What's
New! – by Linda McLean
August 27, 2010
After the Storm featured in E-news
Close to the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a newsletter about Heart Work, featuring After the Storm
August 24, 2010
AICFF Tickets Go on Sale September 1!
Asheville International Children's Film Festival, now in its second year, is November 1-14, 2010. Little Pearls is again proud to be the non-profit umbrella organization as this great young festival gets even greater!
Feedback from YOU!
We're asking for YOUR input. Do you have a favorite Little Pearl? If so, which one(s) and why?
If you haven't seen many of our "tiny films", check them out here on YouTube.
Your input could be helpful for the direction we take. Thank you!
Some Recent Input from Our Facebook Friends:
I love Little Pearls for the creative talent that goes into making them and the pleasure they give me. I'm at the time of life when I cherish little things -- don't need big, grand things. Special moments, flowers, birds, children, dogs and other creatures, all pleasure me, and Little Pearls is full of those moments. Try them -- you'll be glad you did! Marilyn G
I think they're timeless. "After the Storm" could've been made yesterday and called "After the Spill." "Farmer to Farmer" and "Child to Child"... there's so much loss going on today in just the same way. Different particulars, same loss. ... Heloise J
In times like these, it's so important to keep the positive
messages flowing, and Little Pearls does that so beautifully. Member contributions make a world of difference - THANKS to all those who have already started to contribute! If each member contributed $20 - that would raise $5000 (from our Facebook Cause page). Or better yet, imagine if each... member contributed $100 (or found a new member who could) - THAT would raise $25,000!! Do you know what Linda & crew could do with THAT kind of budget??! I can imagine.... Dana G
Good medicine -- these times are naturally full of grief, and even despair -- Connecting with a PEARL is a way to "gift" ourselves with a moment of peace...and good medicine for healing. Thanks to all who are supporting this work. Mary O
August 7, 2010
Vacation was Wonder-full!
Oregon was SUCH a great place to spend two weeks, after two years with no break. Don't I look relaxed, here at Crater Lake?
July 7, 2010
We're on Twitter, Finally...
... just dipping a toe into the world of Twitter, as littlepearlsorg
Follow us and we'll follow you, though maybe not till after vacation, you know....
Amazing Amanda
Amanda's new video is up on Vimeo, this time with her singing. It's not a Little Pearl, so we can take no credit, yet is quite moving and we're so pleased!
Amazing Amanda
For more about Amanda, see Amanda's page.
Can Minds be Opened by First Opening Hearts?
Cartoonist David Cohen has a new cartoon called Long Ways Away that refers to the need for open minds. You can see the text on the above link.
We call our Pearls "tiny films" that open hearts and minds and we believe that going through the heart CAN open a closed mind. What do you think?
June 10, 2010
World of Clowning DVD
Tim Arem, founder of Asheville International Children's Film Festival, is offering Little Pearls $5 whenever one of our friends buys his $15 World of Clowning DVD for children! Contact him at TboneRun@hotmail.com
and tell him we sent you.
Alchemy of the Soul Concert
Three Little Pearls were featured in a great concert by the Jubilee! Singers on June 4 in Asheville.
Amanda's New Videos
Amanda Levesque and Daniel Barber are featured in a new video, about 10 years after Amanda's Pearl was made. This time, Amanda is singing. She is also in a recording from the June 4 concert. Stay tuned for updates to Amanda's page and the Spotlight Pearl in our next newsletter.
May 5, 2010
Articles in WNC Woman
The May issue of WNC Woman has articles by three mothers who are central to the life of Little Pearls:
First Word by Julie Parker shares more about Charley-dog and the Dog Pearls. Julie is our web goddess, mentor, friend and former Board Chair.
How Little Amanda Grows by Patty Levesque, our Board Chair. Patty's daughter Amanda stars in the Reaching for the Stars Pearl.
Who Am I? by Penny Bond, our Board Secretary
North Carolina Week for the Animals
We are also included in this week's NC Week for the Animals about about halfway down on the calendar page, for our Dog and Animal Pearls.
Cat Pearls Coming!
