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

Via Element Eden Advocate Amy Purdy’s blog:

After the shoe drop yesterday in Durban, we drove 4 hours through the beautiful South African countryside to a safari on the Ubizane Wildlife Reserve where we are staying in beautiful treehouse lodges. This morning we have already seen huge white rhinos and had a group of about 40 elephants come right up the jeep. We saw giraffes, wildebeest and zebras, which are just amazing! Zebras are one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. The backdrop where we are is breath taking! It is so green here, very wet and tropical!

This trip has really helped me focus on what it is I want out of life and where I want to go next with my life. Life is so beautiful, so amazing! I’m inspired to continue to make a difference in any way I can. Adaptive Action Sports and public speaking is where my heart is, as well as helping out other organizations and causes that are close to my heart.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy – but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all.” ~Leo Rosten

Element Eden Advocate Amy Purdy just returned home from her trip to South Africa with TOMS and Element! We’re so excited to have her back, and even more excited to see her photos and hear her stories about this life-changing experience! The following is Part 2 of a continuing update on the trip:

Yesterday was one of the most inspiring days for me. We went to downtown Durban and worked with Umthombo. Umthombo is a voice from the streets. It is a unique South African street children organization led predominantly by former street children. The organization has many programs for the children one of them being a surf program. They get donated surfboards and wetsuits and have a surf coach for the kids.

This place was so full of love – the kids were amazing! It’s hard to think that they don’t have a place to go home to. But what they do have is the amazing support of the organization. After we fit them with their shoes they were so grateful they would just come up to us and give us the biggest hugs. As soon as we put the shoes on them, they would get up and dance and sing to us! For living the tough lives they live, they were so full of light and smiles, it really puts our lives into perspective.

After the shoe drop we watched them surf – what an amazing experience for them and for us to watch! The waves were massive and these kids were masters of them! This day absolutely inspired me to continue to give back as much as possible. I feel so good knowing I am making a difference, I will continue to support Umthombo in any way I can!

More to come!

Read more of Amy’s blog here.