Australian fashion brands have lended their support to an initiative raising funds for Lebanon.
PR agency Example has joined forces with Lebanese dining institution El Phoenician, Hotel Palisade’s Natalie Ghosn and other members of the Lebanese-Australian community to launch Lebathon, a social media silent auction in support of Lebanon.
Alice McCall, Albus Lumen, Deus and Barney Cools are among fashion brands to offer vouchers or products for bidding.
Brands wishing to donate their goods, services or time are encouraged to connect via www.lebathon.com.au.
Live on Instagram until August 28, Lebathon was created in response to the recent catastrophic events in Beirut, that saw many lives lost and a large part of the city blown to rubble.
The social media initiative is auctioning goods, services and time donated by members of the Australian-Lebanese diaspora to raise crucial funds for Impact Lebanon.
Example co-founder Andy El-Bayeh said the initiative is close to home.
“Our heritage has always been a source of great inspiration and pride.
"It is devastating to see a country that has given so much to us experience unbearable pain and hardship.
"As we have been trying to deal with the grief of seeing this beautiful city crumble, we wanted to come together and give back as a united Australian-Lebanese community."
All funds raised will be donated to Impact Lebanon, which is aiming to raise $13 million to provide disaster relief after the explosion in Beirut.
The funds raisedwill be provided to carefully selected NGOs, ensuring that they are apolitical and non-sectarian, are registered and recognised, have ongoing initiatives to address the crisis and have passed an audit test.