Theo has had a full life in his first year, lighting up my 95 year old mother's life in her last five months, wrestling frequently with his dog sister Gracie, bringing sunshine to us all. We have hilarious Flip video footage - stay tuned!
April 21, 2010
Spotlight Pearls
We have begun to spotlight a Pearl in each of our e-newsletters and to update its webpage at the same time. The first two are Great Katie and Special Gifts.
Goodbye, Charley...
One of our sweetest, most funny Dog Stars, filmed but not yet in a Pearl, has died unexpectedly. Here he is as a WNC Woman cover dawg. We'll make you a star in a Dog Pearl, Charley, though you're already a star in our hearts.
Great Katie Latimore's Story
Barbara Blake, our friend at the Asheville Citizen-Times, wrote this lovely article that also features Great Katie's Pearl: Asheville poet Glenis Redmond remembers Great Katie's grace and life (link not working now)
March 19, 2010
2010 Reviews for Great Nonprofits Campaign!
In our first-time participation in the national Arts Appreciation Campaign, we are thrilled to see what friends said about us:
2010 Great Nonprofit Reviews!
February 2, 2010
Great Katie Latimore died today at age 109.
Keep shining your light and love on us - we love you!
Celebrating a Century of Living and Loving
January 29, 2010
This is the year we must become sustainable
We have always offered our “tiny films” to the world for free. We have beautiful, potent content and would love to create more. Little Pearls is volunteer-run. We need new ideas, tools and resources for distribution and funding. ALL ideas are welcome – it’s time to get moving!
New Kinds of Pearls
We are considering new ways to make Little Pearls, including one that incorporates stills, and a series using Flip Video. Stay tuned!
Our Other Websites (some just partially set up)
Please join, comment, donate, participate!
(Network for Good may require two clicks to work)
 
 
 
November 17, 2009
Little Pearls slows down for Life
On November 15, my very old mother died and then I
was flattened by an intense flu. On top of four hand surgeries and major storm damage to our house (also home to Little Pearls' office), these events have put Little Pearls on the back burner, and we're now very low on funds. Please help if you can: CONTRIBUTE NOW
We'll be back, better than ever, in the New Year!
Harley needs a home, again...
Our youngest Dog Star Harley is homeless again and in foster care. He's now about 20 months old and is a great dog. Harley Profile with Brother Wolf Contact me or Brother Wolf Animal Rescue if you are interested. Let's find this sweet boy a home he can count on!
October 29, 2009
The very first Asheville International Children's Film Festival is coming soon: November 2-8!
 AICFF is the first and only children's film festival in North Carolina, and Little Pearls is its proud non-profit partner.
Check out the links for films, audio, poster and schedule. AICFF
Tickets are available online only, to all screenings and other events like the November 6 Opening Gala that will benefit both AICFF and Little Pearls. Join us!
October 5, 2009
Opening Night Gala for Asheville International Children's Film Festival & Little Pearls!
On Friday, November 6, join us for an exceptionally FUN Opening Night Gala
that benefits this brand new children's film festival AND Little Pearls! November 6 Opening Gala
September 29, 2009
Harley's HOME and other Upcoming Dog Pearls
Our Dog Star puppy Harley's unfortunate return to the shelter will lead to a new Dog Pearl. This sweet dog has now been adopted again, hopefully to his forever home.
We have a new listing of upcoming Dog Pearls at
UPCOMING PEARLS
You can help with YOUR Do(g)nation!
August 10, 2009
Little Pearls partners with the first Asheville International Children's Film Festival! We are the non-profit umbrella organization for this November festival, founded by our Board member Tim Arem - yay, Tim!
Here is our most recent e-newsletter, with LOTS of great links!
E-newsletter June-July 2009 - just now figured out how to put this up...
Short article in August issue of The Laurel of Asheville: Little Pearls: The Lives of Dogs Featured in "Tiny Films" (no online link available)
June 28, 2009
Spirit Dog, our second Dog Pearl, is now out!
Spirit Dog
Animal Pearls article is in the current Woman's Best Friend issue of WNC Woman!
