Sacramento fans of entertainment website The Chive, held The Chivers Halloween Costume Party at Bisla’s Bar and Grill Saturday to raise money for the website’s charitable foundation.

The gathering, which raised $2,730 for the foundation, auctioned off t-shirts, decals, massages and artwork from donated from the website. Some t-shirts and decals were auctioned off for $100.

Based in Austin, Texas, the website was founded by John and Leo Resig and posts funny, viral photos from around the world. It also maintains a philanthropic foundation called Chive Charities.

Chivers have monthly meetups and have formed unofficial groups to raise money for the foundation. The funds raised at these meetups are sent to local charities or to be distributed by the website’s headquarters.

Sacramento State alumnus Keith Seeley, 27, started a Facebook group for Sacramento Chivers, which currently has more than 300 members.

“Although the website features humorous photos of cats and people, the generosities of Chivers pay it forward through charitable acts which they call R.A.K., random acts of kindness,” Seely said.

Chive Charities’ does random acts of kindness and helps those in need, such as Melissa Smith from Annapolis, MD. Smith originally beat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma twice and then was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, a rare disease that affects the spinal cord. With the help of the foundation and users from the website, a total of $390,000 was donated from Chivers all over the world for Smith to start a new life.

Seeley said despite the website’s inclination towards funny photos of everyday life, it’s important to dictate a lifestyle to help others.

“You have to do random acts of kindness all the time. We R.A.K. it all day, every day,” Seeley said. “We help people in need and are the type of people that always stop our car when there is a car broken down in the side of the road. On top of the silliness of the website, there is the charity and there is the kindness and it’s something we promote.”

At the group’s first meetup two months ago, Seeley said he didn’t know a single person, but after meeting a few Chivers, he became fast friends with them.

“When being a Chiver, a bond is instantly created. There were 120 people there that I have never met, not one,” Seeley said. “I can call some of these Chivers some of my best friends, and it just happened in a matter of months.”

Catherine Jaslow, who moved to Sacramento from Pennsylvania less than two weeks ago said meeting Chivers through the Facebook page helped her gain friends in the city.

“Chive has saved me in real honesty,” Jaslow said. “I wasn’t aware of the kind of love that these people have, California has been quite a treat.”

Nathan Tammar, a Chiver for two years and head of social media for the Sacramento group, said although his phone has been blowing up with calls for the meetup in the past three weeks, he enjoys the work he does.

“Being someone who helps organize meetups, it’s a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun too. It’s always nonstop,” Tammar said.

Tammar said it’s great to have a commonality between a group of people who are strangers.

“There [are] 300 people now in our group, I don’t obviously know everybody but it’s really cool because I can just go up and meet somebody and we already have a common interest between us,” Tammar said. “I’ve met a lot of amazing and awesome people through it and its nice, there is no awkwardness.”

Bisla’s Bar and Grill offered their venue free of charge to help with the Sacramento Chivers charity event.

Senior organizational communications major and bartender Ryan Gwiazdon, 23, is grateful that Bisla’s can be a supporting partner to charities.

“Bisla’s and our ownership love hosting events and parties for groups and organizations, as a way to make contribution to their cause,” Gwiazdon said. “We offer our venue at a very low cost, and when possible, free of charge. The Chive event on Saturday night ended up being a very successful event that Bisla’s is proud to be a part of.”

To learn more about Chive Charities and to donate, visit www.chivecharities.org.

Sammie Moreno can be reached at [email protected]