According to reports, Church Boutique, LA’s art and luxury fashion retailer to the celebrities, Ministry of Tomorrow (MOT), and the eco-fashion house have joined forces with Christie’s and their online charity auction partner CharityBuzz to create Art for Education in support of the Chema Vision Children’s Center (Chema) in Nairobi, Kenya.
The bidding process began on June 1, 2021, and will end on June 16, 2021. The auction, which takes place during Christie’s luxury bag week, will see the bags on display for public viewing at Christie’s in Manhattan.
The Chema school was founded to provide quality education for some of Kibera’s most vulnerable children. It is located in the heart of Kibera, Africa’s largest urban slum. Many of the pupils are orphans or children of single parents who are unable to fund their education.
Chema had to relocate just before the pandemic due to the school’s construction not being up to code. MOT’s vegan bag production plant is close to the school, and MOT’s president, Julian Prolman, learned about the school’s plight. Chema was able to shift to a safe facility thanks to early fundraising organized by MOT.
Even so, Chema is currently in dire need of financial assistance in order to pay for teaching services, operational costs, and healthy meals for students.
Julian informed MOT’s LA retail partners, Rodney Burns and David Malvaney, the owners of Church Boutique, about the critical need at Chema, and they immediately responded to collaborate with MOT to co-produce the celebrity-driven art auction to help generate the cash needed.
They also asked their celebrity pals to paint their artistic thoughts on MOT’s new organic canvas tote bag, which will be auctioned online through CharityBuzz.
The likes of Madonna, Naomi Campbell, Halle Berry, Zoe Kravitz, Lenny Kravitz, Usher, Lionel Richie, Bria Murphy, Eddie Murphy, Maggie Q, Evan Ross, Raquel Bitton, Paris Jackson, Lee Daniels, David Banda, and others all joined together without reluctance to donate their time and artistic skills to help with the cause.
Laurie Lynn Stark, the owner of the worldwide jewelry and apparel business Chrome Hearts, also got involved and designed her own MOT tote.
Rodney Burns stated, “We believe that luxury is a privilege that comes with the responsibility to care for others in need and therefore we are thrilled to collaborate with MOT to do what we can to make a difference in the lives of children born into challenging circumstances”
With an aim of raising $100,000, all earnings from the auction will be donated to Chema to assist pay the school’s operational budget.
Julian Prolman explained, “Chema is a Swahili word meaning something good, and that is what we are trying to do with Art for Education”
Check out some of the celebrities and their eco-totes below.
Education: Computer Network Engineering, Computer Desktop Administration
Fave Song: Destiny's Child 'Dangerously in love'
Fave Colour: Grey.
With £1m what would you do: I would do my part to provide opportunities to the less fortunate. Then do my best to change the world in my own way through sports and talent building.
