Shine Global Annual Holiday Auction
November 29, 2011
It’s that time of year! Shine Global’s annual auction is here with one of a kind experiences and gifts you can’t find anywhere else. And these gifts are extra special– not only are you getting that once in a lifetime experience but you are helping Shine Global fulfill our mission of ending the abuse and exploitation of children worldwide through the production of inspiring films and media that shine a light on unknown stories and share the voices of unheard children.
This year’s auction takes place on CharityBuzz.com from now until Monday, December 19th – so hurry! You can win one-of-a-kind experiences with your favorite celebrities, luxury travel, access to VIP events, exclusive set visits and much more!
This auction is made possible by the generous donations of companies that support Shine Global’s mission.
To view all the items go to: http://www.charitybuzz.com/support/shineglobal
Homelessness and the Arts – Using Media to Raise Awareness of Youth Homelessness in the UK
November 28, 2011
By Elizabeth Tornheim
Most of Ralph John Perou’s photographs show celebrities living the high life. Bright lights, fancy cars, extravagant dresses. Yet, in his latest project, Perou focuses on homeless youth living in the United Kingdom.
Perou was asked to photograph for the campaign, “Homelessness and the Arts,” a project led by 20-year-old James McNaughton. At age 16, McNaughton found himself living on the streets, and he reflects, “I thought I was going to be homeless for the rest of my life.”[i] He slept in churchyards and tunnels for six months until a police officer offered him help. The experience inspired McNaughton to lead the “Homelessness and the Arts” project, which is backed by O2’s Think Big youth program. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about youth homelessness and change the stereotypes associated with homeless people through the campaign’s slogan, “Admit I exist.” The project examines the reasons behind youth homelessness, and the most cost effective ways to support homeless youth.
McNaughton reflects that while he was homeless, he felt that he no longer mattered to the point where he was invisible to society. Ashamedly, I know I can recognize the truth in McNaughton’s words, as I have walked past homeless people without giving them a second glance. “Homelessness and the Arts” aims to address this stigma associated with homelessness and encourage society to not “succumb to convenient stereotypes, but instead treat young homeless people with respect and dignity.”[ii] Perou, explains how the project has exposed him to the realities of and challenged his perception of homelessness. He says, “I feel embarrassed…in the past, I’ve looked in the opposite direction…”[iii]
Perou spent time with homeless youth in Liverpool and Machester, getting to know them as people, talking about their ambitions, and understanding their struggles. His photographs show meaningful places to the individuals, and are on the “Homeless and Arts” online exhibition. Perou’s work will be displayed alongside photographs taken by homeless youth themselves.
While McNaughton recently launched this project, he plans to eventually establish the campaign as an independent charity. He plans on using the media to raise awareness and challenge society’s perceptions of homeless youth. In the future, McNaughton plans to work with other organizations in developing peer education programs within schools and hostels.
McNaughton and Perou’s work ask each of us to stop and think about our perception of homelessness. Ultimately, Perou explains that he hopes that his photographs make people realize “we do have a social responsibility to people who are less well off than ourselves” [iv]
To check out “Homelessness and the Arts” go to :http://www.o2thinkbig.co.uk/Projects/Project-Home/?ClubID=103
To check out Perou’s photographs for the campaign got to:
[i] http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-arts/2011/11/23/celebrity-photographer-perou-turns-his-lens-on-liverpool-young-homeless-92534-29823399/3/
[ii] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/16/photographer-perou-launches-youth-homelessness-campaign_n_1096728.html
[iii] http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-arts/2011/11/23/celebrity-photographer-perou-turns-his-lens-on-liverpool-young-homeless-92534-29823399/
[iv] http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-arts/2011/11/23/celebrity-photographer-perou-turns-his-lens-on-liverpool-young-homeless-92534-29823399/
Shine Global submits comments on the DOL’s proposed changes to child labor regulations
November 23, 2011
Victor, age 16, hauls up to 1500 lbs of tomatoes in a day in the heat of Florida's summer
Shine Global is dedicated to ending the exploitation and abuse of children worldwide and in this pursuit we make films that raise awareness and effect change on behalf of their well-being. It was for this reason that we recently released our documentary, THE HARVEST/LA COSECHA, which told the stories of 3 of the estimated 400,000 American child migrant farm workers who work as many as 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, at below minimum wage salaries. They work legally from the age of 12 in all weather extremes in what is the most dangerous occupation extant for minors. They earn no overtime and no sick days.
