‘Supernatural’ actors find time for worthy charities
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UPDATE: 12/11/2017: We would like to set the record straight about this article. We were going to remain silent about Carol Hansson no longer writing for us, but for some reason she has chosen to blame MTTG for her blatant error of leaving out Jared Padalecki, one of the stars of “Supernatural.”
As she has chosen to make a claim about how we handled this situation, we are forced to respond.
As the "Carol" in question, I am going to comment. I wanted to edit the original article, and/or provide a follow-up article — I was requested not to. As I no longer work for MTTG (I resigned, because I didn't like how everything was handled, either), I wrote my own follow-up.
— Carol Hansson — Dean/Sam/Cas fan — OUSA (@CarolHansson) December 12, 2017
As a news site we do take fact-checking very seriously, but when it came to “Supernatural” Carol, a self-proclaimed diehard fan of the show, was allowed much more freedom in her writing. We assumed that she would take doing research seriously while making sure she got all of the facts right.
This was our mistake and we take full responsibility for it, so we quickly apologized for the blatant error both on here and on social media. That is what a professional organization is to do when such an error is made. Carol asked us to add a quick sentence to make up for this mistake which our editors did. This obviously made things even worse for fans of the show which is very understandable.
I told Carol that we would have one of our writers do a separate piece on Jared Padalecki’s charitable work since he was completely left out of this article. Again, as this article appeared on our site, we wanted to do right by Mr. Padalecki. Carol asked if she could write it, and I explained that it would be a prudent decision to just let another writer do this.
The following day, we had a telephone conversation with Carol and pointed out that her response on Twitter was not helping her situation as she had not apologized about her mistake. We had apologized twice for her, but we informed her that if she wanted to make things right with the “Supernatural” fandom, an apology was in order.
We also pointed out that her initial response of “I made mistake. I’m only human,” did not go down well with fans of both Jared Padalecki and the show, as it appeared that it was just inconsequential about her leaving him out of an article about his show.
Carol did issue an apology on Twitter and later sent us an email which read as if all the blame was being put on the MTTG editorial team for not picking up on her leaving Jared Padalecki out. As I am very protective of the MTTG writers and team, I responded letting her know that we trusted her to get the facts right and that as someone who knows the show and actors so well, the editors would never assume that she would leave him out. The editorial team mainly checked her articles for grammatical mistakes.
In this response, I also mentioned that it appeared she was blaming our team for her error, and as such, she might be better suited with another site that could do indepth fact checking on all of her articles. Personally, I never felt there was a need to fact check “Supernatural” articles written by longtime fans of the show.
That is our response to this situation, and I personally am saddened that Carol has forced us to need to respond. We wish her well in her endeavors.
UPDATE: 12/6/2017: Our writer Curvy Girl Diva will be doing a rather sizable piece on all the work that Jared Padalecki has done and the effect it has had so he has not been forgotten. The writer made an accident in omitting his great work, and we are fixing this blatant error.
We thank you all for bringing this to our attention.
The SPN fandom is known far and wide for its generosity and dedication to the charities that our cast supports. After so much drama, negativity and “wank” in the fandom lately, I figured it was time to focus on the positive – specifically, the cast’s charitable efforts.
Stronger Than Storms
They don’t call us the #SPNfamily for nothing.
On Aug. 25, 2017, hurricane Harvey made landfall in the Houston area of Texas. Many Supernatural fans will know that both Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, two of the stars of Supernatural, make Houston Austin their home in the off-season, and when they aren’t filming. Two days later, Aug. 27, The Family Business – Jensen’s brewery in Austin – started a Crowdrise campaign to raise money for the hurricane Harvey relief effort.
The #SPNfamily showed up in force.
Later that day, the donations were up to $50,000 – which was then matched by a $50,000 direct donation to Random Acts, Misha Collins’s charity. One day later, the amount was over $100,000; as of the end of August, the amount is at $394,364 – in 10 DAYS. Not only that, the CW – the network that carries Supernatural – is also supporting the cause.
A representative from Random Acts says: “We’re thrilled and honored that the Family Business Beer Company, along with Jensen and Danneel Ackles, have chosen to include us in this fundraiser. The best thing people can do for those affected by Harvey is to open their hearts and give or volunteer — and so far, people seem to be eager to do just that. In the coming days, as the situation worsens, we hope everyone will keep those things in mind.”
Random Acts/GISHWHES/IMAlive/YANA
Misha Collins. This man must have “charitable” as his middle name. Random Acts spent over $500,000 in 2016; GISHWHES has raised over $400,000 for charities, completed over 400,000 random acts of kindness worldwide, and:
In addition, Jensen Ackles and Misha created the You Are Not Alone Campaign in 2016, to help raise money for IMAlive – a crisis support network fully staffed by volunteers. IMAlive volunteers support con-goers during photo ops and autographs at Creation Entertainment conventions – it can be overwhelming meeting someone you admire and look up to, someone who has made a big impact on your life (I took advantage of speaking with an IMAlive volunteer at the New Orleans convention – being able to talk about why I was there for a Jared autograph helped – a lot).
