Sorry for yet another long post but this issue is near and dear to my heart.
This site will celebrate its one year anniversary on May 19th, 2008. We intend to celebrate that occasion in the only way that makes sense. We are going to raise as much money as possible for The Haven Foundation charity. The following is the welcome text on the sites home page.
100% of anything collected will be donated to The Haven Foundation. No admin fees, no transfers (I'll pay the paypal stuff)...every cent you give will go to this worth cause.
On May 19th, 2008, a check will be mailed on this sites name for the entire proceeds of the event.
Our Goal is $1000.00
I am personally an avid fan of audio books, I listen to them every day on my commute to work. Not only does a book in audio format bring a different perspective (Sissy Spacek reading Scout Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird, no way I could get that feel on my own), but it also a form of story telling that has been around since the dawn of time. The oral rendition of a tale by someone who knows how to make it good. For eons our ancestors have sat around and listened to that very thing. So I am very much into making this sites donation to the cause worthwhile. With that being said, any amount we can raise will help.From the desk of Stephen King:
In the summer of 1999, I was struck by a careless driver and nearly killed while taking my daily walk. It was ten months before I was able to work productively again. Some years later, a good friend of mine, audio reader Frank Muller, suffered terrible head injuries as a result of a motorcycle accident. He will never work again. My luck was infinitely better than Muller’s, but the two events set me thinking about the uniquely perilous situation of many freelance artists. The majority of mid-list writers, audio readers, and freelancers in the book and publishing industry have little or no financial cushion in the event of a sudden catastrophic accident such as that suffered by Muller and myself. Many aren’t affiliated with any professional associations or guilds that can help them in the event of such reversals. Even those who are affiliated with organizations such as The Authors’ Guild cannot look for much beyond token help over a short period of time.
My response to this has been the creation of The Haven Foundation. Its goals will be fourfold:
First, to establish a compassionate and committed group of board members willing to sift through cases and identify those where the need seems to be the greatest. These “greatest need” cases would be freelance artists—writers, readers, and those in the associated publishing industry—who have found themselves unable to work due to disease or accident. We will also be focusing on freelancers associated with the book and publishing industry who lost their homes and work spaces (with freelancers these are often the same) as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Second, to help a number of these individuals each year, based on need.
Third, to establish cut-off points for such help. As I have discovered, the decision to cut off aid is an agonizing one, and best made by a group rather than by an individual. I have come to believe, however, that it must be made if help is to be rendered to the many rather than the few.
Fourth, to seek fundraising opportunities so that The Haven Foundation can continue to do this work.
Stephen King
June 7, 2006
So here is what you can do:
You can flat donate.
- I have set up a page on this site to accept them through paypal
- TheDarkTower.com Paypal Donation Page
- there will also be a link to that page on our Home page, anyone can use it
- This money will be transfered to the fund from there, I will pay for the fees.
- You can send any check, cash or money order that you can spare to
Please send anything you can, it doesn't matter if its a nickel, any little bit will help.Matt Rayne
Charity Funds Drive
51 Pinetree Place
Parachute, CO 81635
You can buy stuff from our Store:You can wait for the big, secret event coming up
- All profits from any merchandise in the store will go to this cause.
- CafePress operates on a "mark up" system. They charge a certain price, the seller marks up for a set amount
- The maximum markup in our store is $5.00--each purchase in the store nets only the mark up from the sale.
- If you buy a shirt (for instance), you will be donating $5.00 to the fund raiser. Lesser items have a lesser mark up.
How do I know how we are doing?
I am installing a donation progress bar on the site that will keep track of our progress towards the $1000.00 goal. Is very unobtrusive and will be at the top of the forum until the fund raising drive is over.
I will also keep track of individual donations on a spread sheet
Please use this thread for any questions you have but above all, please send me your loose change, or whatever you have for this amazing cause.
Thank you