Wear Star Wars Every Day campaign by a fan who seeks to make a difference in the world
“Star Wars” seems to be on the road to becoming synonyms with charity and helping other people. After the producers of “The Force Awakens” raised fund through their Force for Change campaign, some of the fans are taking cue and following suit with their own campaigns to raise funds for charity.
One such campaign is Wear Star Wars Every Day by James Floyd, a man from San Diego, California. In an exclusive interview with International Business Times, Australia, Floyd explained his campaign and what he plans to achieve through it.
As the name suggests the campaign involves supporters wearing “Star Wars” clothes everyday and contributing a very small amount towards charity every day. The money raised goes to Collateral Repair Project, a grassroots non-profit that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees in Amman, Jordan.
“I started the campaign on January 1, 2016 and have so far worn a different ‘Star Wars’ article of clothing every day since then (over 130 days), and raised over US $1,300 (AU $1,786) in one-time donations, and raise US $4.65 (AU $6.39) for each new day I continue my wearathon,” Floyd said.
“I first had the idea of a wearathon last fall before The Force Awakens came out as I wanted to find a new way to celebrate my love of ‘Star Wars’ - I knew I had a lot of ‘Star Wars’ clothes, but didn't know how many. Then I thought I could go an entire year wearing a different ‘Star Wars’ clothing item, with a little help from my friends and fellow fans,” Floyd said. He later turned this idea into a charity project to help the refugees from Syria and Iraq in Jordan.
Floyd has setup a GoFundMe page to spread the word about his campaign. He describes the journey so far as “great.” “I've had a lot of support from my friends and fellow ‘Star Wars’ fans. Some have pledged a small amount for each day that I continue the project, and that has really encouraged me to keep it going. Others have made one time donations, either on my GoFundMe page, or directly to Collateral Repair Project,” Floyd said.
Some supporters offered help in the form of donating their “Star Wars” clothes to help keep the campaign running. Floyd posts pictures and videos of his campaign on his Facebook page.