4TNZ interviewed Nina of the Fandom Gives Back and Twilight fanfiction fame. Please check out this great charity event and all the amazing items for auction!

Being a Twihard is much more than just gawking at Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner!

Twilight fans know the difference between right and wrong (uhh, hello Cullens vs. Volturi!), and they like to give as much as they receive. So when they get together to celebrate their favorite books and flicks, they also work together to be charitable! Enter TheFandomGivesBack.com!

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is a favorite of star Peter Facinelli’s, and Twihards love it, too. Some of the biggest fans run a charity called Fandom Gives Back, which every year runs an amazing auction to raise money for cancer research!

The auction is starting up soon, and Nina Politani, a BFF of our special Twilight correspondent Heidi Bennett, has taken some time to talk about the super awesome auction. Check it out!

Q: How & why was FGB formed?

Nina: Some of us were at Comic Con in July 09 and huddled together on the sidewalk for the New Moon panel the following afternoon. We looked at the thousands of people in line and were just astounded that everyone was there for the same reason.

I laughed and said, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone tossed in a dollar and it went to charity.” Well, the next morning, two girls were walking around with a cooler selling lemonade and it all sort of fell into place. We started out small, never thinking people would be interested and it literally exploded in a week turning into a venture with over 50 affiliates and thousands of supporters for the first round.

Now with this time for Eclipse, it’s literally doubled in size. We’ve taken over Rob DeFranco’s Twihards4Charity venture opening us up to even more supporters and it’s turning into such an amazing fandom-wide event.

Q: Are you expecting to exceed last year’s total. You raised $87,000?

Nina: It’d be nice There are a lot more auctions this year but it’s not just that. It’s general donations that are pulled in from all the sites too that are an enormous contribution. Right now there are close to 400 different auctions from stories to autographed merchandise to hand-made “Bella” mittens. It’s truly unbelievable the generosity of the people involved.

Q: What is your biggest auction item?

Nina: I’d say the signed New Moon DVDs At last count there were 12 actors from the movies that signed them? There are two that will be up for auction. Chris Weitz sent in an autographed one as did Peter Facinelli which goes to they’re at least aware of the fandom wide event. Those were a shock to find in the PO Box. Many of the actors sent in autographed headshots and tshirts which again, was so generous. I’ll be interested to see what really goes for the most money!

To find out more, check out TheFandomGivesBack.com and see what you can win! Auction starts June 25th!

Some wonderful, charity-minded ladies in the Twilight fandom  began this Fandom-wide initiative, uniting the fans of the Twilight Saga and raising money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand.  In November of 2009, the worldwide Twilight community banded together to raise more than $87,000 in just 7 days for the first FGB Event! This year, the FGB: Eclipse Event opens on Friday, June 25 and runs for one week, closing on  Friday July 2.

Not sure what this all means or what you can do to help?  Here is some information from the twilightcouncil:

What Is Fandom Gives Back?

- The Fandom Gives Back (FGB) is a Twilight-centric charity event supporting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (aka ALSF). This will be the second round (the first, in November of 2009, raised over $87,000 for ALSF).

- The event brings together people from all over the fandom to bid on donations of homemade goods, movie and book memorabilia, and auctions for story prompts by various offers.

- Additionally this year, there are cookbooks and drink books for sale in PDF form, all  proceeds going directly to ALSF.

How does it work?

The auction board will open on Friday, June 25 and run for one week (closing Friday July 2, 10AM EST to Midnight closing – final time TBD).  The link will be available via the main site.

Once the auction threads are open, people will be able to go in and bid on different goods and offerings. There are two different types of offerings:

- First come first serve: just like it sounds, these are ‘get ‘em while they are hot.’ Drabbles, banners, copies of pictures, you name it. We recommend you check these first, because once they are gone, that’s all she wrote.

- Auction Style: think silent auction here. Each thread will have terms, such as an offering of a gift basket or a story prompt. Some authors may have a fixed threshold to enter bidding, where as others are open. This is where it gets fun, because people will banter, play around, and throw out ideas that could be potentially turned into story prompts when everything is said and done. Just like a traditional auction, if someone bids, someone else is capable of outbidding them. The ante will continue to go up until bidding closes on the 2^nd. If you have a specific item or author you would like to pursue, it would be wise to have a strategy and use the alerts enabled, because it can get pretty hot and heavy in the last few hours.

When bidding closes on 7/2, forum moderators will go through and identify the winner of the auction. It will be up to the winner to make their donation to ALSF directly (links will be provided on the forum site), then provide the donation receipt as verification of donation. Direct dialogue then begins between the winning bidder and donor regarding shipping, prompts or other points of coordination.

For additional information please visit the FAQ section of the FGB site. If you still have questions, please contact ninapolitan at nina@thefandomgviesback.com

Phoenix-area Dillard’s stores will be helping to promote our Fire and Ice Eclipse Event with a special prize package, including a meet and greet with Kiowa Gordon! Watch for the ad in Fridays AZ Republic.

Remember, this charity event helps Alex’s Lemonade Stand (through the Fandom Gives Back) and the Quileute Heritage and Language Preservation Fund.