This is legal in America because the Fair Labor Standards Act, enacted in 1938, excluded agriculture and thus left thousands of children unprotected. Shine applauds US Labor Secretary Hilda Solis for the changes the Department of Labor proposes to make that will close this gap and provide equal protections to minors, whatever their occupation. We encourage all Shine supporters to educate themselves about the existing legislation and pending revisions and to demonstrate their support for the health and wellbeing of our children.
The proposed rules maintain the current parental exemption and would not apply to children working on their parents’ farm. They would prohibit hired workers under age 16 from working with certain animals, handling pesticides, working in timber operations, and working in or around manure pits and storage bins. Further, the new rules would prohibit farm workers under the age of 16 from participating in the cultivation, harvesting and curing of tobacco (which causes severe tobacco poisoning) and from operating power driven equipment. The department is also proposing a new non-ag hazardous occupations (non-ag HO) order that would prevent children under the age of 18 from working in grain elevators, feed lots, stockyards, and livestock exchanges and auctions. The DOL is also soliciting comments, and may institute regulations, limiting hired youths’ exposure to extreme temperatures, as well as whether the payment of piece rates to young farm workers impacts their prolonged exposure to potentially harmful conditions.
The full document of proposed changes and the DOL’s justifications can be read at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=WHD-2011-0001-0001
Comments can be made electronically at the above website or by mail to: Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Comments should be identified by Document ID: WHD-2011-0001- 0001, RIN 1235-AA06
Inocente – Film In Production
November 22, 2011
Watch the beautiful trailer of INOCENTE by clicking the above image.
INOCENTE tells the story of a young Latina striving to find her artistic voice despite having no home, no role models and no legal status. The only constant in her precarious life is her art and her determination to express herself through it.
INOCENTE is an intensely personal and vibrant coming of age documentary about a young artist’s fierce determination to never surrender to the bleakness of her surroundings. At 15, Inocente refuses to let her dream of becoming an artist be caged by her life as an undocumented immigrant forced to live homeless for the last nine years. Color is her personal revolution and its extraordinary sweep on her canvases creates a world that looks nothing like her own dark past – – a past punctuated by a father deported for domestic abuse, an alcoholic and defeated mother of four who once took her daughter by the hand to jump off a bridge together, an endless shuffle year after year through the city’s overcrowded homeless shelters and the constant threat of deportation. The challenges are staggering, but the hope in Inocente’s story proves that the hand she has been dealt does not define her, her dreams do.
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Shine Global is currently seeking finishing funds for this beautiful documentary. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation now and become a filmmaker with Shine Global. CLICK HERE
The Harvest/La Cosecha DVD ON SALE NOW!
November 22, 2011
The Harvest/La Cosecha DVD is available for purchase from Cinema Libre Studio
Read what the reviewers say:
“Straightforward, intimate, and heartbreaking” – Susan Linden, The Los Angeles Times
“In its modest way, calls to mind The Grapes of Wrath” – Mike Hale, The New York Times
“There’s not a wasted frame in U. Roberto Romano’s documentary THE HARVEST, in which he illustrates the real costs of the produce on your grocer’s shelves” – Ernest Hardy, Village Voice
“Expertly filmed with a lot of genuine heart.” – Daniel Johnson, Raleigh Movie Examiner
Every year there are more than 400,000 American children who are torn away from their friends, schools and homes to pick the food we all eat. Zulema, Perla and Victor labor as migrant farm workers, sacrificing their own childhoods to help their families survive. THE HARVEST/LA COSECHA profiles these three as they journey from the scorching heat of Texas’ onion fields to the winter snows of the Michigan apple orchards and back south to the humidity of Florida’s tomato fields to follow the harvest.
From the Producers of the Academy-Award® Nominated film, WAR/DANCE and Executive Producer Eva Longoria, this award-winning documentary provides an intimate glimpse into the lives of these children who struggle to dream while working 12 – 14 hours a day, 7 days a week to feed America.
