Leaving Her Mark on the World Kat Von D Tattoos 400 People to Save 32,000 Children in 24 Hours for Vitamin Angels
Imagine getting a tattoo and saving the lives of 80 children in the record time of three minutes. That was the case this past December, when Kat Von D, the queen of black and grey portrait tattoos, inked her way into the Guinness Book of Records by tattooing 400 people in 24 hours. In addition, she donated all the proceeds from her work to Vitamin Angels, the only charity in existence that is solely dedicated to eradicating vitamin A deficiency childhood blindness around the world. Von D’s clientele consists of people from all over the world and all walks of life including celebrities, musicians and serious tattoo fans alike who don’t mind her month-long waiting list and will gladly shell out at minimum $500 for some of Von D's famous ink. Von D says tattooing is a very visual medium, so she thought it appropriate to raise awareness for the plight of sight with Vitamin Angels and its most aggressive campaign to date, Operation 20/20, which has an end goal of eradicating childhood blindness due to vitamin A deficiency worldwide by the year 2020.
For Von D, the star of TLC’s “LA Ink,” there was no better way to end 2007, than to give something back to her fans and to a cause she really believes in. The first 400 people who came to Von D’s West Hollywood tattoo shop, High Voltage Tattoo, within the specified time period, were tattooed with a specially designed “LA” logo for a $20 donation that went to Vitamin Angels. The line of people waiting to get tattooed swelled from 75 to over one thousand in just
two hours. The scene was more than just people looking to get cheap ink and be part of the record setting day, nearly every local and national media outlet in the Los Angeles area covered Von D’s attempt live. “Each person who received a tattoo will not only have a permanent reminder of their involvement in setting a world record with Kat, but will also have a constant reminder of their contribution to saving the sight of children around the world, as well,” says Howard Schiffer, executive director of Vitamin Angels, who was on scene in Los Angeles for the event to support Von D’s efforts and passed out Operation 20/20 bracelets to participants. “Kat is breaking two records today; the most tattoos performed in 24 hours and she is the first tattoo artist to save 32,000 children from going blind in one day.”
To check out Schiffer’s podcast from the event and save a child’s life without getting inked visit
http://www.vitaminangels.org/.