Stevie_Brianna

Hope Sees a Star - Art-Raiser

On Monday, Chel had a conference call with Kimiko Sakuma, one of the coordinators of Art-Raiser. 

From the Art Raiser website:

The central idea behind Art-Raiser is to help Artists and non-profits simultaneously and reciprocally. 
  This goal is accomplished through collaborative efforts by all of the parties involved.  Each month a different non-profit is featured in an online event which is built around raising funds for that organization. Artists submit their work to be posted on the ART-raiser website for sale.  Prior to submission the artist agree to donate a minimum of 20% of the net proceeds to the non-profit that is featured that month. The non-profit helps to promote the sale of the artwork by inviting their affiliates and co-workers to the event via email campaigns.
  It is the diverse and creative work that each Artist submits that makes each online event unique. The Artists supply the artwork, which provides an opportunity for exposure to the public. The event provides a platform for the Artist to network and interact with the community.
Each event is held online for 4-5 weeks, which allows people access to the website at their convenience.

Kimiko agreed that Hope Sees a Star is a wonderful project, and in October of this year, an Art-Raiser will be held online to benefit the project.

You will hear more about this as we get closer to the date, as artists are invited to participate by selling their art online, and buyers are invited to participate by viewing and hopefully purchasing some of the art and crafts for sale.

20% of all proceeds will be donated to the Oakland Zoo to offset the $5,000 donation expense in conjunction with the memorial placement.

Thank you Kimiko and Art-Raiser!

If anyone else has creative ideas for raising the funds needed to make this project a reality - please let us know.  We will pursue as many avenues as possible!

Green Grass and Happy Skies

The green grass and the happy skies
court the fluttering butterflies.  ~Astrid Alauda

The meeting with The Oakland Zoo went very well.

I visited the Butterfly Conservation Gardens, and the location could not be better for the memorial placement.

The Butterfly Conservation Gardens are adjacent to the children's zoo area, as well as located in a more secluded area across from the Children's zoo that is housed between two small buildings (one of which is used for educational purposes.)

There are, of course, flowers everywhere.  In the more secluded area - which felt to be the more apropriate area for Stevie and Brianna's memorial placement - there is a very small stream and you can hear the moving water - it is such a lovely sound.

There is a beautiful wooden path through the foliage which is perfect for a slow walk, and buttefly gazing.

It was an emotional trip ~ the staff who were in charge of the Buttefly Gardens explained that many of the zoo's beloved small animals were buried in the Buttefly Garden grounds.  This is not a well known fact, but for the zoo staff, who love their animals so - having this space to come and sit, and remember them - means a great deal. 

The butteflies were out, but shy.  I could not get a picture, but I saw them.  And a hummingbird, and a lizard, and all kinds of little birds and creatures who call this space home.

There is also lovely courtyard in the middle, with tables and chairs, where it would be apropriate to have a memorial dedication ceremony.

The precedent at the zoo for donations in conjunction with a permanent memorial is $5,000.

I asked them what they would do with this donation - which we would make in Stevie and Brianna's name, and they explained that their hope was to be able to fund an intern who would join the zoo staff, and specifically work in the Butterfly Garden, on upkeep.

I thought this was a really nice idea.

So, it with this vision of tranquility and beauty - that we move forward. I hope that Iva and Gina might want to come see the Garden in the coming months as well.  Next, I will be talking again to Laurel True about the memorial itself, the expenses involved in production, and next steps.  In order to create a lovely, lasting mosaic that will, over a span of many years - withstand the elements and children's touch (most mosaics just call out to be touched!) and more - will involve a significant amount of time and resources.  The mosaic aspect of the memorial will also cost several thousand dollars.  Still, all the elements of the Hope Sees a Star project seem to be coming together - and I think of the ancient Buddhist proverb - the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

And so, Hope Sees a Star takes its first steps - with our hearts full of hope that this memorial will bring Stevie and Brianna's family some amount of peace - and the knowledge that not only their local community - but the extended community of artists around the world - remember and value the lives of their two daughters.