Prints for a Purpose
Every Print Sold = A Donation
As a way to try and give back a little during this crazy time on the planet, for every print sold on Sepia Memory Bank I will be making a charitable donation. The organizations will change with each series to be geographically relevant to the content of those prints.
I will provide specific information on every cause/org and links to the work they do in the community, as well as follow-up confirmation of all donations to customers.
SERIES 001 - Crisis Support for Bushwick Food Bank
Andrew Pasquier was raising funds for weekly trips to a marketplace to help supply a local food bank with fresh food during COVID. Lines had gotten longer each week and all the help was greatly appreciated in this area which was devastated by the virus and its ensuing shutdown.
SERIES 001 IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT! WE WERE ABLE TO DONATE ALMOST $150 TO ANDREW’S FUNDRAISER.
A FEW REMAINING BLACK & WHITE PRINTS CAN NOW BE FOUND IN “TEST PRINTS”. <3
SERIES 002 - Multiple Charities in the wake of George Floyd
In the final steps of creating this site and the concept for “Prints For a Purpose” the murder of George Floyd happened. I took four of my favorite images from Series 001 and printed one large version of each for this set. 100% of the profits were divided amongst four worthy causes who are fighting for police reform and the advancement of people of color.
THIS SERIES IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT. ROUGHLY $300 WAS DONATED TO:
Equality For Flatbush (Fighting Police Brutality and Gentrification)
THIS fundraiser, which is raising money for homeless trans women of color in Atlanta
SERIES 003 - Ruth Ellis Center
As the third series focuses on Detroit’s underground queer rave BAK DØR - what better way to celebrate the inclusive, LGBTQ+ friendly atmosphere the party always had than by contributing to the city’s amazing Ruth Ellis Center. In their own words, the group:
“Founded in 1999, Ruth Ellis Center (REC) has established a national reputation for quality and innovation in providing trauma-informed services for lesbian, gay, bi-attractional, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ+) youth, and young adults, with an emphasis on young people of color, experiencing homelessness, involved in the child welfare system, and/or experiencing barriers to health and wellbeing.
Click HERE for more info on Ruth Ellis.
UPDATE: As on Spring 2021, over $100 has been donated from Series 003.
SERIES 004 - Ruth Ellis Center
Closing out 2020 with a run of bright and bold color images, and would love to send the great Ruth Ellis Center another donation. Just like (the still running) SERIES 003, 10% of all profits will be go to their great work with the LGBTQ+ community.
UPDATE: As of Spring 2021, about $25 in additional donations were sent to Ruth Ellis for this series.
SERIES 005 - GROUPS HELPING NYC’S AAPI COMMUNITY
The first series of 2021 features 10 new black and white prints of iconic NYC architecture. Throughout the COVID pandemic, the Asian American / Pacific Islander community (especially here in NY) has faced terrible persecution and hostility, for this series I wanted to choose two great organizations who are devoted to curbing this trend (15% of profits will be evenly split between them).
This article does a great job of summarizing the spike in racially motivated crimes against the AAPI community in NYC since the start of the pandemic.
The first group is Heart of Dinner, who does amazing work delivering care packages to elderly Asian Americans in need. And the second organization is a gofundme to help attack victim Noel Quintana, who was brutally slashed in an subway attack earlier this year.
TEST PRINTS - A Different Organization Every Season
The concept of Test Prints is to present a shop where I can feature a number of rotating items from my own collection. This allows me to experiment with several different types of paper, bnw vs. color, different sizes, as well as the debut of new options for the customer (framed/unframed). These will always be limited runs, likely 1/1s for the larger size, and 5 or less for the smaller options.
I will choose a different worthy cause every season (so 4 per year) and donate 10% of all Test Prints profits to that season’s choice. Donations will be made monthly and I will send confirmation to all customers. (the easiest way to follow donations is thru my Instagram account).