For a Good Cause

Hey all!

I wasn't planning on writing again before Thanksgiving, but something's come to my attention that's really important to me.

I received the following press release tonight. Before you skip past this and blow off the post, please read it, and give me at least two seconds to pass on my thoughts:

"Nuke" fans launch 2nd Annual Project Holiday Spirit campaign in honor of Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann

November 25, 2008—As a tribute to "As the World Turns" actors Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann, fans at vanhansis.net announce the second annual "Project Holiday Spirit" campaign (PHS) in support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. For 2007's campaign, "Nuke" fans set a fundraising goal of $500, but raised well over $6,000! Bolstered by the success of PHS, fans continued to work together, ultimately contributing over $35,000 to 10 different charities in less than 12 months.



The first campaign was launched on December 1, 2007 (World AIDS Day) and was originally inspired by a blog by Hansis about the holidays. Fans decided to embrace the true spirit of the holidays by helping others, and the campaign became a meaningful way for them to acknowledge the positive impact Van and Jake have had on so many lives.

Fans have decided to kick off another year of charitable giving by making this very special tribute an annual holiday tradition. This year's PHS campaign once again begins on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2008, with the goal of surpassing last year's total. Fans invite everyone to join them in honoring Van and Jake by donating to this very worthy cause.



For additional information or to donate, visit http://phs.vanhansis.net or email

ProjectHolidaySpirit@vanhansis.net.

About the organizers:

Vanhansis.net is a fan-run site with over 1700 members, dedicated to the support of actor Van Hansis and his work. Many of Hansis' fans also offer their support to Jake Silbermann, his acting partner on CBS daytime drama "As the World Turns", in appreciation of Hansis' and Silbermann's portrayals of Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer, daytime's first gay super-couple, affectionately known as "Nuke". PHS is also supported by the members of lukeandnoahfans.com, a 1300 member website dedicated to the couple.



Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann are in no way affiliated with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, or the PHS campaign. PHS was originally conceived by, and is solely managed by, the fans at vanhansis.net. All donations are made directly to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.



Additional Information:

To see a breakdown of "Nuke" fans' charitable giving visit http://forums.vanhansis.net/pages/charity/

To see Hansis' original blog about the holidays which inspired PHS visit http://forums.vanhansis.net/topic/231847/1/

Right... so here's the thing. Two things, actually...

1) This is an amazing country, America. We're all allowed to have free opinions and free speech, and that should hold true whether we agree with others or not. If you have a personal or religious bias against the pairing of Luke and Noah, that's totally cool. I may not personally agree with it, but freedom to think and feel what we want is what this country is founded on - it's what we fought a war over back in the 1700's. And as much as I'd love to change your mind, that's not my responsibility. We live in an independent world. But having said that, this isn't about whether or not you want to see two men kiss at two o'clock in the afternoon on network television. This is about supporting a cause to keep people from DYING. People of all races, all sexual orientations, all worthy of life.

And...

2) Money is tight right now for everybody. It's a crappy situation out there, no two ways about it. I don't know how much money I'll be able to give to this cause, but over the next few weeks, I'm going to try and find some way to donate SOMETHING - even if it's twenty dollars. And if you really, truly can't afford to donate anything to this charity? That's okay too. All I ask is that you please forward this to people you think might still be fortunate enough to donate even the tiniest amount. This economy is hitting all of us hard, and many of us (myself included) are unemployed right now. But there are still people out there who have the ability to help somebody less fortunate than themselves. And I can't think of anything that embodies the holiday spirit more than helping out those in need.

I won't lie - my contribution won't be momentous. But over the next couple of weeks, I will do my best to give even the smallest amount, if it means being able to help somebody... anybody... from this dreaded disease. Whether they got it from unprotected sex, or from a horrific transfusion, or even through their genetics - whatever your political or religious affiliation, there's no reason why somebody who has something to spare can't give ten or twenty dollars to help somebody who is incapable of helping themselves.

I *ALMOST NEVER* throw my personal beliefs outside of the soap industry into this blog - but for this, I will. There's too much at stake for too many people whose lives count for something not to.

Thanks, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this and check it out.

xoxo --tom