Stormtroopers Donate Blood at the Thai Red Cross in Bangkok

May the Fourth is Star Wars Day. Playing on their most famous slogan ‘May the Force Be With You’, Star Wars fan clubs around the world celebrate their day – Star Wars Day – on May the 4th of every year, dedicating it to good causes. This year, the 501st Legion, the Star Wars fan club in Thailand, dressed as ‘Stormtroopers’ and donated blood to the Thai Red Cross on Monday. The 501st Legion will also raise funds for an orphanage house, Phayathai Babies’ Home. The project, organized for the second year, is called ‘Toys For Nong’ or ‘Toys for younger Brothers/Sisters’ in English, as the 501st Legion will also give toys to children at the orphanage house together with the money raised.

“The idea for our Star Wars Day celebration is that the dark side does good,” says Wachilapat Intuputi, a member of the 501st Legion. “Charity is our commitment as members of the 501st Legion.” Sixteen members of the 501st Legion in Thailand own “screen authentic costumes” and dress up as Darth Vader, Stormtrooper and Scout Troopers for their charity projects. All 501st Legion costumes are authorized as “screen authentic” by Lucasfilm. The 501st Legion’s members worldwide are allowed to dress up as the movies’ characters for charity purposes only.

The fund raising event for ‘Toys for Nong Project II’ will be held from May 1-4, 2014 at Central World in Bangkok during Thailand Toy Expo 2014. At the event, Darth Vader, the Stormtroopers and Scout Troopers will march and collect donations for Phayathai Babies’ Home. For a 350 Baht donation, donors will receive a Star Wars fan club T-Shirt. For a 150 Baht donation, donors will receive a Star Wars badge. Or just come along to take pictures with your all time favorite movie characters.

Source: Press Release