For more information on Alex’s Lemonade Stand click here.

CBA and QuileuteWolfPack.com are standing with Peter Facinelli to help fight childhood cancer!

Please support our charity Eclipse Release Fire and Ice Event which benefits Alex’s Lemonade Stand through The Fandom Gives Back!

Our young Twilight Saga cast has made us proud in many ways, but some of our proudest moments have been when they were out there helping others. We all remember Rob Pattinson speaking out about helping Haiti, and, of course, Jackson Rathbone’s Spencer Bell Memorial charity, but there’s a lot more good our guys are doing and they deserve some credit. By the way, take minute to notice that Peter Facinelli supports Alex’s Lemonade Stand!

hollywoodnews

As you may have seen, Robert Pattison took time out from filming in London to speak to a world-wide audience during George Clooney’s “Hope for Haiti” telethon on January 22nd.

Kristen Stewart, unable to participate in the telethon due to her participation in Sundance, later scheduled a dinner at La Vida with proceeds going to the same organization.

Anna Kendrick and Taylor Lautner appeared on the “Hope for Haiti” telethon, answering phone calls to take donations for the event.

Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner: Attended a “New Moon” benefit screening in Knoxville, TN, where the nearly $400,000 raised went to charities such as East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Second Harvest, Boy Scouts of the Smokies, Imagination Library, and the American Heart Association.

Robert Pattinson: Aside from Hope for Haiti, Robert Pattinson has also raised money for amfAR cinema against AIDS by auctioning off his kisses! He also signed a guitar which went up for auction and all proceeds went to The Midnight Mission. Finally, Rob has donated some of his film costumes to be auctioned off, with all proceeds benefiting Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF)

Kristen Stewart: In addition to Hope for Haiti, Kristen Stewart participated in a Diabetes Walk event in late 2009. She also participated in Sam Bradley’s “Gewa” charity concert which raised money for people in Tibet. Kristen recently signed speakers, with proceeds benefiting Clothes off Our Backs. There’s still 14 days left on this auction, so place your bids now!

Peter Facinelli: PFach, as his fans call him, is one of the most active “Twilight” actors in the charity community. He is an avid supporter of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, benefiting childhood cancer research. Peter also supports the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which benefits research on spinal cord injury and paralysis. Finally, Peter Facinelli plays Vampire Baseball, which served the American Red Cross and Hope for Haiti in 2010. For more information on Vampire Baseball, see below.

See the rest of the cast here.

Hey guys it’s Mel, your head Fan Fic Picker, and I am here today to share with you all little about the “Fandon Gives Back”(FGB). A few weeks ago we did a piece on Alex’s Lemonade Stand, the main charity for the FGB, but we never gave you guys and gals the skinny on what the FGB does and how it works.

This group is organized by three very lovely ladies who just want to give back to a fandom that has give so much to all of us. Last year, the Twilight fandom banned together to raise over $86,000. Yes, you read right – over $86,000 was raised collectively from the fandom. It was done MANY different ways. A large part of the money was raised through auctions of items ranging from signed Twi gear, hand made crafts, banners, and fan trips to fan fiction writer putting themselves up for bid to write a story just for the winner. In addition to the those auctions people did things from penny drives and advanced screenings of New Moon, to donating money in the name of a Twilight star. (Fans of Kstew donated over $10,000 in her name!). There were others like me who were, for lack of a better word, poor, that couldn’t donate money but could donate goods, time, services and recipes (yep we even had a digital cook book) to help the cause.

This year there is all that and more! However, more ways to help means more help needed.  We here at CBA are throwing a midnight showing party with our very own lemonade stand. There is also blood drive in CA and a Ball in Australia. Visit the FGB web site for all the ways you can pitch in. Don’t feel like your help won’t make a difference! If all you can do is retweet info for FGB, do it! EVERY LITTLE BIT DOES HELP!

In the end it doesn’t matter about hit counts, number of reviews or whose name is on the Lemonade stand. What matters is helping fight cancer. And if you need another reason besides helping others, I have got one for you- by helping, you can show the world that we aren’t just a bunch of screaming fans and when we work together as a group AMAZING things happen!

If some of you are wondering what an author auction is, here is a to link an example, Deconstructing Dracula from Edward’s Perspective. ( CBA recommended the original,  Deconstructing Dracula by Hmonster4 here -we love that fanfiction.)  The winner of this auction requested more Vladward and this is what the author they bid on wrote for them.  Enjoy!!

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5588120/1/Deconstructing_Dracula_Edwards_Perspective

Peter Facinelli was at the Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgeport, WV Sunday afternoon, raising money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, the same charity CBA supports through The Fandom Gives Back! Click here to join Peter in helping to fight childhood cancer.

WDTV viaTwilight Lexicon

On June 29, 2010 CullenBoysAnonymous.com and QuileuteWolfPack.com will partner with CineMark Movie Theater and radio station Movin 97.5, to host

Fire & Ice
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Release Party
at
Mesa Riverview Shopping Center in Mesa, Arizona.

Proceeds from this FREE event  will be given to two great charities:
Alex’s Lemonade Stand through The Fandom Gives Back
The Quileute Heritage and Language Preservation Fund.