Eva Longoria, Eric Schlosser, and Jose Padilla at screening of The Harvest/La Cosecha
November 17, 2011
Eva Longoria and Eric Schlosser on the panel at a California Endowment screening of The Harvest/La Cosecha on November 16, 2011
The Harvest/La Cosecha screened at the California Endowment in Los Angeles last night. Executive Producer Eva Longoria was joined by author Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and activist Jose Padilla (Executive Director of California Rural Legal Assistance) for a post screening panel discussion on the issues faced by child migrant farmworkers in the US.
Shine Global would like to thank the California Endowment for making this event possible and the wonderful panelists for expanding on the issues shown in the film.
The Harvest/La Cosecha DVD is now available for purchase from Cinema Libre Studio at http://store.cinemalibrestore.com/theharvestlacosechadvd.html
If you are interested in hosting a screening at your organization, university, or school please contact screenings@cinemalibrestudio.com
Screening of The Harvest at the California Endowment 11/16
November 3, 2011
In an effort to shed light on the hardships faced by children living in the migrant farm-working community, CenterScene Public Programs is holding a screening of The Harvest/la cosecha on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 in Los Angeles, CA.Every year, there are more than 400,000 American children who are torn away from their friends, schools, and homes to work 12-14 hours, 7 days a week, picking the food we all eat. The Harvest, an award-winning documentary film, follows Zulema, Perla, and Victor through the scorching heat of Texas, the snow of Michigan, and the humidity of Florida in their path as migrant farm workers, sacrificing their own childhoods to help their families survive. The documentary provides a glimpse into the lives of these children who struggle to dream while they follow the harvest.
Author and activist Eric Schlosser, migrant farm-worker advocate José Padilla, as well as actress and Harvest Executive Producer Eva Longoria will be on hand to discuss of the film and the issue.
Event Details
When
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Check-in and Reception begins at 6:00 p.m.
Program Starts at 7:00 p.m.
Where
The California Endowment
Center for Healthy Communities
Yosemite Hall
1000 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
RSVP
This event is free and open to the public but an RSVP is required
Please note that this event will be recorded and made available for viewing within a few days of production.
About CenterScene
CenterScene is a wide-ranging series of public programs organized by the Center for Healthy Communities to raise awareness about the vital issues that affect the health of California’s communities. Admission and parking are free at all events. Use of public transportation is strongly encouraged.
Learn more
Visit the Center for Healthy Communities website
Get the map and directions
Read the CenterScene Newsletters
More questions? Please email rsvpchc@calendow.org
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Eric Schlosser
author and activist
Eric Schlosser tries to explore subjects ignored by the mainstream media and give a voice to people at the margins of society. Over the years he’s followed the harvest with migrant farm workers in California, spent time with meatpacking workers in Texas and Colorado, told the stories of marijuana growers and pornographers and the victims of violent crime, gone on duty with the New York Police Department Bomb Squad, and visited prisons throughout the United States.
Schlosser’s first book, Fast Food Nation (2001), which was on the New York Times bestseller list for two years, helped start a revolution in how Americans think about what they eat. His second book, Reefer Madness (2003), looked at America’s thriving underground economy. It was also a New York Times bestseller. Chew on This (2006), a New York Times bestselling children’s book, co-written with Charles Wilson, introduced young readers to the health effects of fast food and the workings of industrial agriculture. Schlosser has for almost a decade been researching a book on the American prison system. His next book, Command and Control, is about nuclear weapons.
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José Padilla
Executive Director
California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA)
José R. Padilla was born and raised in the Imperial Valley, in a family with farm-worker roots. José received his BA from Stanford University in 1974 and worked as a head teacher with Campesinos Unidos Inc. After graduating in 1978 from Boalt Hall School of Law, he began his legal career with CRLA, advocating for the rights of California’s farm worker and rural poverty communities.
At CRLA, José focused on immigration, civil rights, and education law, and co-drafted AB 1382, California’s Migrant Education law. In 1984, José became Executive Director of CRLA, overseeing cases on pesticide exposure, housing, labor, rural education, civil rights, immigration and environmental justice, assisting more than 40,000 rural residents annually.
