Lin-Manuel Miranda may give you free tickets to 'Hamilton' if you do these 3 things.

    
Explore

"Hamilton's" Lin-Manuel Miranda is very excited about opening night of his musical in Los Angeles.

There's a reason, however, why this opening night — even more than the ones in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco — truly is "the big magillah," he said.

The Broadway star on Aug. 16 is raffling off a totally VIP experience for lucky fans who've expressed support for immigrants and refugees online.

HelloHelloHello Introducing our biggest @Prizeo contest yet & the #Ham4All Challenge! Donate at… https://t.co/oCVzEIMiaN
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin-Manuel Miranda)1498482090.0

As Miranda explained in the video above, you can win two tickets to the L.A. opening of "Hamilton" — as well as airfare, hotel stay, and access to a star-studded after-party — if you:

Donate $10 toward the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, a group created by the Hispanic Federation that helps unify efforts from various organizations fighting for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the U.S.
Create a video of yourself singing a song (or part of a song) from "Hamilton." In the video, challenge at least one friend to do the same.
Post the video online using the #Ham4All hashtag.

In the hours following Miranda's ask, the internet began to flood with fans pining for their shot to win. Among them were quite a few big names, too.

Eva Longoria blasted out the lyrics to "Alexander Hamilton."

I just donated to support the Immigrants: We Get The Job Done. I challenge @ricky_martin and @MarioLopezExtra! Than… https://t.co/LvdzD8uX7i
— Eva Longoria Baston (@Eva Longoria Baston)1498614444.0

Ben Stiller and his daughter, Ella, went all in on "Non-Stop."

Donate to support the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition! I challenge @TheLucasSteele @JoshGroban! #Ham4All… https://t.co/okvHsYpixg
— Ben Stiller (@Ben Stiller)1498502642.0

Shonda Rhimes basically proved she should be in the actual cast of "Hamilton," honestly.

I challenge @scottkfoley, @KatieQLowes & @JasonWGeorge to make a donation & sing a fav song from Hamilton. #Ham4All… https://t.co/boa90TQ9pY
— shonda rhimes (@shonda rhimes)1498498617.0

Kelly Clarkson gave us a taste of "It's Quiet Uptown" (and left us wanting more!).

I challenge YOU all of my fans!! Donate here: https://t.co/JzRg0SR3XU #Ham4All #OneVoice https://t.co/5nlc3yhCTj
— Kelly Clarkson (@Kelly Clarkson)1498496366.0

NBA champ Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha Curry, brought their rap A-game.

@ayeshacurry and I are collaborating with Lin-Manuel Miranda to raise money for a coalition of immigration organizations. We all feel strongly about supporting these important organizations fighting to protect immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who want to make a better life for themselves and their families. The grand prize winner will join us and Lin-Manuel at the LA opening on August 16th. We think that this will be the biggest Hamilton sweepstakes yet, but we need your help… Head over to prizeo.com/Hamilton for more details. #ham4all #thatgirlgood

A post shared by Wardell Curry (@stephencurry30) on Jun 26, 2017 at 9:29am PDT

The Harlem Globetrotters made clear they're also not "throwing away their shot."

Not throwing away our shot at the #Ham4All challenge! @Lin_Manuel @HamiltonMusical https://t.co/J5Rohpg8cT
— Harlem Globetrotters (@Harlem Globetrotters)1498614206.0

Matt McGorry's King of England was downright breathtaking.

😘 @SaraRamirez #Ham4All challenge 2 support immigrants goes to @dianeguerrero__ @RestingPlatypus @conradricamora !… https://t.co/qR5U2Qkr1c
— Matt McGorry (@Matt McGorry)1498586849.0

As was Justin Baldoni's.

I just donated to support @tahirihjustice in @Lin_Manuel 's We Get the Job Done Coalition! I challenge @jaimecamil… https://t.co/qI4CUCja19
— justin baldoni (@justin baldoni)1498524189.0

Gina Rodriguez used some backup vocals for an assist, and it came out beautifully.

I just donated to support the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, I challenge @justinbaldoni and @SophiaBush… https://t.co/3WrD88WhKc
— Gina Rodriguez (@Gina Rodriguez)1498511119.0

And Sara Ramirez flaunted a nice set of pipes you don't normally hear on "Grey's Anatomy."

