Where Have We Been? DNWA project 8-point update

Please accept our apologies for the prolonged silence, but we have been busy. Here is what's been going on:

1. The 521 Family: Helen has just this week heard that she and Precious and Quinton can move into an apartment at Woodlawn Terrace. This is HUD-subsidized housing and so the rent will be affordable. Helen is very pleased that she will be able to move in before Christmas. This will be where the family lives until project 2 is completed.

2. The house at 521 that was burned out has now been gutted as part of the preparation for the next phase: rebuilding a new home. George Holman has done a terrific job clearing the fire damage and Don Davino of New Augustine Construction arranged for the necessary "cans" [local term for dumpsters or what the Brits call skips].

3. In the New Year we will convene a meeting of building professionals to plan the next steps (permitting, design, etc). Incidentally, it was the same, some say the one and only, Don Davino, who was responsible for a major renovation of Woodlawn Terrace a few years ago and they are very nice units.

4. Financial donations to aid the 521 Family continue to come in (over $1,000 so far). Your generosity continues to inspire hope that has spread much further than this one family. We will be reporting on this campaign in more detail soon and letting you know the goals for 2007 and the rebuild.

5. The film (yes, we have to remind ourselves sometimes that Dare Not Walk Alone is a film as well as a movement) has been selected by THINKFilm for "non-theatrical distribution." What does this mean? First of all, THINKFilm is a highly respected company in the film business, self-described as a "Controversial producer and distributor of edgy and artful features." Being approached by, and then signed to, THINKFilm is a major achievement for the film, its director, and its loyal supporters (so give yourself a hearty pat on the back). We should to point out that this does not mean any revenue for DNWA, yet. DNWA still continues to cost money, not earn money [one of the executive producers plans to publish an article about this soon--some folks seem to think movie out=money in, but there is a lot more to be said about it than that, most of it written in red ink).

6. The best news about the arrangement with THINKFilm is that it pretty much guarantees a broader distribution of the film and the [eventual] DVD. We think this is a very good thing. The term "non-theatrical distribution" means screenings at festivals, schools, colleges, and a whole range of other venues. It keeps alive the possibility that, if the film plays well in these screenings, there will be some form of theatrical release, i.e. in regular or art-house movie theaters. And this means we will still pester you to "motivate the base." In other words, we will tell you when and where the film is playing so you can get your friends and family to go see it.

7. Speaking of staying in touch, be sure to get the feed from this blog to be kept posted, and/or sign up for the mailing list by going here and completing the form. We promise not to spam you...besides we're too busy to even try!

8. The last point for this posting is something of an open secret. It is certainly both unusual and exciting. The director, Jeremy Dean, is currently working on a new cut of the film that will include the fire. He has received the support of THINKFilm in doing this, which is a brave step on their part. This means there are no screenings scheduled for the next few months, and no mention of the film on the THINKFilm web site. But you will be the first to know when the new release is ready to roll.

Thanks again for your continued support. We hope that you will continue to believe, as we do, that the spirit of unconditional love can indeed achieve the Beloved Community of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.

Dare Not Walk Alone Makes Front Page

The front page of today's St. Augustine Record features the work that Dare Not Walk Alone is doing on the post-fire housing situation of the Helen Coley family. (If you are reading this after today, you can find the story here.)

We want to send out a big Thank You! to the Record for devoting space to this story, and to everyone who has responded so generously (when we get the next bank statement we will know who has deposited money in the Putnam State Bank account and thank them individually).

We are now building a list of folks who have volunteered tine, resources, etc. The next step after that will be organizing the re-build but that will take time.

From what we have seen so far, the people of this county have a big heart, and a whole lot of the special kind of love that it takes to bring a community together.

Donate to Coley Appeal: PayPal and Credit Cards

Some folks have asked to make donations to the 521/Coley Family Appeal via credit card. The best and cheapest way that we know is through PayPal, which accepts just about any credit card and is secure. So we have provided a PayPal donation button at cobb.com, the web site of Dare Not Walk Alone's Executive Producers, Stephen and Chey Cobb.

This allows you to donate from an existing PayPal account, any major credit card, or a new PayPal account. It is easy and secure.

We thank you in advance for your donations. And if you prefer to send a check, just refer to the details in the previous posts.

Thanks!
>Donate now!<

How to Help the 521 Family

Helping a family deal with the loss of their home takes more than cash and material goods. It also takes time. We have already spent several days helping Helen get around to the various agencies in town to coordinate some of the basics (like replacement Social Security cards).

Some people have already volunteered their time and we have assigned the first few tasks, like moving donated goods into storage ready for sorting, and calling around motels to find the best rate on suitable rooms for Helen and her family to stay until they can move into one of the [very few] subsidized apartments in town.

(Of course, if you know of a 3-bedroom apartment/condo/house in St. Augustine that is available for a few months we'd love to hear about it.)

If you want to volunteer, please send an email to info@dnwa.info with the word "Volunteer" in the subject line. We can then send you our phone number (which we are reluctant to put on the web).

We are currently working on a task list but we already know we need people who are willing to provide some suitable mentoring and positive after-school recreation for 12 year-old Precious. Although Precious attends school during the day, there is a lot of after school time, and weekend time, that is hard to fill when you are staying in a motel and have very few resources.

Hopefully, in about three weeks we will need volunteers to help with the move into an apartment. Beyond that we will be working on the rebuilding plans. We have already had offers of assistance from several contractors (say what you want about building contractors--they often turn out to be some of the most generous souls in the community).


