Susie Beame -Designer Toy

Cause: Anti smoking

Tens of billions of marketing dollars are spent on tobacco advertising worldwide annually, most of which is aimed directly at recruiting new smokers. The most highly valued recruit is the young consumer. In fact, the younger the better, because cigarette companies know that kids are easier to lure in and hook on tobacco, and young people have decades of smoking years ahead of them. Our children are the life blood of the tobacco industry. Without them, their consumer base would dry up as tobacco products kill off long-time users.

Worldwide, most people start smoking before the age of 18, with nearly one quarter of them trying cigarettes for first time before the age of 10.  Also, the younger a child is when he or she starts smoking, the stronger the odds are for long-term addiction.  And smokers who start very young seem to be less likely to quit.

Introducing "Buster"

"Buster" the healthy heart & healthy lungs monster, has devoted his life to educating kids & teens about the horrible effects of smoking and "busting" underage smoking.

"Say NO to smoking or I'll kick your butts!" he shouts as bounces around and punches the air.

Buster's Story

Buster's Mum was a heavy smoker, but a kind & caring mother.  He adored her.  She developed lung cancer and heart disease when Buster was only 8 years old and she died a slow painful death less than 4 years later.  He missed her terribly and at that time of his life he saw many people smoking and even friends taking up smoking in their teens and he thought they were real losers.

Through Buster's loss came incredible inner strength and determination to promote anti-smoking, fitness, exercise and healthy eating.  "It's not rocket science," he says, "Don't smoke, be happy, live long and strong!"

Although Buster appears to be a bit of a beafcake (pumped up attitude and body), he is incredibly compassionate and streetwise and found people are drawn to his magnetic personality and charm.  He actually possesses a magical power to persuade and influence people.

The most important thing parents can do is quit smoking themselves, he says: "Actions speak louder than words."  Model healthy behaviour and become strongly engaged in your children's lives.

All sales from each "Buster" toy will be directed and donated to Quit Smoking campaign and focussing on educating our young.

http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/antismokingresources/a/WNTD2008.htm
http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20061031/study-teen-antismoking-ads-backfiring

Hayley- Designer Toy

CAUSE: Youth Homelessness
It is estimated that over 160,000 Australians experience homelessness every year. One third of those are children. My designer toy has made it his goal to raise enough money to rent or buy a home where kids like him can get support, a bed, food and clothing. He is working hard in the homeless community to get the money, being their spokesperson in the city in which they live.

HIS STORY: This boy's parent died when he was a toddler and he had no known living relatives that could care for him. He was then put into a foster home where he had been abused for a number of years by older kids who were living with him. After being through so many trials already in his short life, at the age of 6, he felt strong enough to run away from the home and turn to the streets. Being so young, he was taken in by a group of kind homeless men and women and cared for by them. He came to view these people as his family, since he never knew any of his own. One woman in particular took him under her wing and he came to see her as his mother. He felt lucky and was happy in his life.
Many kids who may have been in his position may have grown bitter and turned to crime to survive. My character, however, used his life experiences to help him grow as a person, and under the nurturing eye of his "mother" became a humble and unselfish 13 year old. His motivation is to give back to the homeless community for the love he has received from it.
Helping younger and less-experienced homeless kids gives him purpose in life. He wants to provide the same opportunities for love and acceptance that he got.
He wants to help others before himself, often sharing food and giving away his minimal possessions to less fortunate homeless youth.

PERSONALITY: My character is the lovable scamp of the story. He has very little reason to look at the positive side of life, yet manages to always be upbeat and caring. Being the mascot for the entire homeless youth community, and dealing with people from the mainstream world, he keeps himself well-presented. Only having access to second hand, found clothing sometimes makes this difficult, but because he is so focused on his goal he makes it happen.
Loved by his peers and non-threatening to outsiders, he gets a lot accomplished in his mission.

APPEARANCE:

• Age-13
• Hair- Light brown
• Clothing- Shorts and a t-shirt. A bit tattered and worn but still neat. He takes care in his appearance as much as his environment allows.
• Shoes- Worn sneakers but obviously been cleaned regularly.
• Hat- Multi-colored cap. Maybe with a spinner on top.
• Skin Color- White. Australian boy. This is to emphasize the fact that "everyday" youth are part of the homelessness problem.

MATERIALS: In keeping with the theme of second-hand clothing etc, my character will be made with used/ second-hand fabrics. It will be a stuffed doll, mainly hand sewn so that the stitches are visible. I would like to use a variety of fabrics so it gets a patchwork appearance. My characters life has been a series of good and bad experiences all sewn together with hope, love and positivity. I would like the construction to reflect this.
To make the toy movable I will insert pliable wire under the stuffing so that the toy can be moved into different positions i.e. sitting etc.

POSSIBLE NAMES:
Homeless Humphrey- Peace loving guardian, peaceful home.
Helmut the Homeless- Courageous warrior
Homeless Herbert- Brilliant warrior
Howard the Homeless- Watcher, guardian

50 words or more describing your mascot

mascot:

a person, animal, or object adopted by a group as a symbolic figure especially to bring luck.

mascot has a french soul.

The term comes from the provincial "mascoto", which means " magic artifact, charm, talisman" moreover "mascoto" is the diminuitive of masco, which can be loosely translated as "witch". In other words, the intimate relationship between the mascot and the uncanny is clear even at the etymological level. If we need a further proof, masco comes from medieval latin masca "phantom" or "ghost". No wonder, then, that specters are haunting the world: mascots, puppets, dolls and avatars materialize on our computer screens, televisions And cellular phone displays.

Know your character inside-out then design it from the inside out!

Consider the following:

• the environmental or social cause/ charity they represent
• gender or lack of
• their abilities, special gifts or powers
• age
• manifestation ie is it animal vegetable or inanimate object
• physical qualities- size, ancestory, facial features, body type, posture, movement, dress and accessories, colour
• humour, hobbies, activities personality traits,etc
• homelife where do they live do they even have a pet?
• check these cool recycled dolls http://magmo.typepad.com/magmo_the_destroyer/2006/02/magmo_recycle_d.html