I just heard from the team at Koryo Tours and wanted to share with you the results of their recent fundraiser. I know this is a bit unorthodox, but it's not often Luxist (or anyone else) has the opportunity to cover North Korean humanitarian charity efforts. Originally, Koryo Tours sought EUR4,400 -- EUR2,400 for 300 Braille dictionaries and EUR2,000 to install playground equipment in an orphanage in Wonsan, North Korea.

Hannah Barraclough, from Koryo Tours, writes, "We are very pleased to announce that thanks to your help we managed to raise an amazing EUR9000 which means we have been able to complete both of these projects and have surplus funds to go towards even more worthwhile projects next year - more info about these coming soon." She continues, "We (and the Korean children) are really so grateful to all of you who donated money. If any of you have been meaning to donate but haven't yet then please go ahead as it will go towards our future charity projects."

Yes, this was a "small money" charity event by the standards of Luxist, but I did hear that our readers made a noticeable difference. So, the least I could do is share with you the impact.

On Nov. 18 the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF) will stage its 12th annual Collaborating for a Cure benefit dinner and auction at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. Building on the success of last year's event (above), which featured a concert by Steely Dan, this year's festivities include a Steve Winwood performance and a charity auction led by Sotheby's' C. Hugh Hildesley. Sure to attract high bids will be 5 pairs of tickets to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Nov. 19, an eye-popping display of supermodels in lingerie. The SWCRF, founded by Dr. Samuel Waxman in 1975, is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt organization that focuses on the most promising strategies for developing cures and treatments for many types of cancers, as well as preventative measures. SWCRF is at the cutting edge of research into alternatives to the traditional treatments of chemotherapy and radiation.

Hollywood couple Courtney Cox and David Arquette have become the latest celebrities to have a jewelry line, but theirs is for a good cause. The pair have collaborated with Satya Jewelry on a line of butterfly-themed pieces to raise awareness of a genetic condition, epidermolysis bullosa (EB). Courtney Cox told Vogue that the couple got involved when the son of a close friend was born with the condition which manifests in extremely fragile skin and recurrent blister formation similar to the look of a third-degree burn. The young sufferers are known as "butterfly children" because their skin is as fragile as a butterfly wing.

The Satya Foundation donates 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the jewelry to the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation, which supports the fight to find a cure for this rare childhood skin disease. Pieces range in price from $24 for a silver pendant to $348 for the gold version shown above.

The 7th annual Tibet House US Benefit auction is taking place on November 18th at Christie's Auction House in New York City. The event is aimed at promoting and preserving Tibetan culture. Proceeds from the auction will be divided to sustain the Tibet House and another organization with like-minded initiatives. Some funds will support projects and programs spawned by the Tibet House in their mission of displaying and maintaining the ancient traditions of the Tibetan civilization. The event will also donate to Tibetan Children's Village an integrated educational community for destitute Tibetan children in exile located in Dharamsala, India. The fundraiser will also benefit the Tibetan Community of New York and New Jersey.

Items to be auctioned off include a package of four VIP concert tickets and a meet and greet backstage with Sting, internships at Rolling Stone and US Weekly, a private journey for two to Bhutan with guest accommodations, a luxury yacht cruise for seven to the Bahamas with a week long stay in a private house on the beach, lunch at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City with Uma and Robert Thurman, shopping and lunch with Donna Karan at her store, John Lennon, Martin Scorsese, and Miles Davis memorabilia, a one-week stay in a villa on the French Riviera, contemporary art and photographs from Annie Leibovitz, Patti Smith, Ed Ruscha, Donald Baechler, and more. TIckets to the event are $225 per person with VIP tickets that include a preview and private reception available for $500.

Do only the very wealthy pay retail these days? Seems like it. With so many discount shopping sites that sell high-end items, mere mortals can get said high-end items at low(er)-end prices. But is is there room for yet one more of these sites? LuxGoddess.com is hoping so. It recently joined the likes of Bluefly, ShopBop, and Gilt to offer upscale items at reduced prices. Here's what makes LuxGoddess different, however: It donates 10% of its proceeds to Bright Pink, a national nonprofit that provides education and support to young women who are at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

Calling itself "the premier site for today's fashion trendsetters looking for great deals on their favorite designer brands," the site carries well-known brands, with a number of items pulled from online stores, and covers the standard categories of apparel, shoes, beauty, and accessories. There's also a sale rack, which is a user's personal sale rack, based on her size and brand preferences.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin seems to be finding his sea legs when it comes to philanthropy. Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki have announced a $1 million gift to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a group which helped his family when he was just a little boy from the Soviet Union. The society provides protection and assistance to some of the most vulnerable refugee populations around the world and also offers information, training, and expert advice on immigration laws.