#Ham4All @UzoAduba & @MattMcGorry I challenge you to sing a @HamiltonMusical song & donate to support #Immigrants a… https://t.co/bfJZdvvSKF
— Sara Ramirez (@Sara Ramirez)1498484510.0

Celeb videos and Broadway tickets aside, the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition is a remarkable effort you should definitely support.

Uniting goals from "an all-star Avengers team of 12 organizations" (as Miranda described it), the coalition helps immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the U.S. by providing legal representation, fighting for changes in public policy, launching awareness campaigns to change hearts and minds, and more. These services truly are critical — especially under the threats of the current administration.

Donate $10 (or more!) at prizeo.com/hamilton, make a video using the #Ham4All hashtag, learn more about the coalition, and check out Miranda's newly released music video, "The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)," below.

Capital One

Capital One Impact Initiative

La Cocina VA and Capital One are teaming up to help entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds launch culinary startups

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash

True

This story was originally shared on Capital One.

Inside the walls of her kitchen at her childhood home in Guatemala, Evelyn Klohr, the founder of a Washington, D.C.-area bakery called Kakeshionista, was taught a lesson that remains central to her business operations today.

"Baking cakes gave me the confidence to believe in my own brand and now I put my heart into giving my customers something they'll enjoy eating," Klohr said.

While driven to launch her own baking business, pursuing a dream in the culinary arts was economically challenging for Klohr. In the United States, culinary schools can open doors to future careers, but the cost of entry can be upwards of $36,000 a year.

Through a friend, Klohr learned about La Cocina VA, a nonprofit dedicated to providing job training and entrepreneurship development services at a training facility in the Washington, D.C-area.

La Cocina VA's, which translates to "the kitchen" in Spanish, offers its Bilingual Culinary Training program to prepare low-and moderate-income individuals from diverse backgrounds to launch careers in the food industry.

That program gave Klohr the ability to fully immerse herself in the baking industry within a professional kitchen facility and receive training in an array of subjects including culinary skills, food safety, career development and English language classes.

Keep Reading Show less

Cities

Mom finally meets the officer keeping her daughter's memorial clean for years, thanks to TikTok

WISH-TV

Officer Stagg meeting Sherry Smith on WISH-TV.

Indianapolis Police Officer Jeff Stagg selflessly maintained the roadside memorial of Shelby Smith, who had been killed by a drunk driver. He picked up trash and placed little plastic flowers, figurines and rocks around it to keep it presentable. Though Shelby died nearly 22 years ago, Officer Stagg didn't want her to be forgotten. And now, his act of kindness won't be forgotten either.

Passerby Kaleb Hall (@kalebhall00 on TikTok) noticed the officer cleaning up the site and asked him what he was doing here. Kaleb had already thought the behavior a little uncharacteristic, "a cop cleaning up trash in the hood," so he went over to inquire.

After explaining that Shelby's memorial was in his patrol area and that he guessed her family had moved away, Officer Stagg told Kaleb, "no one's keeping it up anymore, so I just wanna make sure it stays kept up."

Stagg had noticed the memorial had become surrounded by overgrown grass, weeds and trash. After driving past it every day, Officer Stagg thought enough was enough.

Keep Reading Show less

officer cleaning up memorial tiktok

Chewy

Videos

Chewy spotlights the photographers who help pets get adopted

True

When a pet is admitted to a shelter it can be a traumatizing experience. Many are afraid of their new surroundings and are far from comfortable showing off their unique personalities. The problem is that's when many of them have their photos taken to appear in online searches.

Chewy, the pet retailer who has dedicated themselves to supporting shelters and rescues throughout the country, recognized the important work of a couple in Tampa, FL who have been taking professional photos of shelter pets to help get them adopted.

"If it's a photo of a scared animal, most people, subconsciously or even consciously, are going to skip over it," pet photographer Adam Goldberg says. "They can't visualize that dog in their home."

Adam realized the importance of quality shelter photos while working as a social media specialist for the Humane Society of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

"The photos were taken top-down so you couldn't see the size of the pet, and the flash would create these red eyes," he recalls. "Sometimes [volunteers] would shoot the photos through the chain-link fences."

That's why Adam and his wife, Mary, have spent much of their free time over the past five years photographing over 1,200 shelter animals to show off their unique personalities to potential adoptive families. The Goldbergs' wonderful work was recently profiled by Chewy in the video above entitled, "A Day in the Life of a Shelter Pet Photographer."

From Your Site Articles