Your time is as valuable as your money. Many hours are needed before the online world can begin to edit our voices into new stories that transform disability from the head to the heart. Over 10,000 hours of labor has been put into this mission and we have another 10,000 hours to go. We are midway to building a tool that will allow anyone to narrate the story of disability and change our world.
On the most basic level you can produce traditional story sticks from many objects found in your house, old jewelry, nick-knacks, leather jackets, clothing, and the feathers that float through your neighborhood. You can sell these yourself, or send them to us and we will find an owner for you.
The most urgent tasks are prioritized as follows: transcription allows the deaf to hear, encoding enables the blind to see, and digital engineering empowers the mute to speak. These are three inescapable duties that must be achieved before our voices can be accessible and truly free to connect with anyone in cyberspace. Your skills are as good as money, please contact us if you are willing to contribute your knowledge to make “It’s Our Story” a reality sooner than later.
With funding of $542,000.00 secured we will have a beta version of the “It’s Our Story” digital story stick up and running in three months, performing well in nine, and running seamlessly in twelve . All the prep work is done, the footage is archived, duped to four timecode embedded DVD libraries, and uploaded to 16.5 terabytes of harddrives. Everything is ready for the next tasks at hand. All we need are people like you to do the right thing and make this happen. With or without money this will be done, the only difference is your support makes the “When” happen “Now”.
You can purchase the “It’s Our Story” Flag that will literally make history for years to come. For $542,000.00 you will empower the online world to change the reality for 54 million Americans with disabilities, the families who support them and the people who care for them. Your legacy will be forever linked to the experience of being disabled in America. Your heroic gift will usher in a new form of history that will be born of the people, for the people, and by the people. The “It’s Our Story” flag will be installed at a site of your choosing with a completed digital story stick. This is a one of a kind opportunity for one who has much to give to many who have little to lose.
Following the DMI vision of youth first empowerment, we have selected the Victor Pineda Foundation, a 501(C)3 Non-profit organization as our first fiscal agent to handle our initial funding drive. Victor Pineda exemplifies our vision of supporting emerging disability media talent and in doing so, they support us.
To date, we have not asked for any financial support beyond our ability to raise funds through personal equity, family, and friends. Exceptions to that rule are the donations received from Yoshiko Dart in 2007 and 2008 and Dr. Boyles of the Disability History Museum in which we are eternally grateful for their giving spirit. Without being asked, they gave. Thank You. . .
