Our First Press xxxoooo

The Social Debt Couriers has apparently been talked up by the French CBC as well as this article appearing in the Liberty Gleaner by Richmond Wong.

To order our services please proceed to our inaugural page.



Taking the guilt out of truancy

The aim of Social Debt Couriers, brainchild of artist and writer Ryan
Kamstra, is twofold: firstly, to get you out of parties or social
events you would otherwise have difficulty excusing yourself, and
secondly, to raise awareness and money for the homeless.
For a small fee, Kamstra and his associates will, with your input,
personalize and then deliver a clever opt-out for any event of your
choice. In return, you will agree out of good faith to donate to one
of the few charities deemed by Kamstra to be most in need of funding.

"The lead-up to [Social Debt Couriers] was that I couldn't get people
out at past events," said Kamstra, explaining that his traditional
fundraisers at bars and community events were not getting the crowds
or response that he wanted. Social Debt Couriers was designed to
reverse this difficulty of getting people out by – how else? –
encouraging them to stay in.

Kamstra's goal is to raise funds in the $10,000 to $20,000 range,
with one hundred percent of the money going to charity. In less than
two weeks, he has attracted close to twenty requests. "One person who
used it said, 'I feel horribly guilty about skipping, but it worked,'"
he laughed.

"There's condos coming up in the Liberty area so there's investment
in great social structures, but not social responsibility," he pointed
out. "It's not that people don't care, but it's that they don't know
how to do something about it."

Those interested in using the services of Social Debt Couriers may
contact Ryan at ryan.kamstra AT gmail.com

The Social Debt

Toronto's first ever anti-event service.

Jan. 24th 2008, Toronto.



You too have seen the signs.

The proliferation of happenstance that blur the boundary between business and pleasure, pleasure and greater pleasure, professional development and obligation, thing you want to go to and thing you have to go to.

You have seen the ascension of the Events Promoter to a Thing, pubs that take their names not from licentious asocial debauchery ("The Pukey Isolate") but from a polemical enticement to be out and about, in a place of basking centrality, among The People ("The Social," "The Kitchen").

Are you an active urbanite, chronically participating, habitually over-extended and living in the city of Toronto?

Are you one of those artists, producers, cultural workers, DJs, activists, gadflies, hometown stars, journalists, that mark as important in your Outlook all the events you want to go to, need to, are hosting yourself, need to return the favour and go to, and then, of course, would like to go to; and find yourself only able to catch up on a few zzzs at the improvisational metal concert between the baby christening and pro-choice seminar for radical women of sport?

At last, Toronto's first anti-event courier service can see you take in your best friend's birthday party but miss your mother's debut painting salon, and offend neither. Insinuate your presence at every Friday night vernissage along Queen West and still do you what you secret long to do, take in the boob-tube on a Friday night.

Here's how it works. By contacting our profesh operators at the.social.debt@gmail.com, just tell us your name, the name of the event you would otherwise be attending, it's time and location, and if applicable, the name of the contact you would like to receive your pre-fab regrets letter hand-delivered by our Social Debt Courier. Working by the universally acknowledged system of mercantile karma, we will in return send you the name and mail info of the homelessness service provider our trusty sources have deemed in need of your financial assistance, and you will make out a $10 minimum or greater cheque contribution to them. In return, your regrets letter will be composed, hand-delivered, your social capital maintained, and your night at home doing sweet jack-scott nothing duly earned. Do not send us your money. We do not like it, we have already pre-anticipated the sort of trouble we would get in if you sent your life savings to us. And how do we know we can trust you to send your cheque in? **** Because this is a ludicrous service done in the name of social conscience, that if it was your intent to scam us, you are mediocre scam artist at best, you poor dear. ****

Yes, friends and colleagues, for the inexpensive donation of $10 to a homelessness service provider of our choosing, The Social Debt courier services will hand-deliver a politely worded, town-wit-approved, partially-customized form letter to the event that you must decline during the hours of its being an event, to someone deemed important by you or else us at said event, with the winningest of coy smiles. The letter will state that you must regretfully decline in a series of wrote paragraphs with minor modifications pre-approved by you, then carefully printed on hand-chosen paper of the most complimentary grain and contrast, sealed in an envelope with your name handwritten on the front, in refined and ladylike cursive, and the word "Regrets" prominent and central. Our couriers come from the finest stocks of lovelies, and universally empathize with your position.

AT LONG LAST, an economic refinement of the natural splenetic bounty hitherto untapped: the guilt normally associated with missing obligatory social events will now be rechanneled to alleviate the guilt normally expended on worrying about Toronto’s homelessness and chronic housing shortage. This is what the economists in their unexemplary moon-man lingo customarily refer to as "Win-Win."

For more info on us see our blog:

The Social Debt Couriers

http://antievents.blogspot.com/

or contact:

the.social.debt@gmail.com



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