Last month Element Eden Advocate Miya Ando spearheaded a fundraising project to raise money for The Indigo Youth Movement. Thanks to her enormous enthusiasm and the generous hearts of many people, Miya’s project raised $2,562 for art supplies for kids in Durban, South Africa. Her experience is transcribed from the following interview, written by Diane Chang for aStory Magazine:

“You can’t sum up skateboarding without tracing facets of the scene back to Element, an internationally-recognized brand that not only puts out cool gear, but actively participates in the community to inform and educate its audience on various social topics. And the Element family is pretty huge, consisting of talented pro skaters, artists, and do-gooders (including the legendary Mike Vallely, who we talked to in our last issue), all of whom give back to the community by participating in programs designed to make the world a better place. More formally, these people are known as Element Advocates.

Element’s most recent contribution is its co-sponsorship of the Indigo Youth Movement, which is a non-profit organization that pulls together art supplies, books, and school necessities for kids in Durban, South Africa. Advocate and Indigo Youth Movement founder Dallas Oberholzer recently teamed up with another fellow Advocate, metalsmith Miya Ando to produce limited edition aluminum prints that were up for purchase via Kickstarter.com. The New York-based artist comes from a family of Japanese sword-smiths and Buddhist monks (um, awesome), and their practices have influenced her simple, meditative aesthetic. She uses different metal-finishing techniques to produce minimalist designs that resemble tranquil ocean shores or maybe even sound waves.

“This piece to me is really a very quiet and sincere image, full of compassion and optimism, a perfect one for the kids and the Indigo Project,” she says. “I really wanted to put forth something that I felt had a pure intention to match how I felt when I spoke to Dallas and learned about the project.”

And Dallas, whose most recent work with the organization was to create a skate camp for kids in the Durban community, is a pro skater himself, who decided to combine his love of skate and his South African roots eight years ago. He believes that “skateboarding is inspiration to visualize, focus, and create; an uplifting expression of our abilities amongst the energies of earth.”

All the proceeds from sales of her numbered and signed aluminum prints will go towards school supplies for the kids at the Indigo Youth Skate Camp, where the kids will hopefully learn to work hard and play hard. Together, these young, inspiring Element Advocates are trying to help the kids of Durban realize their dreams, but most importantly, inspire the Element audience to be more aware of the world around them. And like Miya reminds us, “It’s really such a beautiful thing to see the compassion in people.”

We couldn’t agree more. You don’t have to be an Element Advocate to give back to the community; you just have to be willing.” - by Diane Chang