As befits a vampire event, there will also be a blood drive!
United Blood Services will have their mobile unit on site. Sign up HERE to donate.

What kind of activities and attractions will be at the event?

In the main staging area morning DJ Nina D from Movin’ 97.5 will be hosting games along with staff from Cullen Boys Anonymous and QuileuteWolfPack.com. There will also be performances by Twilight inspired singer Candace Charee’ and others.

Come dressed up for a Twilight costume contest for a chance to win great prizes.

Vendor Alley will have a ton of unique Twilight inspired merchandise that will be available for purchase.  If you would like to become a vendor please see the vendor page.

The staffs from QuileuteWolfPack.com and Cullen Boys Anonymous will be on hand to answer all your Twilight questions.

Movin 97.5 will be supplying great music throughout the event.

Want to see the Volvos from the movie up close? Well you can thanks to Sanderson Volvo. There will also be motorcycles on hand for Team Jacob.

Keep watching  www.fireandice-event.info,  for contests to win  tickets to the midnight showing and event updates.

Please tweet the following and help Alex’ Lemonade Stand win!
Just copy and past this and retweet it, exactly as it is:

#AmericaWants @AlexsLemonade to get a full-page ad in USA TODAY

Alex’ Lemonade Stand is a very worthwhile charity, one supported by Twilight’s own The Fandom Gives Back, that donates towards research into childhood cancer . Please take a minute and tweet. Here are all the rules, etc:

In an earlier posting on USA TODAY’s Kindness community, it was announced that USA TODAY is launching a hashtag campaign for charity.

Starting today through Friday, April 16, 2010, whichever charity gets the most #AmericaWants tweets and retweets will receive a full-page, full-color ad in USA TODAY, valued at $189,400.

Each tweet must include “#AmericaWants (insert full name of charity) to get a full-page ad in USA TODAY.” Please note that you must include ALL WORDING in the quotation marks in order for your (re)tweet to be considered. Our Twitter filter will not be able to pick up tweets that aren’t formatted in that way.

We encourage you to tweet for your favorite organization. We encourage eligible organizations to tweet our their own messages and get fans and followers to retweet. Since charities can go by a variety of names guidance from organizations will be helpful.

You can read all the details of the competition at aw.usatoday.com, and feel free to share the link!

The terms of promotion are as follows:

* Tweets must be received between 12:01 am (ET) on 4/13/10 and 11:59 pm (ET) on 4/16/10;
* Each charity must be a valid 501(c)(3) organization;
* The recipient will be determined by the number of tweets received from Twitter that include the complete name of the charity. The winning charity may decline the ad and in such an event an alternate charity may be selected;
* USA TODAY will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late or misdirected tweets, transmission or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, mobile service, mobile device, hardware or software, whether originating with sender, Twitter or third party.

The #AmericaWants hashtag campaign is an extension of USA TODAY’s focus on “What America Wants” – a brand campaign which was announced March 22, 2010. To read more about USA TODAY’s “What America Wants” brand campaign and efforts surrounding it, please click here.

Thanks to Melooza for knowing about this! TFGB is a charity group that CBA endorses!

This year, you can help The Fandom Gives Back raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation by joining us at the Eclipse Masquerade Ball to be held on Saturday, June 26th in Sydney, Australia.  Event Activities
Throughout the night there will be an array of different activities held in order to raise funds for The Fandom Gives Back and to keep you, our guests, entertained!

Some of the activities included are:
~ Auctions (so make sure your bank account is healthy! – there will be credit card facilities available)
~ Eclipse Role Play Competitions
~ Costume Contests
~ Photos with Edward and Jacob (though, sadly, not the real thing)

… and much more!

Go here for details and updates!

The Fandom Gives Back is a Fandom-wide initiative created to unite the fans of the Twilight Saga and raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. ALSF is a children’s cancer research foundation, borne from the vision of Alex Scott (1996-2004). In November of 2009, the worldwide Twilight community banded together to raise more than $87,000 in just 7 days! CBA and QWP are supporting them with our upcoming Eclipse event also!

If you missed getting a New Moon DVD signed by Elizabeth Reaser, or you just want to help support 2 worthy causes, you still have a chance to bid for one on ebay. Here are the details of the DVD:

RARE! The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD autographed by Elizabeth Reaser!

For those of you who missed our Midnight DVD Release Party, here’s your chance to get a copy of New Moon signed by Elizabeth Reaser. Proceeds go to the underwriting of an upcoming event that will benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand through the Fandom Gives Back and The Quileute Heritage and Language Preservation Fund. 20% of the proceeds of this sale will go directly to Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

This is the Borders Special edition of New Moon that was released on March 20, 2010. Borders Exclusive Features includes previously unreleased EXTENDED SCENES; INTERVIEWS with cast members Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, The Cullen Family, The Wolf Pack, The Volturi, and Director Chris Weitz; unrivaled RED CARPET FOOTAGE from the movie premiere; front row seats to The Twilight Saga: New Moon WEBCAST. This gift set also includes a collectible Necklace.

Click here to bid.