It is vital that we educate and empower our children if we are
to protect them, to enable them to protect themselves when adults around them
fail to do so. To give them a voice, to speak up and speak out about childhood
sexual abuse...
To understand that they are not at fault and that its ok to tell
someone, to be protected.
Erin's activism is an inspiration, energy, passion an honesty I
admire. In her own words...
"Growing up in Illinois public schools every year I was
educated with my classmates on tornado drills, fire drills, bus drills,
stranger danger, and learned the 8 ways to say "NO" to drugs through
D.A.R.E.
As a child I never had to take cover because of a real tornado.
I never had to stop, drop, and roll or run out of a burning building. I never
had to evacuate a school bus due to an emergency, but I had the knowledge to
know what to do if any of those situations happened.
Where was the drill on how to escape a child molester? Where was
the lesson plan on sexual abuse, safe touches, and safe secrets? It never came.
I was not educated on “How to Tell Today or How to Get Away.”
I was never educated on “My Body Belongs to Me.”
Empowering our children is the key to protecting them and
helping them to protect themselves.
The Imagination Foundation's mission is to find, foster, and
fund creativity and entrepreneurship in kids.
The Imagination Foundation was formed by the creative team
behind Caine's Arcade, an 11-minute short film by Nirvan Mullick about a 9-year-old boy's cardboard arcade.
Posted online April, 9th,
2012, the film became a global phenomenon, receiving over 7 million views,
raising a scholarship fund for Caine, and inspiring a wave of cardboard
creativity around the world.
With the support of a matching challenge grant from the
Goldhirsh Foundation, we hit the ground running and started a Caine's Arcade
School Pilot Program, where over 100 schools in 9 countries used the film and
cardboard arcade building to teach kids math, science, engineering, art,
entrepreneurship, storytelling, creative thinking, and more. Our second
initiative is the Global Cardboard Challenge, a world-wide celebration of play,
creativity and community.
The Inspiration
Playing for Change is a multimedia movement
created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The
idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to
break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether
people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or
ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite
us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out
to share it with the world.
The Production
We built a mobile recording studio, equipped
with all the same equipment used in the best studios, and traveled to wherever
the music took us. As technology changed, our power demands were downsized from
golf cart batteries to car batteries, and finally to laptops. Similarly, the
quality with which we were able to film and document the project was gradually
upgraded from a variety of formats-- each the best we could attain at the
time—finally to full HD. One thing that never changed throughout the process
was our commitment to create an environment for the musicians in which they
could create freely and that placed no barriers between them and those who
would eventually experience their music. By leading with that energy and intent
everywhere we traveled, we were freely given access to musicians and locations
that are usually inaccessible. In this respect, the inspiration that originally
set us on this path became a co-creator of the project along with us!
The Effect
Over the course of this project, we decided it was
not enough for our crew just to record and share this music with the world; we
wanted to create a way to give back to the musicians and their communities that
had shared so much with us. And so in 2007 we created the Playing for Change
Foundation, a separate 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation whose mission is to do
just that. In early 2008, we established Timeless Media, a for-profit entity
that funds and extends the work of Playing for Change.
Later that year, Timeless Media entered into a
joint venture with the Concord Music
Group through the support of label co-owner and entertainment legend
Norman Lear and Concord Music Group executive vice president of A&R John
Burk. Our goal is to bring PFC’s music, videos and message to the widest
possible audience. Now, musicians from all over the world are brought
together to perform benefit concerts that build music and art schools in
communities that are in need of inspiration and hope. In addition to benefit
concerts, the Playing for Change band also performs shows around the world.
When audiences see and hear musicians who have
traveled thousands of miles from their homes, united in purpose and chorus on
one stage, everyone is touched by music's unifying power. And now, everyone
can participate in this transformative experience by joining the Playing for
Change Movement. People are hosting screenings, musicians are holding benefit
concerts of every size, fans are spreading the message of Playing for Change
through our media, and this is only the beginning. Together, we will connect
the world through music!
The award-winning documentary film, #ReGENERATION, explores the
galvanizing forces behind the Occupy Movement and the state of social activism
in our society. The film takes an uncompromising look at the challenges facing
today’s youth and young adults as they attempt to engage on a myriad of social
and political issues.
Focused on how our education, parenting, and media can influence
us, the film follows three separate walks of life representing today’s
generation. Each brings their own unique perspective – from an inspired
collective of musicians working outside the corporate system, to a
twenty-something conservative family about to welcome the birth of their second
child, and a group of five high-school students from the suburbs looking for
their place in society. Their stories are interspersed with the knowledge,
wisdom, and personal reflections of some of the country’s leading scholars,
social activists, and media personalities, including Noam Chomsky, the late
Howard Zinn, Adbusters’ Kalle Lasn, Andrew Bacevich, Talib Kweli, and many
others.
Narrated by Ryan Gosling and featuring a riveting soundtrack
from STS9, the film explores how today’s generation approaches activism, how it
is impacted by technology, our disconnection with nature and history, our
consumer culture, and the economic factors holding many of us back from
becoming more active participants in our communities. Through a diverse and
intelligent series of stories, interviews and insights, we come to a deeper
understanding of the influences shaping our society. We have entered uncharted
territory, economically, environmentally, and intellectually–and we must look
honestly at ourselves to create a sustainable future.