Animal Pearls
June 17, 2009
Check out Coming Home, our first new Dog Pearl
at Coming Home. Its sibling Pearl, Spirit Dog, will come out very soon.
We are taking off in our web 2.0 social networking.
See our new pages:
Little Pearls Fan Page on Facebook
Little Pearls Cause Page on Facebook
Change.org
Guidestar
(non-profit resource site; search for Little Pearls)
greatlittlepearls channel on YouTube
Vimeo
(higher quality video site than YouTube)
We now have a great donation option: Network for Good Our new non-profit credit card processor is Network for Good. Any donations here or through our social networking sites like Change.org, Guidestar and Facebook Cause page go through Network for Good.
For Father's Day, an older Pearl in honor of all Fathers and Children:
The Best and Most Beautiful Things...
May 29, 2009
Three Pearls were shown as part of the concert Awakening to the New Consciousness of Our Time at Jubilee! in Asheville.
May 28, 2009
Coming Home, our first Dog Pearl, is out!
Check it out at Coming Home. More links and downloads soon, as we get the online video kinks figured out. Slow motion with lots of movement is tricky in HD.
Media that Matters 2009
The 10th annual Media that Matters retreat was an incredibly rich time of connection and learning. I'm still trying to process it all and catch up with myself. Thanks especially to the wonderful Bill Weaver, founder and nurturer of all things related to Media that Matters!
May 7, 2009
YouTube embeds now up for most Little Pearls
Most existing Pearls are now streaming their YouTube versions on their pages, in addition to their downloadable formats. Our YouTube page is greatlittlepearls.
April 1, 2009
Greatlittlepearls Channel on YouTube!
We are finally getting our YouTube channel activated as part of a comprehensive online distribution/fundraising plan for non-profits. Please go to greatlittlepearls or search for greatlittlepearls on YouTube. It will help us a LOT if you view and rate individual Pearls, subscribe to our channel so you know when new Pearls go up, and share with your friends. We still have existing Pearls to upload, and next week we start editing the Dog Pearls. They will be up soon, too!
Many, many new sprouts are coming up in the garden of Little Pearls... more soon!
February 24, 2009
New Life Journal Dec/Jan 2009 - the full article
is now available as it looked in the magazine, with photos:
NLJLifesLeaders
All photos on this page, including individual ones to be posted soon, are by Rebecca D'Angelo. See also New Life Journal
January 8, 2009
Happy New Year!
Though this is a time of great uncertainty, it is potentially a time of great positive change, too. We hope to be part of that change, opening minds by first opening hearts, whether the topic is dogs, nature, interconnectedness or.... See Upcoming Pearls
Though our recent efforts at fundraising have fallen short, as is the case with most non-profits, we have enough funding to at least start creating the Dog Pearls. Stay tuned! And please donate or sponsor if you can.
December 2, 2008
Our first Do(g)nations listings are going up, linked from Do(g)nations - get ideas for YOUR listing!
And speaking of Do(g)nations, I never publically thanked Debra Roberts for coming up with that name while putting okra in her gumbo one night this fall, and Julie Parker for having the idea to list donations for the Dog Pearls, with photos of animals and donor links, on our website. Thanks, you two wonderful Pearls Girls!
And belated public thanks to Stewart Stokes, Julie Parker, Brett Salter, Marlisa Mills, Debra Roberts, Tim Arem and Patty Levesque for helping create our beautiful postcard from two of Pamela Stringer's mountaintop shoot photos, shown here and on the Do(g)nations page.
Novenber 21, 2008
Linda and Little Pearls profiled in Dec/Jan. 2009 issue of New Life Journal
LIFE'S LEADERS: Linda McLean This link is just text at present. Photos will come later. Thanks to Maggie Cramer, Rebecca D'Angelo and New Life Journal staff!
Novenber 16, 2008
Women on Air features Little Pearls and Dog Pearls Susan Lachmann, host of this Sunday night music program on NPR affiliate WETS-FM, included interviews with Debra Roberts and me in a program on dreams. We hope her great program will be available as archives soon.
Tucker becomes a Spirit Dog
Our beautiful friend Tucker,
who will star in the first Dog Pearl, died on November 14.