Sergey Brin has an estimated wealth of $16 billion but he and his wife are learning about what their money can do. They have given away $30 million so far to various organizations including the Michael J. Fox Foundation and other research organizations devoted to Parkinson's disease. In a NY Times article on the latest donation Brin cited Bill Gates' research-heavy philanthropic model as an inspiration.

The Brin family came to the U.S. 30 years ago and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society helped them leave the Soviet Union for the United States and assisted with getting them visas and tickets and giving them money (what an excellent return on their investment). Brin started social networking site, mystory.hias.org, on the society's website to for Russian Jewish immigrants to post their stories. The gift will be used for a variety of purposes including supporting advocacy on immigration policy.

Interested in raising a little ruckus for a good cause on the night before Halloween? On Friday October 30, 2009 a group of young professional philanthropists known as "Future of Hope" will join City of Hope's fight against women's cancers by hosting the Halloween-themed benefit A Night of Mischief at Marquee in New York City. Appearances will include cast members from the hit television series Gossip Girl and The City and cameras from the CW television network will be on hand filming Tinsley Mortimer for her new CW reality series Empire State. This new reality show will air this winter chronicling Tinsley's travels, adventures and causes.

The evening will be dedicated in loving memory of Amy Salm who lost her battle with cancer this year. Tickets are $99 in advance and $120 at the door based on availability. Guests are asked to dress in costume. The night features an open bar with sponsors such as Innocente Tequila, Three Olives Vodka and Manhattan Beer Company. A dessert bar to satisfy even the sweetest tooth comes compliments of the Cupcake Stop and Milk & Cookies Bakery. There will also be a live raffle with over 30 prizes including a Valentino handbag, roundtrip jetBlue Airways tickets, Equinox gym membership, private dinner prepared by Chef Rob Hesse of Hamptons hotspot Georgica, and Knicks, Rangers, and Jets tickets.

I haven't heard much lately about Charlize Theron, but she made it back into this news this past week with her part in the OneXOne charity event on October 22 in San Francisco, where she took the stage to auction off a prize that included a two-week trip to her native South Africa to watch soccer's World Cup in summer 2010, a safari, and a meet-and-greet with Nelson Mandela. The winning bidder, a woman, received an extra item for her $140,000 donation -- a kiss with Theron, who had tossed in the offer of a kiss to increase bidding when the offers plateaued at $37,000.

Theron was at the event to help raise money for the Charlize Theron African Outreach Project, which is teaming with the OneXOne Foundation to bring soccer fields and clean water to the children of South Africa by 2010, in time for the World Cup. Theron is in a long-term relationship with actor Stuart Townsend. "My boyfriend is not here tonight," she joked during the auction.

Oceana, an international nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. dedicated to protecting and restoring the world's oceans, celebrated the launch of Oceana New York on Monday night with a star-studded bash at the stunning penthouse of socialite philanthropists Alexander and Brenda Schweickhardt (above, far right). A tableaux vivant of mermaids entertained guests at the event, which was sponsored by Tiffany & Co., including Sam Waterston and Sue Cohn Rockefeller (above, far left), John Varvatos and wife Joyce (above, center) Jeff Goldblum, Gina Gershon, Tommy Hilfiger and wife Dee, New York Jets tackle Damien Woody, New York Gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio, and socialtes Denise Rich, Bettina Zilkha and Jean Shafiroff. Since its founding in 2001, Oceana has achieved several major victories including protecting more than 640 million acres of ocean habitat.

