I was recently sent this email, and thought you all might be interested in the information:
My name is Collin Shepley. I am a senior in the University of Georgia's
special education program, and I also work with a documentary film
called Darius Goes West...I'm writing to you because I strongly believe that Darius Goes West is a story relevant to the content you publish.
DGW began in 2004, with me and some friends deciding to take our friend Darius on a cross-country road trip. Darius has Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a 100% fatal genetic disease that took his Darius's brother's life at age 19. The goal of our trip was to spread awareness for DMD and wheelchair accessibility across the country. With some help from friends and film majors at the University of Georgia, we documented our trip in a feature-length film. Last year, Darius Goes West won 28 film festival awards, making it the most cumulatively-awarded film of the year.
Now, Darius has turned 19, and to celebrate we are working
full-time over the next year to raise $17 million for DMD research. To
do this, we're selling DVDs for $20, $3 of which buys more DVDs and
covers foundation costs and $17 of which goes to DMD research. We are
back on the road, traveling to schools, universities, conferences, and
theaters to try to reach our goal.
Daryn Kagan, a former CNN anchor and host of CNN Live Today,
featured a trailer of our film and an endorsement for the movie on her
website DarynKagan.com, in which she is pitching the Darius Goes West
DVD as the end-all-be-all of holiday gifts this year. Here is Ms.
Kagan's blog: http://darynkagan.com/
We hope that Daryn Kagan's endorsement gives us the legitimacy as
a foundation to reach out to blogs like Mom To the Screaming Masses for
support.
We at the Darius Goes West Foundation are hoping that you will
consider helping us reach our goal by telling our story to your
readers. Darius Goes West is a genuine story that brings hope,
motivation, and unity to people of all ages and backgrounds without
being a run-of-the-mill depressing documentary. Seeing it, of course,
is much more convincing than reading about it, so can I send you a link
to an on-line copy of the film, or a DVD, for you to make your own
decision?
Here is a trailer for the film, as well as our website address: www.DariusGoesWest.org (click the video for it to play).
Also, here is a short clip we made that features Darius receiving
a 10,000 person standing ovation at his high school graduation. I think
you'll enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Finally, here is a clip of Darius on the Ellen DeGeneres Show: http://www.dariusgoeswest.org/
