Kenneth Cole is NOT Just a Brand

I usually associate Kenneth Cole with shoes I cannot afford ($500 boots!) and one beautiful purple scarf I left (and lost) in a bagel shop when I was 16 and had to re-purchase because I  was so in love with it. What I will now additionally associate with Kenneth Cole is something called “Awearness.” No, that’s not a typo, but rather, the name of a blog and book about raising social awareness. (The full title of the book is aptly, Awearness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference).
 
Like many celebrities and well-known people, Kenneth Cole has the resources to effect change and have his voice be heard, but it also takes something else: the drive and ambition to make said changes. Growing up with good parental role models in this realm, he hopes that the book and blog inspire “people to look inside themselves…and to know that they have the ability—we all do—to affect other people’s lives in a positive way.” Boy does that sound familiar—that’s exactly what we believe right here at First30Days!
 
Regardless of your job, you can always be more active in your community, whether that means standing up for a political cause, volunteering, helping out someone in need financially or just being a good listener. Kenneth Cole may be a designer and you too may have a career unrelated to social service, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room left for the latter.
 
What are your passions when it comes to social or political issues? Do you squeeze them in somehow amidst all of your responsibilities?

—Alicia Kachmar