More recently, Misha created the #IWishForThis campaign, which is raising money for Random Acts and Lydia’s Place – “The mission of Lydia Place is to disrupt the cycle of homelessness and promote sustained independence for current and future generations.” According to the Stands website, where the campaign is hosted, 100 percent of the profit goes to a partnership between Random Acts and Lydia’s Place.
Here’s what Misha had to say about his charities:
“The single biggest strength of the SPNFamily is its passion— its ability to come together to support a cause. Random Acts and YANA were both born as a response to that passion. As actors, it’s rare to have an such a supportive fan base and Jared, Jensen, & I feel so fortunate to be able to act as the conduit that directs their energy toward making a positive impact in the world. Whether it’s building a school in Nicaragua and an orphanage in Haiti, or assisting other Supernatural fans with mental health support, I’m constantly astonished and humbled by the way the fans always rise to the challenge and can’t wait to see what we can accomplish next.”
The main cast aren’t the only charitable ones in the SPN family. Rob Benedict, whose charity of choice is The National Stroke Association, says:
“As a stroke survivor, I want to do everything I can to raise awareness about strokes and to see the signs when a loved one is having a stroke. The National Stroke Association is a great organization that is doing just that.”
Mark Sheppard, who until recently played Crowley on Supernatural, has chosen Camp Conrad Chinnok as his charity. According to their website: “Camp Conrad Chinnock offers recreational, social, and educational opportunities for youth and families with diabetes. Campers are taught diabetes self-management skills in a fun, interactive, and safe environment. A primary focus of Diabetes Camping and Educational Services is providing residential camping experiences for youth with Type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes and their families at Camp Conrad Chinnock. Whether attending a youth or family camp, a comprehensive educational program provides training in formal and casual settings to teach children how to manage their medication, eat properly, and integrate physical activity into their lifestyle.”
Carrie Genzel, who was on both Bugs and Just My Imagination (a favourite episode of mine, as it was directed by Richard Speight Jr.), has her own charity campaign as well:
“I had only a small idea of how incredible the SUPERNATURAL Fandom was from doing ‘Bugs’ in the first season, but seeing as social media wasn’t as it is today, I had no idea of the overwhelming sense of love that the fandom has and shows those of us lucky enough to have been on the show. When ‘Just My Imagination’ aired there was a sudden tsunami of appreciation and excitement for the episode and the scenes I was apart of.
“It was then I understood what makes the SUPERNATURAL Fandom so special, and unlike any other I’ve seen. That love, that inclusiveness, and support is right along the lines of how I live my life, of what I believe in, and when I launched my blog stateofslay.com I got immediate support from many of the SPN Family. My beliefs are that we don’t leave anyone behind, we stand as one, as a community, and knowing that at any given time, every one of us will need some help, or encouragement, the idea of STATE OF SLAY is that together we are stronger and can accomplish anything.
“Soon after launching the blog, an incredible woman from the fandom, Willeke Vis, came to me about designing a T-Shirt campaign; we decided to have all proceeds to go BWSS, Battered Women’s Support Services, an organization that was close to our hearts — and an incredible way to give back and send out that sense of community to women who are making a fresh start. We got ‘375cArrow’ aka Carrie, to help us make our design come to life. The idea behind it is that it looks like a superhero emblem, because we are all the superheroes of our own lives, it says SLAY POWERED, as a reminder to use the power within to SLAY our days. The Slay Powered merchandise can be purchased in the SLAY STORE at www.stateofslay.com, with all proceeds going to BWSS.
“I am constantly in awe how of the SUPERNATURAL Fandom gives back, from the cast members to those who just feel inspired to contribute and make someone’s day brighter. They all inspire me every day. SLAY on.”
The Lucifer we all know and love, Mark Pellegrino, is just wrapping up his #onlylove campaign – the T-shirts, available through Represent, support Stomp Out Bullying. Sales just ended on Dec. 4, 2017, and wound up selling over two-thousand hoodies. Mark says: “I love kids, so my main charity is St. Jude’s. Ending childhood cancer and the suffering it causes would be a dream come true.”
The Supernatural fandom is truly a family – we have done so much good in this world, all stemming from a little TV show. Let’s keep it up!
Editor’s Note: Sadly, there has been that very small minority that has tried to discount the amazing and noteworthy work that the Supernatural actors have done which is sad and just downright disgusting, but all of these charitable causes have been verified and are legitimate endeavors. We have linked to each of them for those interested in learning more about them.
Thank you Leah for reminding Carol of Jared’s amazing work with:
Jared Padalecki has been very forthcoming with his own personal battle with depression; his AKF — Always Keep Fighting — T-shirt campaign raises awareness for depression in addition to funds for To Write Love On Her Arms, a non-profit “dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.”
Thank you to all the SPN fans who pointed out that the Jared and Jensen make their home in Austin and not in Houston as the writer originally put.
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