Heritage Education Resources

It's been awhile since my last post, April 2005. A lot has happened since then, and it has been a time of busyness and substance.
I finished the wood workers project and have copied about 60 CDs to go to the tradition bearers, historical societies, and libraries. I haven't heard from anyone yet, so I don't know the CD is being received. I now need to look into creating a web site, and I believe I can ask Melissa Anthony of Marianna to do the work.
The search for funding In the Best Interest continues, but now we have a web site and only need money to put it up. Melissa has done a fine job with the site, and I plan to utilize her skills for other projects, namely the book, and It's In My Blood.
I am currently preparing a grant narrative to go with an application to the American Association of University Women (AAUW). It has grants for organizations doing work in the name of women and girls, and In the Best Interest fits the bill. This is an expose project, but it is an educational project as well.
I don't see funds coming in for awhile, but maybe this grant will break the spell. I don't know, I don't understand the grants making process, though I can write a grant with no problem.
I am frustrated, but I want to keep going.. I think something is of value here, and I want to fight for it.

Am still waiting to get the grant award packet from the DCA regarding the wood working project. Once I get the grant activated by signing some papers, I will be able to head out and get to work. I will start by going to the Forest Museum in Perry. I think there will be leads to people there.

Penny Crandall got a windfall from her uncle and told me to buy a camcorder. I bought a Sony handycam that anyone can use. This is Penny's camera, but I will be using it for the DV project. I am humbled by Penny's committment to the project. I will start using the camera in June when I go back down to Vero and record Cindy's experiences with the legal system. I have to check about cameras in courtrooms. Penny can steer me in the right direction regarding that.

I call Lisa Tessier about an interview at the end of April, and I will call Cindy as well. I also need to try and hook up with Angie again. Missed her at Blitches in Bonifay last week.

I continue to be stunned by these women's stories, even moreso than I was with These Are Our Stories. Perhaps it is because children are so much in the foreground here. The power packed into these stories is tremendous. I hope I can keep a steady hand with them.

The wood working project will provide me with balance I think, and I need that. Doing something that isn't as intense, isn't as hurtful to balance things. I need all the luck I can get with all of the projects.

Today, HER switches hats and will go to the panel meeting of the Division of Cultural Affairs where the panelists will evaluate my application to do a photographic roster of north Florida folk artists who work in wood. I don't know what will happen because I have never applied for a grant in this category before. There's not much money left in the pot at DCA, so all we can do is wait and see what the panel says.

Fund raising continues for In the Best Interest, and it is slow going. I have joined the independent film makers association whose journal, The Independent, lists funding opportunities. I need this resource, so it was worth the $70 investment.

I hope to do two interviews with women from north Florida for the project. This will let me get my feet wet with the topic and allow me to figure out direction and possible filming angles. I haven't been able to reach the women yet, but will keep trying.

I forgot to give my address for donations:

Heritage Education Resources, Inc.
2636 Mission Rd. #53
Tallahassee, FL 32304

(850) 580-9889
herjer@earthlink.net

In this blog post, I make an appeal. My video project, "In the Best Interest" needs your support. This project is important because it will reveal the true state of the legal and social services systems as they relate to battered women in Florida. The women's situation in Florida is not unique - - others in other states have similar stories. It is just that HER is willing to document those stories, in the voices of the women, and share them with the public.

This project will cost up to $200,000 to produce, from start to finish. Your tax deductible donation will help with filming and production, as well as research. Any amount, from $50 to $500 will be gratefully accepted.

Well, the new project is taking shape, but right now funding is the problem. I've asked for foundation support on both phases of the project: fieldwork and filming. I am receiving rejection notices from foundations, and just pray I get a nibble.

I will, however, start doing fieldwork up here around Tallahassee and the Panhandle. I can manage that on my own for now, and want to get started. My two advisors, Penny Crandall and Janet Lupher, are gathering the names and numbers of women to interview. I will have to go to DCF and the courts on my own. Well, maybe not the courts. Janet and Penny can guide me there too.

So we should be off and running by next week. I look forward to it.

A lot has happened since my last post. These Are Our Stories has been formatted and sent to the indexer, John Bealle, for indexing. I feel as if I have let something go, and look forward to Johns work.

Once the work is indexed, I can add all the front and back matter, print it all on a laser printer, and send it to University Press of America for their review. With luck, all will be all right. Then I can get the cost of the book and proceed to selling the work, 50 copies.

I feel very good about this and am excited to see what happens.

The next project is an outgrowth of These Are Our Stories. It will be a documentation project of women's experiences with the legal and social services system in Florida. It will be a state wide project, culminating in a documentary video and a book. Janet Lupher, an outpatient counselor, and Penny Crandall, a lawyer, will be helping me with this project. I am in the process of seeking funds for the first phase of the project, conducting fieldwork to collect stories and see who would be interested in being a part of the video. I expect there will be some interest here, as no one is satisfied with the legal or social services system when it comes to domestic violence. But we shall see what happens

I have finally formatted These Are Our Stories for publication. My next step is to scan the resource guide for domestic abuse in rural counties and the graphic of the Power Wheel for the Introduction. Once I get these things done, I will construct the table of contents and get to work on the index. I might have all of this done by Spring 2005 instead of Winter 2006. That would be a good deal.

The folk arts in wood grant application is ready to be photocopied. After the first of the year I will have the slides processed and prepared for inclusion as support materials. I am also expecting a support letter from Congressman Allen Boyd. I will photocopy everything at Kinkos where I will be able to collate as well as punch in holes for the binding.

Erica hasn't been writing, and I am afraid she will not make her March deadline. This is a self imposed deadline, so she'll be able to change it however she wants. I only hope she is realistic about all of this. She doesn't seem to be right now. We shall see what we shall see.