José testified before President Clinton’s Commission on Race, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and various legislative bodies addressing issues of voting and language rights; and, in 2011, he was nominated by California Latino Legislative Cause as one of four California Supreme Court Nominees.
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Eva Longoria
Executive Producer “The Harvest” / Activist / Actor
Golden Globe-nominated, Screen Actors Guild Award-winning, and ALMA Award-winning actress, Eva Longoria currently stars as “Gabrielle Solis” on the ABC-megahit, Desperate Housewives.
Longoria is an executive producer, in collaboration with Academy Award nominated Shine Global, of the documentary film The Harvest. The documentary presents the challenges these children face as they are unprotected by law, often working twelve hours a day, seven days a week in temperatures that can exceed 100 degrees, while suffering injuries and exposure to pesticides.
Active in philanthropy, Longoria has received many awards for this work. She serves as the national spokesperson for PADRES Contra El Cáncer, and founded the non-profit organization Eva’s Heroes to name a few. In 2010, Longoria partnered with the California Community Foundation (CCF) to create The Eva Longoria Fund.
November Screenings of THE HARVEST
November 3, 2011
UPCOMING SCREENINGS
Friday, November 18, 2011 7:00pm
First Congregational Church
40 South Fullerton Ave.
Montclair, NJ
www.firstcongmontclair.org
*Music by Thomas Wesley Stern before & after the film*
This Event is Free & All are Welcome
Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182849448467470
PAST SCREENINGS
The California Endowment
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
California Endowment – Center for Healthy Communities
Yosemite Hall
1000 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
This event is free and open to the public but an RSVP is required.
Executive Producer Eva Longoria, Author and activist Eric Schlosser, and migrant farm-worker adovcate José Padilla will be in attendance
Sarah Lawrence College
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Science Center 103
Q&A with Executive Producer Susan MacLaury
If you wish to screen The Harvest/La Cosecha in your community, find a sponsor organization and visit http://www.cinemalibrestore.com/educational_grassroots.html to learn more or contact screenings@cinemalibrestudio.com
Girls Not Brides
November 3, 2011
Child marriage robs 10 million girls a year of their childhood. It's time to end it.
By Elizabeth Tornheim
Every nineteen minutes, a girl under the age of 18 is forced into a marriage. Oftentimes these girls are still trying to become educated as a way to increase their economic opportunity to escape poverty. And yet, as a Yemeni child bride explains, “it’s the men who give the order, and the women that follow.” As a result, these young girls are more likely to become victims of domestic violence, and have health problems related with early sexual activity. Girls under the age of fifteen are five times as likely to die in childbirth than women in their twenties, and child brides are at greater risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection because they lack say in rejecting unsafe sexual practices.[i]
These staggering statistics have brought together non-governmental organizations to work together to end child marriage, in a global partnership called Girls Not Brides. At the core, the organization helps facilitate collaboration between activists and NGOs to share the best practices of strategy, communication, and advocacy. By working to empower girls within their own communities, as well as by pressuring policymakers to bring attention to the issue, Girls Not Brides demands action at a local and international level.
The Elders, a group of prominent world leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela, established the organization. In late September, the international campaign was launched at the Clinton Global Initiative, and leaders including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson announced the plans for the campaign. Now, organizations from across the world have joined to end child marriage including Equality Now, Save the Children UK, and World YMCA.
Girls Not Brides has already supported programs such as the Development Initiative Supporting Healthy Adolescents (DISHA); this program, based in India, has provided access to health services, increased awareness of the consequences of early child marriage, and given support to the community. Another program called Berhane Hewan works in Ethiopia where child marriage is very prevalent, and affects 50% of young girls. Girls Not Brides has supported activists in this region working to inform young girls about relying on education rather than the men in the community.
Most importantly, Girls Not Brides emphasizes that child marriage cannot be ignored or seen as a matter of culture or tradition. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.”[ii] Child marriage is not only a health hazard and harmful tradition; it is also a human rights violation.
You, too can stay informed about the campaign and find out the ways you can help by visiting girlsnotbrides.org. Although change is a slow process, each individual has the power to make an impact.
[i] United Nations Children’s Fund, Early Marriage: A harmful traditional practice: A statistical exploration, UNICEF New York, 2005, pp. 12-13
[ii] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
