There are more than 884 Million People, world wide who do not have daily access to clean water, and as a result are dying of this. Children are particularly vulnerable. This world water day, we would like to bring water to a community in the Sudan (together with a school and a hospital) by completing a well for them. Take up the challenge and help us out with only $5 between now and March 31. It is such an achievable task, we only need $20,000 (that is 4,000 people who give $5) and we will be able to provide this simple, basic necessity for human life, something that we take for granted here.
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Well it’s Super Bowl Sunday and I’m hard at work writing a proposal for the Good Pitch. I really think we have a chance at this and it would be the most interesting and perfect avenue to get the support we need to finish this film. I wanted to share my proposal with y’all so you will know exactly the direction we are going and what we are needing. I really hope that all of this information helps you understand why your donations are so helpful.

Please let me know if you have any questions and feel free to share with friends, family, co-workers, any potential viewer or sponsor. We really appreciate your much needed support! Thank you!

And enjoy the new re-cut trailer, too (watch it all the way through – there is a blank spot around mid-way)!!

Go Saints, Erin
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“This blog is about what I saw through my lens… hope, dignity, success, need beyond my worst nightmares and love greater than my wildest dreams” is how I started this Upbeat blog three months ago. It’s also how I must start this latest entry. This time, while I wish I were on the ground seeing these real and raw images through my own lens, I am instead seeing them on my computer screen and TV routers around CNN as I work with friends in the field to bring the world the best coverage of Haiti’s natural disaster.

Here are some facts about what’s currently happening in Haiti:

January 10, 2010

• A small tree—carved fishing boat capsizes… cars crash into each other… children are stuck beneath their collapsed classroom roof…
• A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Haiti, affecting at least 1 million people living around Port-au-Prince
• Today is 11 days in to the catastrophe and aid is just beginning to arrive at the epicenter
• Doctors abandon patients and Sanjay Gupta runs from reporting to performing surgery
• Aid does not arrive fast enough and Anderson Cooper pleads live on air, so real and raw, for people to help
• Hope is alive as people are found under the rubble
• Children still smile simply because they are alive

January 11, 2010

• Around 300,00 thousand children in Haiti are restaveks, child slaves
• Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere
• 70% of Haitian people live in poverty-annual income of $400 per year
• There are at least 200,000 orphaned children in Haiti

Now:

• You can step up and serve – donate – pray – love
• Visit CNN.com/impact to see vetted charities acting on the ground in Haiti
• Stay up on the latest stories of survival – follow what we gather at twitter.com/makinggoodnews

This weekend

• Watch what we’re working on: Celebrity Telethon with George Clooney
• One of my favorite bands, Old Crow Medicine Show, sings a song which has been resonating through my mind for days. You can listen to ‘I hear them all‘:.

Circling back around to Upbeat…

As I’ve mentioned a dozen times, 100% of profits from the film go directly to building out more Music for Life centers. In light of the devastation in Haiti, the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children there (descendants of former African slaves in the first black-led country) the African Children’s Choir and Music for Life are hoping to expand Music for Life to serve these precious kids. Please consider donating to the film to secure the hope of these efforts. Thank you so much!

Hoping for Haiti,
Team Upbeat

International press is always a good thing! What a way to bring in the new year!

Here is the link to see my interview on Backstory:

For show times, have a look a CNN International’s Inside Africa page.

Enjoy!

Love,

Team Upbeat

…It’s here! The long awaited for Upbeat film trailer. I know you’re excited! It’s the best Chrismahanukwanzakah present our editor Christian could ever give me… and YOU!

According to the above link, Virgin Mobile USA created the holiday for a 2004 Commercial… well come on Virgin Mobile USA — and every other company/person/foundation – we’re celebrating it here on the Upbeat blog… so you can give a little gift, too. Click the Chipin button on the right to compete with Christian for the best Chrismahanukwanzakah present in the whole wide world. Not only will you make me happy, but also 12 Million Orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa.

That’s right. The UN estimates there are at least 12 million AIDS orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the 2008 UN AIDS report. And guess what we’re doing with the money? All monies donated here go to production costs of Upbeat. Once Upbeat is complete, it will be totally owned by Music for Life and the African Children’s Choir^™… and they will use the film to show the world the dignity, beauty and unlimited potential of the African Child. All of the proceeds of sales of the film will be used to help more of these 12 Million Orphans — enabling them to make a difference in their own country as they lead fulfilling lives — — bringing music for today and hope for tomorrow.

Come join in with us as we celebrate this very special holiday in the spirit of what all three holidays started as – miracles of life and light and times to give.

Here is our Chrismahanukwanzakah gift to you— enjoy!

PS – We’re giving you an early New Year’s gift as well… the African Children’s Choir currently touring the N. American west coast will be on the Jay Leno Show TONIGHT! Hopefully you will be able to spot Stella and Jonah— we’ll give you a hint about your post-holiday gift— they might also be seen here soon. Cheers!

PPS – If you get your donations in on Chip-in or checks post-marked and sent by Dec 31st— you get to write the gift off on your taxes for this year!!! Another gift from team Upbeat to you!

Camera and lens manufacturer Nikon have launched a mini-film festival, hosted by Ashton Kucher to promote the video capabilities of their new Nikon D5000 Digital SLR Camera. The brief for this festival:

So what’s it like to be you? Capture the essence of your day in a video of 140 seconds or less. It can be funny, touching or profound. It can be about everything you did, everything you didn’t do, the day’s biggest dilemma or its most telling detail.

Erin, our intrepid film maker thought it would be a good idea to submit an entry to the festival, composed of some photographs from her recent trip to Southern Africa with the Choir. You can check out her entry here:

After which, head over to the Nikon Festival site and let the world know what you think of the video.

Happy Holidays!!!

For those of you purchasing necklaces or donating in someone’s honor this season, here is a little tag you can email the gift-ee about your present to them (yes, email is a little less personal so feel free to print and give with the gift… but we at UPBEAT are very green).

100% of of proceeds from the present I gave you goes to the making of UPBEAT – a film about the African Children’s Choir and their outreach non-profit, Music for Life. UPBEAT is capturing the stories of the Choir and their work around the world. This is the Choir’s 25th anniversary and they are hoping to continue their great development work by going pan-African and raising awareness about the 12 million AIDS orphans on the Continent. Every penny the film earns will go to expanding Music for Life Centers across Africa, bringing joy, hope and education to thousands of vulnerable children who are growing up to be positive African leaders. This truly is the gift that keeps on giving… if you are interested in getting involved visit africanchildrenschoir.com/thefilm and africanchildrenschoir.com. Happy Holidays!!!

Pay options — the best ways to support the film is by chipping in online through the secured PayPal widget on the right. You are also welcome to send a check in this way:

Please make out to — Music for Life (and write “Erin BPS 2102291” in the memo field)

And send it to:

Music for Life

PO Box 29690

Bellingham WA 98228-1690

Thank you so much for your support during this beautiful season of GIVING!

Note: Music for Life is a registered Charity in the USA, Canada, UK and South Africa, and such, all gifts to the organization are tax deductible, as allowed by law. Music for Life issues tax receipts for all donations received during 2009 shortly after the start of the new year in 2010. Be sure to include your postal address if you are donating via PayPal and would like to receive a donation receipt.