Hello all! I’ve decided to bring myself into professional blogging, whether it be about art, business, technology or whatever else. So here I am.

I know the first blog post is always the hardest to write, but I’m deciding to break the ice by raising awareness about a couple of great charities that I’ve been helping out with. Charity is a great way to help those in need and to raise your own social responsibility, if you haven’t already. Even the smallest tweet to pass on an important message or $1 can help the people who need basic supplies, such as food, water and shelter.

If you have been following up with the latest natural disaster, you’ll know that the Oil Spill in the Gulf has yet to be remedied. What’s a better cause than to help find a solution to protect our environment? LiveJournal has been spectacular in helping Gulf Aid Now raise over $4500 in donations through v-gifts and promotions! The LJ community is an auction-style, where offerors create offers for others to bid on for charity. Think of it as eBay for charity.

I’ve managed to raise $45 from two art commissions, and I plan to help out some more when the third round of auctions goes up in August. Gulf Aid Now is definitely something worth checking out, so make sure you watch for more updates about the next auction round!

If you’re a Harry Potter fan like myself, or if you want to help out with Save Darfur, benefiting children’s literacy and other great causes, please check out the Harry Potter Alliance. No, you don’t have to be a HP fan, but it certainly helps! This organization is absolutely amazing! Andrew Slack created it over five years ago with Wizard Wrock Harry and the Potters’ Paul DeGeorge. They, and many other around the world, have been helping charities across the seas with barely any funding at all. The staff that runs the organization do not get paid for what they do, as they volunteer to help out when they can. I had the pleasure of not only meeting Mr. Slack, but also helped with the HPFTW campaign to help the organization win $250,000 for the Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook.

Guess what? After much tweeting, sharing on Facebook and spreading the power of love, the Harry Potter Alliance won! The money will benefit the organization to fund their causes and continue to make the world a better place. Chase even went to Orlando to personally give the check at the Harry Potter symposium, Infinitus 2010 at the Pottercast press conference. If you want to be part of a group as great as this one, do check out their news and what they’re doing next! The follow-up press conference for the Chase Community Giving contest is going to be at Comic Con, so keep an eye out for that!

Well, that’s all I have to say for now. I’ll be working on my commissions for the rest of the week, and I have about three or four other art projects I’m working on. Happy Friday and Cheers!