Austin Cortex
October 2011
Happy HalloWHEDON!!
Whedon Wares HalloWHEDON Shop
Make your costume shiny this year with spooktacular items from our Scares of Whedon shop!
Looking to be the Hero of Canton this year? Try pairing our Handmade Jayne Hat ($37 for adult size) and one of our awesome Jayne Cobb replica t-shirts, such as the Troublemaker t-shirt ($29 S-XL, $34 XXL+) seen in the graphic to the right. Add your own Vera and it's time for some thrilling heroics with your instant Jayne costume!
Tap into your inner Kaylee with the hand painted replica Kaylee Parasol, Kaylee Bear Patch or our new Kaylee Patch Bag. Tell me I'm pretty. Pretty shiny, that is!
Got Evil? That is, the Evil League of Evil! Grab one of our many Dr. Horrible t-shirts to start your costume on the path to world domination!
Don't forget necessary Browncoat essentials such as replica Money Packs and Browncoat Silicone Bracelets!
Every order placed that includes one of our HalloWHEDON items is eligible to win a HalloWHEDON-sized prize! Order now – BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!
Brutalitea Line
After a long night of scaring people or handing out candy, relax with a shiny cup of our signature Brutalitea! What's scarier than that! It will bring you Serenitea especially if you drink it from our 76th Battalion Mug!
Special on Pumpkin Pie Tea
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For the first time ever, we're offering some of our Pie Tea collection via our website. We've never sold this tea before, though we have been known to give a sample or two during Sherwood Forest Faire. What better Pie Tea to offer than PUMPKIN PIE! This delectable tea tastes just like grandma's pumpkin pie; it's best served hot with a little whipped cream on top! We will only offer this tea during the holiday season, so get some now before it's too late! If you buy our Pumpkin Pie tea, you'll be eligible to win a custom blended tea made by our very own tea mistress, Beth Nelson.
Master of the Whedonverse
Attention Shiny Browncoats and Browncoat Supporters, have we got a game for you!
Austin Browncoats would like to invite you to test your knowledge of the Whedonverse in our new game Master of the Whedonverse!
Starting Saturday, October 1st, we will present trivia questions on both the Austin Browncoats Twitter account and Facebook Page. The first person, based on the time-stamp from Twitter/Facebook, to compile 5 correct answers will win a shiny autographed prize along with a chance to compete for a Grand Prize at the next CSTS event!
The questions will entail items from all of the Whedonverse so make sure you do your homework!
Please read below for all the rules and regulations.
No Power in the Verse Can Stop You! Good Luck!
Rules are as follows:
The first question will be released on Saturday, October 1st. New questions will be posted after we receive the earliest time-stamped correct answer to the previously released question. The same questions will be posted to the Austin Browncoats Twitter and Facebook accounts. We will accept answers from both accounts, but the earliest time-stamp correct answer will be deemed winner.
The first person to respond correctly to 5 trivia questions will win an autographed Whedonverse-related prize. (List of potential prizes below.) In the event of a tie, we will offer a tie-breaker question to determine the final winner.
The winner must respond to a request for their address within two weeks in order to claim their prize. Should said winner fail to respond, they risk losing their shiny new prize and a new winner will be chosen from the next earliest time-stamped correct answer.
Once a contestant has successfully answered 5 trivia questions and received their shiny prize, they are no longer eligible to participate in the trivia rounds until the Grand Prize competition. Once the Grand Prize competition is over, regular play will be resumed and all contestants are then eligible to participate again.
The top 5 winners will have a chance to compete for a Grand Prize at the next CSTS event. Should one of the Top 5 winners not wish to be entered into the Grand Prize event, the next earliest time-stamped correct answer contestant will be eligible to attend. If one of the Grand Prize round contestants is unable to attend the live event in person but still wishes to compete, we will leave the option open for them to compete via Skype, Google Chat or Phone in options. This option must be discussed with Austin Browncoats at least one week prior to the scheduled CSTS event or the contestant will no longer be eligible.
Austin Browncoats reserves the right to advertise the winner of this contest via social networking, newsletters, forums and our website.
LIST OF POTENTIAL PRIZES:
- Autographed photos
- Autographed Merchandise
- Merchandise with values of up to $50
- and more!
Grand Prize Winner will win a gift pack of Whedonverse merch and autographs worth over $300!
Current Trivia Winnters
As of this mailing, our current trivia winners are:
- Ruth Ann Francis - 5 correct answers
- Katie Brown - 1 correct answer
- Michael Pearson - 1 correct answer
- Tabitha Grace Smith - 1 correct answer
- Alicia Stanley - 1 correct answer
Ruth Ann is officially our first winner! She has 5 correct answers and will get an autographed Serenity Alliance currency signed by Jane Espenson.