He stood in for his father Oz,
who was meant to be in that
Pearl but died before we could
do the filming. He WILL take
your breath away.....
Novenber 7, 2008
Blessings Project Foundation supports the Dog Pearls!
We are pleased to have received a grant from the Blessings Project Foundation in Winston-Salem, NC, in support of our upcoming Dog Pearls.
We are so grateful for their support, and for our mutual friend Gloria Karpinski, who connected us.
Check out our new Do(g)nations page
Grants, sponsorships and do(g)nations of any amount can be listed on our Do(g)nations! page. Some can also be listed on our Sponsors page.
Great Katie Latimore is 108 today!
Check out one of our first Pearls: Great Katie's Pearl The .mov format seems to work better than .wmv.
The Honeybee Project's new video
This is not directly related to Little Pearls, except through our heart connection to Little Pearls founder Debra Roberts and her current work. The Honeybee Fly Around Song is at The Honeybee Project.
A new connection is The Positive Observer
Longtime friend Lelia Cort linked us with James Sorrells and his new site: The Positive Observer James has started posting Little Pearls, with Dr. Willie in rotation as a Video of the Day. If your usual server doesn't pull it up, try another one.
October 31, 2008
Our new Do(g)nations page is up!
It's still in formation, so check it out: Do(g)nations From this page, we will link to listings of photos/messages from our do(g)nors, including YOU and your dog(s)!
Our new website guide for Dog Pearls is a funny rescued Yorkie
Weazie sez: Come on, come on, please hurry and make your dognation! Make me and ALL us good dogs STARS!!!!!
We just mailed a beautiful do(g)nations postcard. It's also on the top and bottom of the Do(g)nations page. Regular
donations are
welcome and needed,
too, for other Pearls.
October 3, 2008
Dog Pearls update
We have filmed 26 dogs since June, in multiple locations, for at least three new Pearls. Check out Dog Pearls
and Our Dog Stars. You'll see lots of cool dog photos and bios, told in first-person... well, first-dog....
YOU can help us finish these Pearls. DO(G)NATIONS pages will be up soon, so you, your dog, your business, etc. can help us create and share these Pearls with the world! Your dog's photo could be on our website, too!
Wild and Free: A Screech Owl Named Pinkey in Lumen Eclipse film festival
Pinkey's Pearl will be screened outdoors tomorrow night at the LE:60 1st Annual 1-Minute Film Festival in
Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
August 11, 2008
Three new Dog Pearls are in the works!
Most of the filming is done (the mountaintop “shoot” photos are on the webpage), but we’ll likely need a few more dog stars for filling in close-ups. Got pups in the Asheville area?
Sharing what I’m learning
The cycles of love and loss continue to be big challenges this year. We returned from vacation to find that our beautiful cat Toby had just died peacefully.
Toby's ease with dying, slowly and on his own terms so soon after other family illnesses and deaths, has taught me a great deal about patience and trust. All these lessons from our dog AND cat teachers are turning into rich compost for growing the upcoming Dog Pearls.
Shifting priorities/needed funding
Being fully present to loved ones in their “dying season” shifts one’s priorities and ability to focus and be productive. Little Pearls has had to take a back seat to LIFE during the past few months.
There is so much to share, yet we are now behind in raising the funds needed to do this work. We will be actively seeking foundation grants, sponsors and donations from friends like you. Please help in any way you can, including your ideas and connections for new sources of funding.
June 30, 2008
The Little Pearls office will be closed until July 17th
The past six months have been full of losses and major transitions for loved ones in human, canine and feline form. This intense time has also been full of love, guidance and serendipity. It is past time for a rest in the arms of nature. I'll be checking messages periodically....
Our Dog Pearls mountaintop "shoot" was June 19th - photos coming soon!
Pamela Stringer took candid shots of the five dogs and seven people involved in our mountaintop shoot. This shoot came together quickly - what fun! Now we need financial support to complete these Pearls.
For the Love of Dogs Help us make Dog Pearls!!!!!
Wild and Free event photos will be up soon!
