Kenneth Cole Releases New Book 'AWEARNESS: Inspiring Stories About How To Make a Difference'

NEW YORK, Nov 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Commemorates 25th Anniversary by launching initiative to encourage acts of service, volunteerism and social change
Designer and activist Kenneth Cole today released a book that celebrates the heritage of Kenneth Cole Productions, marrying his long term social mission with his new AWEARNESS initiative for empowering, encouraging and supporting acts of service, volunteerism and social change.

For 25 years, Cole has brought New York fashion sensibility to his customers while also leading the industry in terms of leveraging his advertising and marketing as well as his role as an influential leader to raise awareness of important social issues. In 1985, Cole was one of the first people to use his advertising campaigns to speak out about the issue of AIDS, which was two years before the nation's president acknowledged the crisis. He was also one of the first board members of amfAR, the world's largest HIV/AIDS research organization, where he has served as Chairman for the past four years. Cole was also a founding member of HelpUSA, the largest provider of housing, jobs and services for the homeless in the US. Cole's activism extends to the film and fashion industries, serving as a board member of the Sundance Institute and as a board member on the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Cole said about the occasion, "I've said for 25 years that 'What you stand for is more important than what you stand in.' I have been fortunate in my life to have been given an opportunity and a forum through which to deliver a message of activism and awareness. I wanted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of my company by celebrating the people and the stories that have inspired me -- people who have achieved extraordinary change often through ordinary acts or resources. We're launching the AWEARNESS book and initiative with the hope that we can encourage everyone to get involved to help make a difference."

Conceived and edited by Cole, the book is comprised of eighty-six compelling essays from ninety contributors who tell their stories of inspiration and service along with resourceful information in the "How To" and "Where To" sections about how and where anyone can get involved at any and every level -- all one needs as they seek to enter or in the future explore the fulfilling world of service and volunteerism. The book is organized into nine chapters of relevant topics for our times: POLITICAL ACTIVISM, HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIL LIBERTIES, HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY, WELL-BEING, HIV/AIDS, CRIMINAL JUSTICE, THE ENVIRONMENT, and YOUTH AND EDUCATION.

Contributors include well-known personalities such as JON BON JOVI, LANCE ARMSTRONG, ROSARIO DAWSON, ROBERT REDFORD, DON CHEADLE, LUDACRIS and RACHAEL RAY to elected officials including NYC MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM and NEWARK MAYOR CORY BOOKER to activists the world may not be as familiar with such as Rwandan refugee JACQUELINE MURAKATETE, anti-genocide activist JOHN PRENDERGAST, AIDS activist PETER STALEY and social entrepreneur BLAKE MYCOSKIE of Tom's Shoes to activists ROBERT KENNEDY, JR. AND MARTIN LUTHER KING III.

EXCERPTS FROM AWEARNESS: INSPIRING STORIES ABOUT HOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE:

Kenneth Cole on a life's influences and inspirations: "People have often argued that business and community service are independent and should not be confused. I believe, and clearly I am not alone here, that their roles today are not independent but, in fact, interdependent. This interdependence and need to support each other has never been quite as prevalent or as necessary as it is today."

Robert Redford on keeping speech free: "Change is going to come from the ground up, not from the top down. We'll have a better movement from the grass roots -- where the public is, where the voices of America are."

Jacqueline Murekatete on genocide prevention: "After I learned about the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide, and the Bosnian genocide, it became clear to me that what had happened in Rwanda in 1994 was not unique to Rwanda, that genocide had happened before and could happen anywhere. I realized it was a cycle that would continue to repeat itself for as long as we permitted it by our silence, our indifference, and lack of actions to prevent it."
Martin Luther King III on community building: "Nonviolence teaches us how to live on a higher level with higher standards. The nonviolent principles of service and love are the bricks and mortar that we need in order to build the "beloved community" and realize my father's dream."

Chris Gardner on giving and getting second chances: "I'm proud to have put a face on homelessness -- and it's not the face of a drug addict or a convict."

Lance Armstrong on starting a movement: "For me, the most important thing for our organization is to try to make this disease a political issue. This is the number one killer in our country. Every time people ask why we are in Iraq or why this or why that, we should also be asking why we are still losing an American every minute to this disease."

Alice Waters on the connection between Earth and plate: "Once you understand where your food comes from, environmentalism becomes a part of you. It's not an abstract notion; it's a visceral connection. You want every landscape to be an edible landscape. You want to rip up every lawn and plant something tasty to eat."

See the full article at Market Watch.

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