Monthly Donations
Austin Browncoats is a fundraising charity. We help other non-profits with the most difficult part of the job – fundraising and volunteerism. Since 2010, we've been donating at least $500 a month to a supported charity.
| Month |
Charity |
| January |
Kids Need to Read
Kids Need to Read is a national nonprofit charity focusing on promoting childhood literacy and addressing the deplorable state of library funding that currently exists in the United States. Donating exciting, new books to schools, public libraries, health clinics and shelters in need, the foundation works to develop a lifelong love of reading in all children. |
| February |
Equality Now
Equality Now was founded in 1992 to work for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world. Working with national human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes international action to support their efforts to stop these human rights abuses. |
| March |
National MS Society
The National MS Society is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now—to move together toward a world free of multiple sclerosis. MS stops people from moving. We exist to make sure it doesn't. |
| April |
Lupus Foundation of America
The Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. (LFA) is the foremost national nonprofit voluntary health organization dedicated to finding the causes of and cure for lupus and providing support, services and hope to all people affected by lupus. |
| May |
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the ACS has 12 chartered Divisions, more than 900 local offices nationwide, and a presence in more than 5,100 communities.
|
| June/July |
Austin Browncoats Community Scholarship – given to two high school seniors for a total of $1500. |
| August |
Heart House Austin
Heart House's innovative afterschool program is the only daily program for school-age children in a neighborhood known for its high crime, high unemployment, and lack of affordable, quality care for children. At Heart House, children have access to caring adult mentors, homework assistance, art enrichment, computer learning, health and safety education, and literacy programs. |
| September |
Balcones Youth Sports – we're sponsoring a Little League Baseball team in Austin. More information once available. ($575) |
| October |
SafePlace – Domestic Violence Awareness Month
SafePlace exists to end sexual and domestic violence. Nationally recognized for its innovative and effective programs, we have been providing women, children and men a place of safety, compassion and empowerment in Austin, Texas since 1974. As a community we can make a difference. We can have a community free of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence. We invite you to join us. |
| November |
Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center
The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center provides a safe after-school environment where hundreds of boys and girls in South Central Los Angeles nurture their dreams, participate in tutoring and academic enrichment programs, learn important social skills and are guided to succeed in school and enter college.
Ron Glass, who stars as Shepherd Book in Firefly and Serenity, is on the Board of Directors for the center. |
| December |
CASA - Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children
CASA of Travis County speaks up for children who’ve been abused or neglected by empowering our community to volunteer as advocates for them in the court system. |
Want to help us pick January 2012's Monthly Donation? Email us at: charity@austinbrowncoats.com with the subject: January's Monthly Donation.
For a list of charities we support, check out our website: www.austinbrowncoats.com/charities.php
Want to recommend a new charity we should support? Let us know! Email us at: charity@austinbrowncoats.com with the subject: Check out this charity!
Want to donate money specifically for any of our special donations, such as a monthly donation or our scholarship program? We'd love for your support! You can donate here: www.austinbrowncoats.com/donate.php
Austin Browncoats Community Scholarship
This year, Austin Browncoats awarded scholarships to a pair of deserving high school seniors under the new Austin Browncoats Community Scholarship program. Where our recipients differ in almost every aspect of their backgrounds; they have the common traits of excellent performance in the classroom, giving back to their communities, and a desire to continue to make the world better through higher education. Both recipients have a GPA of over 3.8 and have completed more than 900 hours of community service combined. Their dedication to community service is what made them our top candidates.
This process has been one of the most fulfilling endeavors we've undertaken. We are eagerly anticipating the applications for next year's scholarships. We can't wait to be impressed by the next crop of student-volunteers. Young people who understand the value of education and giving back to their community deserve the opportunity to reach their goals. We are grateful to have the opportunity to help them along their way.
About Austin Browncoats Community Scholarship:
On November 11th, 2010, we submitted our first scholarship to Austin Independent School District: "Austin Browncoats Community Scholarship". It is a need and merit based scholarship available to graduating seniors with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher (on the 4.0 scale), who also have a strong volunteer background. This scholarship will give the recipient up to $1,000 toward their education. For the 2011 school year, we decided to award $750 scholarships to two deserving individuals.
Interested in applying? Talk to your school counselor or visit the Naviance – College and Career Counseling site.
We're working on ideas for a fundraiser centered around awarding this scholarship to the lucky winner, once they've been chosen. Have ideas? Send them to us via info@austinbrowncoats.com.
Upcoming Events
For more upcoming events, keep an eye on our website and join our community on Facebook.
Volunteer with the Austin Browncoats
Austin Browncoats host charitable functions all year long, ranging from convention booths to large-scale shindigs. While the majority of our events take place in the State of Texas, we also host booths at large conventions, such as Dragon*Con in Atlanta, and are always looking for additional support in a variety of roles.
Want to do good works and have fun at the same time? Fill out our volunteer form!
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