’ll raise over 2,000 dollars to support migrants, and add potentially over 100,000 words of fanfiction and dozens or hundreds of pieces of fanart to the universe. And that’s just if we keep this restricted to the people who already know about it.
My goal for this project is that we raise 10,000 dollars. If everyone who’s already interacted with this project gives 5 dollars, we’re there. If we get this post to 10,000 notes and everyone interacting with it gives 1 dollar, we’re there. If we get this to 50,000 notes, and just 20% of us give 1 dollar, we’re there. I think 10,000 dollars is a goal we can not only reach but surpass, and once we get there, well, I guess we’ll aim for 20,000. Let’s get started.
Alright people! This campaign has been up for 24 hours and we’ve raised about 500 dollars! Which is great, but I think we can do better. See, most of the donations people have been making are pretty big (20 or 25 dollars). And for people who can give that much, yay, thank you! But I’m guessing that there are a lot of people who could give 1 or 2 dollars, but haven’t, because it feels too small or insignificant. Not so, friends! Not so! Whatever amount you can give is enormously significant! Also, it gets you awesome fanwork! Don’t be embarrassed! Don’t hesitate! Go for it!
Every dollar counts, folks! And if you’re looking for something specific from an obscure fandom, hit me up! :D Even if I’m not familiar with it, I’ll give it a shot.
