I can't believe we've arrived to our three day countdown! After months of planning and hard work, the pieces are all coming together. I can't even express how excited I am for film fest 2009. I just love the excitement and buzz the festival creates around the city. For the fourth year, we are opening up our gifting suite the IT Lounge! Every year, I am excited about the IT Lounge and the brands that are featured here. Some IT Lounge favourites are back and include Goody, Fila, Brooks and Kiehl's. And some newcomers: the energy-boosting Penny Protein Plan, the iconic Sharpie, and the delectable Richart Chocolate straight from Paris! Yum! Even though we love giving to the amazing talent that comes to Toronto, it has always been very important to give back to the community. Every year, we have partnered with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto to raise awareness for this wonderful cause. This year, we challenged all the IT Lounge participants to raise awareness and funds for causes that were near and dear to them. And rise to the challenge they did! Every single brand in the Lounge has made a commitment to a cause of their choice. From protecting the environment to increasing physical activity and literacy to donating clothing to those in need, each sponsor found a meaningful way to give back to more than a dozen difference causes. In these challenging economic times, it's the charities that have been most affected. It was gratifying to see the IT Lounge brands really pulled together to make a difference. I secretly call it "the gifting suite with heart.." Of course, there is always more that can be done and earlier this year, when I was asked to sit on the advisory board for Artists for Peace and Justice(APJ) -- an incredible charity that donates 100 percent of funds to the children of Haiti, the Western hemisphere's poorest country-- it seemed natural to widen our philanthropic goals. We extended our charity component to include a fundraising benefit that we are hosting on September 11th at the Windsor Arms Hotel. Academy-award winning director Paul Haggis founded this powerful charity and has donated his time, along with actress Olivia Wilde, to host this event. Amazing auction items from stars like Diane Lane, Oliver Stone and James Franco have been donated to raise money and will be featured at the debut fundraising for APJ. We donated our time and resources to ensure that this event will be a success and make significant difference in the lives of Haitians children. Check out what some of the media have to say about this initiative:
Three day countdown!
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