change the truth

Today I signed the agreement papers with the Jewish Community Foundation to establish the Change the Truth Fund. For those of you who wish to make a donation before year's end, you can now do so. Make your check payable to: Change the Truth Fund of the JCF and mail to The Jewish Community Foundation, 5801 W. 115th Street, Overland Park, Kansas, 66211.

Four others have kindly agreed to become the "committee" which will help address operational and/or marketing issues that will arise. They are my brother, Ben, my husband, Eddie, and two good friends, Lynne and Clare. All have vast experience with not-for-profits and have expressed unwavering support for this project from the very beginning.

I have made the decision to take January, February and March off from shooting portraits and will devote my time to other projects. I will spend some time with my father, hopefully go to New Orleans with a disaster relief agency to help out with the rebuilding efforts, work on a major photo project for Kansas City's own Operation Breakthrough, print the work from Uganda AND, last but not least, put together the promotional materials for Change the Truth. This will include a website, brochures and a power point slide show. Susan, a filmmaker who is going to Uganda with the Workshops in February and who has been a faithful blog follower, has graciously offered to do some filming at the orphanage while she's in the area. This will be an invaluable addition to the power point presentation.

About one quarter of the children at the orphanage found their way there after losing their parents to the civil war in Northern Uganda. Their stories are tragic and far beyond anything you or I could ever imagine. Some witnessed the murders of their family members and were left to fend for themselves on the streets. Others were forced by the rebel army to become child soldiers. For those of you who would like to learn more about this war and the "invisible children" as they have been called, watch the Discovery channel Tuesday night at 8 PM central. An abbreviated version of a documentary that has garnered a lot of praise at film festivals around the world will be shown.

I continue to be amazed by the positive response I have gotten from so many. I hope that future readers of this blog will also find themselves wanting to help "change the truth" for these Ugandan children. If you have not already done so, be sure to send me your e-mail and snail mail address if you would like to get updates and information about Change the Truth, exhibitions and publications of the work I made in Uganda, what's happening at the orphanage, etc. I will have no other way of knowing that you are interested in being kept in the loop, and I would like to have you there! I have names and addresses for pen pals, I have CDs of the children singing, I will have signed, limited edition prints available, etc. There MAY even be an opportunity to bring some of the kids to the US for some concerts and I KNOW you wouldn't want to miss out on that!

This morning Eddie asked me: Gloria, are you changing the truth or is the truth changing you?

Definitely something to think about...