Thanks to Paul Howey and Jim Stokoe, we can show you a little of what happened that day. Wild and Free event May 2008
Wild and Free DVDs are available
We now have DVDs that include Pinkey's Pearl, the 8-minute compilation, slow motion and wide-screen footage. A few are available from our office and they will soon be available online for $10, plus S&H.
Our newest Board member is Marlisa Mills
Marlisa just joined the Board and is already willing to serve as Secretary. She is a woman of many talents!
Our first-ever intern is Pamela Stringer
Pamela is working part-time this summer. She is a mass communications major at UNC-Asheville and we are so glad to have her and her cute puppy Lola.
June 13, 2008
For the Love of Dogs
The painful yet spiritually rich experience of losing Katie, a much-loved family dog, is evolving into two unanticipated Pearls about living, dying and feeling it all fully:
- leaving this world with ease, knowing love itself never dies
- letting go, moving through loss and learning to love again
In these two Pearls, Linda’s dog Mitch, a gorgeous 12 year young collie mix, will be joined by rescued puppy Gracie and other dog friends to show us how animals can teach humans some valuable lessons. For the Love of Dogs
May 4, 2008
Wild and Free: Connecting with Wonder through Wildlife - May 10, 2008
All of the Wild and Free films, including the 8+ minute compilation, are now done and will be premiered at an event on May 10 that also honors Clyde Hollifield. This event will feature wildlife tales in film, storytelling and song, along with live raptors and other wildlife.
Wild and Free event May 2008
May 3, 2008
Wild and Free wins award in the 14th annual Twin Rivers Media Festival this weekend!
Our Wild and Free: a Screech Owl Named Pinkey compilation won the Western North Carolina Achievement Award 2008 in the 14th annual Twin Rivers Media Festival this weekend in downtown Asheville. 
What a great surprise! You can see Pinkey's story yourself at the May 10 event!
Wild and Free event May 2008
April 23, 2008
We now have our Wild and Free and After the Storm compilations posted on their webpages
Wild and Free main page After the Storm page Check them out!
April 14, 2008
An unanticipated new Little Pearl about a beloved dog is in the works
Details will be in a new page soon, linked from Upcoming Pearls.
February 27, 2008
Wild and Free is up on green.tv
Pinkey's 30 second Pearl is just up "live" on green.tv in England and will be in the top spot until they post a newer film. The entry page is green.tv Pinkey's page is searchable by: little pearls, wild and free, owl, screech owl, Pinkey. They have listed it for Itunes and mobile - both areas of outreach we have had on our wish list. The 8+ minute compilation should be up soon, in two parts.
On Pinkey’s main page on our website, we also plan to replace three of the companions with the compilation. Stay tuned!
February
6, 2008
Upcoming Pearls
We hope to make several new Pearls this year. The next likely ones are listed on Upcoming Pearls and cover many inspiring - and unusual - subjects. What's next often depends on timing, available funding and serendipity - and maybe on YOU, too!
Wild and Free:
a Screech Owl Named Pinkey event coming soon!
A debut
party for the community, featuring the one-and-only Clyde
Hollifield, Dr. Willie and a few of their buddies, will be
happening this spring. Pinkey's 9-minute compilation
DID premiere in the Asheville Film Festival, but this will
be its chance to shine, along with the 30-second Pearl and
Clyde himself. As we said
in our e-newsletter, Pinkey will not be there - he is too
busy being wild and free!
Our ALL-Pearls DVD release party will
come later!
This is our first new sampler in five
years, including ALL Pearls, compilations, mini-documentaries,
and the whole 2003 sampler, with a menu that allows you to
see and share exactly what you choose, in any setting, from
home to classroom to public events.
Kat
Williams' Concert was GREAT, and our screenings of After
the Storm and three other Pearls fit right in. Kat
is in the best place, musically and in her heart, that
she's ever been. What a gift for all of us!
Scott
Dobbins
In December,
we lost our friend Scott Dobbins, who died unexpectedly in
December, far too young. Scott and his business, A
New Light Video Productions, were important in the creation
of many of the earlier Little Pearls. We send our best
wishes to his wife Lisa and two sons.
