Halloween had always been my Dad's favorite holiday, and
mine as well. There's something spectacular about dressing up as someone else.
Something sinister and dark. Taking on a new persona and masquerading up and down
the block in flocks of other masked marauders, ransacking the neighborhood in a
gleeful assault on reality and the mundane. It's a joy thats followed me (and
my father) well into adulthood, as exemplified in my journey into the 501st.
There is an allure in evil that cannot be ignored. It's a
common point of discussion among members of the 501st and the people that
follow their organization- why are a bunch of guys dressed up as bad guys out
there doing charity work? There are all kinds of answers that you could come up
with- the costumes are more recognizable, there is an abundance of source
material, there is a an obvious
organization to their ranks- but lets face it, the real answer is obvious:
The bad guys are just cooler.
My background in the heavy metal scene may betray my
tendencies toward dark subject matter, but I think it's an opinion that is
pretty prevalent among the legions members. When you go to buy a lunchbox or a
t-shirt from the Star Wars franchise, nine times out of ten it's going to have
Darth Vader or Boba Fett on it. Why? Because these guys are freaking awesome. Who wants a t-shirt with Luke
whining about how it's too hard to lift his X-wing out of the swamp? No one!
You want that one that has Darth Vader crushing some insolent officer to death
with his thumb and index finger for making his coffee wrong!
I feel like it's a simple matter of the way human beings are
wired. We have these latent anti-social tendencies that are screaming to get
out. We satisfy them by watching these fantasy characters duke it out in a
no-holds-barred, take-no-crap world. But deep down on the inside, that's not
who we are. Just as a superficial facade of pleasantness may mask an underlying
desire for world (or galactic) domination, further below that lies the common
thread of compassion that is the unification of all peoples. This is a theme at
the heart of the Star Wars universe. Luke refuses to destroy Vader because he
knows this fact- that underneath the most fearsome man in the galaxy still lies
the good man that is his father. Despite
his adversities, despite his losses, and despite his flaws, his temptations,
his seduction and descent into darkness, Vader makes the choice to change- to do what he knows in his heart is
right. Vader's salvation becomes the salvation of the whole universe.
Doesn't that make him the real hero?
One of the things that has struck me about the 501st legion
is this specific example of human nature. Here are a couple of thousand men and
women obsessed with the galaxy's most fearsome and loathsome villains
congregating together with a common desire to make the world a better place.
How does it make sense that we can rally equally behind the causes of fighting
childhood illness and crushing the rebellion? It's a perplexing conundrum,
however, this dichotomy may be less unique than you might have thought.
I met a young woman years ago through my workplace by the
name of Cristabell who works with an organization called "Scares That
Care". Through a variety of fund raising activities (from online auctions
of autographed horror memorabilia to their very own "Scares That
Care" Horror convention slated for 2014) Scares That Care has united
Horror fans from across the country in a push to help those in need. What follows is her explanation of what
exactly this organization is all about:
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How did you get involved with scares that care?
Facebook. As silly as that sounds. I saw a friend had shared one of their pictures on Facebook.(I don't even remember what the picture was, but it had to have been cool.) I clicked on the picture, which led me to their page. Once I saw that, there was no way that I wasn't going to get involved. Monsters and helping sick kids? Sold.
What does the organization do?
"Scares That Care!" is a IRS approved 501(c)(3) all volunteer charity (which means no one draws paychecks. Every penny goes straight to the families.) dedicated to uniting horror fans to help sick kids, and women fighting Breast Cancer. Our goal this year is to raise $10,000 each for three families in need. In June we were able to present a check for $10,000 to a little boy with a severe heart defect named Draven. We're now working toward being able to present checks to our other two families.You can keep up with all of the families that we help on Facebook, or at www.scaresthatcare.org
What is it exactly that you do for a living?
I work for an Orlando based non profit teaching functional communication and safety skills to developmentally delayed adults in a community setting.
What are some personal achievements of note/ special moments you have had in the organization?
Our founder, Joe Ripple, posted a video of the check presentation to Draven and his family for all of the state representatives and department heads that were obviously not all able to be there. I sat on my couch, with my own family watching this video, seeing what everyone's hard work had been able to accomplish. I saw the relief on the faces of Draven's parents, and the smile on that kid's face. Draven's a little guy, so I can't really say to what extent he understood what was going on. Maybe he was just stoked to have a bunch of new friends. The entirety of it hit me when my own son handed me a tissue to blow my nose. He is seeing what a huge difference everyone is capable of making, and I hope he follows suit.
What are the organizations greatest accomplishments?
Before we obtained our own IRS designation of becoming a 501(c)(3) charity, we were able to donate $10,000 to each of the following Organizations; Johns Hopkins Children's Cancer Center, The Kennedy-Krieger Institute (They help kids with Brain and Spinal Cord injuries, and help kids with Autisim and Down Syndrome acclimate into society), and the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation. We're also really excited that this year we've spread to 34 states across the country, and we're still growing.
Orlando folks can check out the Scares That Care booth at this weekend's Spook Empire Horror Weekend and meet Crista in person.
**UPDATE**
Hey guys just wanted to Add a photo from this year's Spooky Empire convention, and let you all know that on Halloween day you should check out their trick-or-treat $5.00 donation day event here: http://www.facebook.com/events/103534043126163/
Happy Halloween!
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