Perhaps we should say especially in a recession. The Tycher Family Foundation, based in New York, strives to create a network of young professionals who share a common goal: to donate their time and money towards a worthy cause. The other night the Foundation threw an event at the hip new Bowery Hotel, dubbed "A Truly HAPPY Hour," benefiting Met Council, one of New York's largest human service agencies and an affiliate of UJA Federation of New York. Guests including the attractive trio above enjoyed gourmet hors d'oeuvres, sipped cocktails and bid on silent auction items such as VIP passes to the 2010 Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge, tickets to an episode taping of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a weekend in South Beach at the W Hotel, and a jaunt to Nantucket via private jet. Selecting one deserving charity each year, the Tycher Family Foundation hosts an exciting and memorable evening, underwriting 100% of the evening's costs to ensure that all revenue – from ticket sales to silent auction earnings – go directly to the chosen charity.

Charitable giving is an obvious casualty of any economic downturn. Even when people want to give - or maintain their previous rates of donation - the realities of a shrinking portfolio force themselves into the decision-making process. Of course, a rather unique charity is struggling with this issue now. Koryo Tours, which takes westerners on rare excursions into North Korea, is looking to raise a mere $6,700 for two projects to benefit the people of North Korea. One involves buying braille dictionaries (which haven't been available in that part of the world), and the other is to buy playground equipment for an orphanage in Wonsan, North Korea.

If Koryo Tours is able to raise the funds necessary for the dictionaries, which is the first priority, it will be the first time that North Korean blind children will have this type of resource available -- the books currently do not exist.

Bidding has begun in this year's Sustainable Travel International's (STI) bi-annual Green Travel Auction. The online auction runs 24 hours a day until October 30th. The event brings travelers and responsible travel companies together to raise money for STI's educational programs and to promote sustainable tourism development. The nonprofit organization promotes responsible tourism that protects the environment, preserves cultural heritage and contributes to economic development. Special deals are being offered on trips like eco safari adventures and rainforest excursions which were donated by travel and tourism providers from across the globe. Auctions include an Alaska cruise, a stay in Peru, an eco safari in South Africa and an idyll in Papua New Guinea. Bidding is open on the STI auction page.

Grammy award winning R&B songstress Mary J. Blige and Mayor Michael Bloomberg were the star attractions at the The New York Women's Foundation (NYWF) Fall Dinner 2009 the other night held at Manhattan's chic Gotham Hall.

Blige (right) performed at the exclusive event, where guests included socialites Agnes Gund, Anne Bass, Muffie Potter Aston, Sharon Bush, Debbie Bancroft, Jean Shafiroff, Denise Rich, and designer Catherine Malandrino.

Stepping Up Awards were presented to New Yorkers who "serve as role models of courageous leadership, vision and commitment to women and girls as individuals and as partners," including Elizabeth and Herbert Sturz and Sheryl WuDunn and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nicholas D. Kristof.

Established in 1987 as a public philanthropy, the NYWF strategically funds organizations and programs that move women, girls and families towards long-term economic security through individual transformation and systemic change.

Twitter is partnering with custom wine producer Crushpad on a new charity-driven project, Fledgling Wine. The Twitter staff will work with Crushpad to make a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay. The fundraiser, the Fledgling Initiative, will benefit Room to Read , a San Francisco non-profit organization that establishes schools and libraries for children in developing countries. Founded by former Microsoft employee John Wood, Room to Read has established 765 schools and filled over 7,000 libraries with more than 5.7 million books. The company says that $5 from every $20 bottle sold will go to Room to Read. Twitter users can follow the progress of the wines through @fledgling. The release date is planned for Fall 2010.

[via SF Gate]

Good design isn't just aesthetically pleasing, it can also do serious good. Architecture for Humanity is a nonprofit design services firm founded in 1999. Their vision is to build a more sustainable future through the power of professional design. Each year 10,000 people directly benefit from structures designed by Architecture for Humanity. Their designs focus on alleviating poverty and providing access to water, sanitation, power and essential services as well as reducing the footprint of the built environment and addressing climate change. You can help fund this group by taking part in a unique eBay auction that offers the chance to sit down for a latte with an Architecture for Humanity supporter, designer or client. Enjoy a coffee with Architecture for Humanity co-founder Cameron Sinclair, actress Daphne Zuniga, eco-explorer David de Rothschild (shown at right), Arctic explorer Ben Saunders or architect Eric Corey Freed. The funds will go towards improving the living standards of communities around the world, including a portion of the proceeds going toward the rebuilding efforts post Typhoon Ketsana. The auctions run on eBay until October 20.