In the
news in November: Asheville Citizen-Times and UNC-Asheville's Blue
Banner
Wild
and Free was profiled
by Barbara Blake in the Ashevillle Citizen-Times (see
the In The News link on this page) and Little Pearls was
profiled by Courtney Willis in the UNC-A Blue Banner (we
do not have a link, alas!) Thank you, Barbara and
Courtney!
GiFT
software from OneWhoServes, Inc.
Late in 2007, we
began to use this contact and fundraising software, designed
for non-profits right here in Asheville - it is so easy,
compared to the things that were a struggle and still didn't
work! Thanks, Gordon Walton and staff!
January
25, 2008
KAT
IS BACK! Kat
Williams' Taking It Back concert screens After
the Storm when she returns to Asheville
THIS Sunday night at 7 pm at Jubilee! Kat
is a powerhouse vocalist with a huge heart. Because
of her strong presence and voice, she anchors After
the Storm and does the voiceovers and
vocals. We're excited to be part of this
concert back home with her new band!
Visit katwilliams.com, Kat
on myspace
Here is the YouTube version of the After
the Storm compilation (not the best quality, but
you can get the feeling): youtube.com/watch?v=g5Kok4JrHro |
December
11, 2007
For now,
as we're in the midst of our fundraising mailing, just one
thing:
We
have a new webpage in formation for our SPONSORS - please
send your suggestions for possible sponsors! Sponsors
October
22, 2007
Well, sometimes it takes awhile
to get used to doing new things, so this is my first update:
After
the Storm to be screened in the Wild and Scenic
Environmental Film Festival
The 4 minute compilation has been
accepted in the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film
Festival, to be held in January in northern California. Director
Kathy Dotson approached us about participating, and we are
so grateful! wildandscenicfilmfestival.org
Wild
and Free: A Screech Owl Named Pinkey to
be screened in the Asheville Film Festival
This 9 minute compilation (the
Pearl and four extra videos in rolling text story) will be
screened in the Asheville Film Festival the
weekend of November 8-11, Asheville, North Carolina. Thank
you, Sandra Travis and Melissa Porter! Festival information
is at filmfestival Pinkey's
link is wild_and_free_a_screech_owl_named_pinkey
Check out our updated descriptors
The "key messages" are
near the top of our Home page and Mission and Vision are on
a link from Home. Though Little Pearls capture the essence
of their subjects, it has been surprisingly difficult to capture
the essence of Little Pearls! Thanks to Debbie Williams
for pointing out the need, and to Board members and friends
who helped.
After the
Storm receives Best 2007 award
nomination from KIDS FIRST!
This four
minute combo was one of four films in competition nationally
for the Kids First! Best
2007 Award nomination as Best Indie Short
Short Age 12-18. The awards were given in
Los Angeles on Oct. 7, 2007 - we did not win but are thrilled
to have been nominated, and thanks again, Ranny Levy! kidsfirst.org
Pinkey
and Clyde in the October issue of The Laurel of Asheville
Thank you Paul Howey,
editor and friend, who wrote the article in this gorgeous magazine
for the issue when many extra visitors are in western NC for
the fall color season. thelaurelofasheville.com
Greenlife
Grocery in Asheville, NC raises money for Little Pearls
Thanks to our friend and advocate
Trish Howey, Greenlife featured Little Pearls in its bag donation
program for September and raised almost $500 for us. Sally
Kehnast and Misty Childs of Greenlife are so nice to work with
- THANK YOU!!! greenlifegrocery.com
July,
2007
(starting with some highlights
of the past year):
Wild
and Free: A Screech Owl Named Pinkey
Pinkey’s Pearl, its four companion videos and Clyde’s
story and e-mails are a real treat! I think they are worth
the long wait to finally get them ready to share. Give yourself
time to savor them and see how deeply they engage and touch
you. Pinkey’s main page
As we have been preparing Pinkey’s
pages and other website changes, an e-mail arrived from Clyde
on July 9:
For the last few nights, Mr.