DNWA

Fire Destroys 521 Woodlawn

On Tuesday of last week, fire destroyed the house at 521 Woodlawn in Saint Augustine, a house that will be familiar to anyone who has seen the film. This was the home of Helen, her son Christoff, and grandaughter Precious, all of whom appear in the film. It was also home to grandson Quinton and grandaughter Tip. Helen had lived in the house for nearly thirty years.

The fire started in the wood stove that you see being lit in the movie. Anyone who, when viewing that scene, thought to themselves--That thing is a fire hazard--was sadly correct. Indeed, the incident raises a lot of questions about the safety of housing conditions for those who have very little money to spend after paying for food, water, electricity, and taxes.

(Here is a link to the local newspaper story. In the story Helen is referred to as Mary--Helen is her middle name and the name she prefers. Also, the copy editor changed Tip to a young man, an error for which the reporter has already apologized--nobody who has actually met Tip would make that mistake.)

Fortunately, very fortunately, nobody was injured in the fire, but Helen and her family lost all their belongings and the roof over their heads. Helen has been very strong through the shock and stress of this calamity but she is going to need a lot of help. Here at Dare Not Walk Alone we feel a special connection with Helen and her family so we are coordinating the response. So far we have managed to get:

• Temporary accommodation at a motel in Saint Augustine through the end of this week;
• A storage locker for all of the donations of clothes and household goods that people so generously donated at the St. Augustine Record office;
• Donations moved to the storage locker (thanks to Gardner, Doug, and Chris);
  
• A relay of evening meals delivered to the motel this week (thanks to Gardner's congregation);
• A volunteer to find further accommodation until a subsidized apartment becomes available in about three weeks (thanks to Debbie);
• A place for people to send cash donations that will be used first for temporary housing and then for the construction of a new house at 521 (thanks to Putnam State Bank);
  

Checks should be made out to "Dare Not Walk Alone" with the notation "Coley Family/#5367" in the Memo field and mailed to:

Putnam State Bank
Attention: Angela
2300 N Ponce de Leon Blvd
St. Augustine, FL 32084

(If you want further information about these instructions you can call Angela, the Branch Manager's Assistant, at 904-825-4555.) We will make sure that all of the funds received go directly to the family, and to the effort, just getting under way, to build them a new home at 521 Woodlawn.

One of the main goals of the "Dare Not Walk Alone" project has always been to help those members of Saint Augustine's African American community who are most in need. We had no idea that, for one family, those needs would become so urgent so soon. But we are hopeful that this sad event will become a rallying point for those who share that goal. So, we thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide and we will update you as this effort progresses. We will also try to find time to blog some of the things we are learning from this event, like the community's lack of coordination in the delivery social services, the charity of strangers, and hopeful steps that can be taken down the long road to lasting reconciliation.

Dare Not Walk Alone
Jeremy Dean, Director
Richard Mergener, Producer
Stephen and Chey Cobb, Executive Producers

Special Showing in St. Augustine, September 30

Good news for DNWA supporters in North Florida. There will be a special showing of the newly remastered broadcast version of Dare Not Walk Alone at 7PM on Saturday, September 30, in Saint Augustine, at the Galimore Center, 399 Riberia St. to raise funds for the planned civil rights memorial in the city.

General admission is $5. Preferred seating is available for $10. All proceeds will benefit the civil rights memorial. Tickets can be obtained by calling Barbara Vickers at 829-5649, Carolyn Smith at 829-2618, or Glenda Bailey-Mershon at 377-1323.

This will be the first public showing of the special one hour broadcast version of Dare Not Walk Alone which director Jeremy Dean created to help get the documentary shown on television. According to Jeremy, this version "retains the full spirit and import of the 70 minute theatrical version while meeting the requirements of broadcasters like HBO." In addition, this version is of much higher technical quality than earlier versions, having been created in the world class post-production studios of Crawford Communications of Atlanta, who generously devoted a great deal of time and expertise to the project.

The September 30 showing is also very special because, according to the St. Augustine Record, there will be a panel for the event including former demonstrators, including Barbara James, who served 60 days in the St. Augustine jail. The panelists will strive to help the audience answer the challenging questions posed by the film.

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Oct 27

Wow! The Fall screenings are started to add up. The good folks Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, a.k.a FLIFF have changed the screening time/day to afford better attendance. Dare Not Walk Alone will now be shown on Friday, October 27 at 5PM at Cinema Paradiso. Click the link for details and to buy tickets.

And as always, tell a friend!

p.s. This will be one of the first screenngs with the newly remastered, high quality version of the film, produced by the caring souls of Crawford Communications of Atlanta, to whom DNWA is eternally thankful.

Connecticut Shows Announced October 5 and 7

Okay! Let's hear it for the Connecticut Film Festival. The good folks up North have scheduled two showings of Dare Not Walk Alone.

Thursday, October 05 at 7:00 PM - The Bethel Cinema
Saturday, October 07 at 1:30 PM - The Garden Cinemas

Click the link above for more details and remember to tell your friends!

When the Levees Broke

The moving 4 hour Spike Lee documentary about Katrina's socio-economic impact will be playing on HBO throughout September and into October. Read more about the project here.

Fans of DNWA will recognize some of the core issues at the heart of both films. Here is the schedule.

p.s. We can't say much yet, but word is that DNWA has been seen by some folks at Spike's production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks in Brooklyn, and the initial feedback was very positive.

Roundup of Currently Scheduled Screenings

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, October 20-November 12 (screening time TBA).

Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site in Atlanta, October 19 (details to follow).

2006 FAIF International Film Festival, Hollywood, on October 12 at 9:30PM.

Connecticut Film Festival some time between October 3rd and 8th.

In addition, Jacksonville University staff and students can see the film and panel discussion on September 13 at 7:00pm in the Gooding Auditorium.