Pinkey has returned (after an absence of 5 months) and has
been calling from the darkness...he comes about 11 pm. I
am usually in the bed but Adrienne sometimes goes out and
talks to him. I guess he has gotten over the loss of
his sweetie.... seeya, owl dirt
June
2, 2007 - We’re up on YouTube
The first three Little Pearls are up on YouTube and
others will be added a few at a time. Please check out our “greatlittlepearls” channel
on YOUTUBE,
watch the Pearls, rate them, subscribe to our “channel” and
share with your friends. It will take many viewings to
rise above the massive amount of “stuff” there. We’ll
soon be posting specific Pearls on sites relevant to their
topics. Thanks to Sudha Krishna of Vancouver and Allegra
Searle-LeBel of Seattle for helping me get beyond my technical
limitations to make this happen.
June
2007 - KIDS FIRST! Film Festival - Coalition
for Quality Children’s Media
Dr. Willie and the After the Storm combination
were accepted into the KIDS FIRST! upcoming
traveling children’s film festival. Our 2003 sampler
(13 minutes) was part of their festival awhile back. Located
in Santa Fe, their website is kidsfirst.org.
Thanks to Ranny Levy for the great work they do and for enabling
Little Pearls to participate again.
May 2007
- Media that Matters
This deeply meaningful “conference,” held at Hollyhock
on Cortes Island off of Vancouver Island, BC, is more like
a circle, comprised of only 40 or so participants from across
North America and sometimes beyond. Though the trip from North
Carolina is long and exhausting, the experience and the networking
are priceless to me and to Little Pearls. Thanks to
Bill Weaver and Stephen Silha especially, and to the many other
friends I’ve gathered over the past four journeys. mediathatmatters.org/MtM/mtmain.html
February
2007 - Corporate Sponsorships
We have developed our first-ever plan for obtaining corporate
sponsorships, thanks primarily to the guidance, creativity
and efforts of volunteer Vera Struck. struckstudios.com Please
contact linda@littlepearls.org for
details on how this sponsorship plan works and let us know
of particular businesses/organizations you think are a good
match.
January
2007 - Little Pearls Board of
Directors and new Board of Advisors
Patty Levesque became our new Chairperson and Penny Bond our
new Secretary, following Julie Parker’s move to our new
Board of Advisors. Our Board is small, yet it’s a great
group to work with. Thank you, Patty, Harvey, Brett, Penny
and Tim, and Julie, too! We have begun to form a Board
of Advisors, made up of people with particular skills and expertise
of great value to Little Pearls. See
Acknowledgements
January
2007 - After
the Storm combo in the Hazel Wolf Environmental Film
Festival
After our first entry of After the Storm into a film
festival, we realized the formatting should be changed for
future film festival entries. The new combination was entered
into the Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival in
Seattle (thanks to Grace Stahre at hazelfilm.org)
and KIDS FIRST! Film Festival. Not yet up on our
website in this form, it can be seen on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=g5Kok4JrHro
December
2006 - Dr. Willie wins
two awards in the MY HERO Short Film Festival in Los Angeles
Willie the dog won a Special Hero award and his Little Pearl Dr.
Willie won an Honorable Mention in this great online
festival. Thanks to Ann Church of KIDS FIRST! for
linking us with MY HERO, and thanks to Wendy
Milette and Geeta Malik for working with us. You can
find out more about Dr. Willie’s awards on the two links
from littlepearls.org/drwillie.html.
For more about MY HERO, see myhero.com/myhero/go/filmfestival/winners2006.asp
November
2006 - After the Storm -
Asheville Film Festival in the shorts competition
Seeing these two Pearls on the big screen as a movie instead
of as separate Internet pieces, we realized the need to format
them as a combination. ashevillefilmfestival.com/pages/home.htm
Summer
2006 - Brainstorming
Session, facilitated by Kathleen Osta of Vital Clarity
With one full-time, mostly volunteer “staff” (me),
a small Board of Directors and a small group of volunteers,
we benefitted greatly from Kathleen Osta’s facilitated – and
fun – session for about 25 friends of Little Pearls. From
that session came several action teams, which have had varying
levels of activity. We will revisit this process soon.
THANK YOU, Kathleen! vitalclarity.com |
