Open Letter Announces Aid to Videographers Affected by Katrina
September 23, 2005
Sarasota, FL - September 23, 2005
Dear Fellow Videographer,
The Wedding & Event Videographers Association International (WEVA) has responded to the crisis in the Gulf Coast region by establishing the Videographers In Distress Initiative. Its mission is to coordinate and solicit support, including both financial and professional relief, and the resources for helping to rebuild the lives and businesses of professional videographers who have been impacted by the disaster.
As chairman of the WEVA Disaster Response Committee (DRC), I am writing to tell you about the launch of the new website for the Videographers In Distress Initiative at www.weva.com/dri
I urge you to please take a few moments to visit the Videographers In Distress Initiative website. It is our industry’s central location for you to make a contribution to the previously announced Videographers In Distress (VID) Fund that will directly aid professional videographers affected by horrific aftermath of Katrina’s devastation in the mid south region.
The Videographers in Distress Fund is a 501(c)3 charitable relief fund established through the regionally renown Foundation for the Mid South, created in 1989 by former Mississippi Governor William Winter and others.
Contributions to the VID Fund are tax deductible, and all contributions will be used exclusively to help rebuild the lives and businesses of professional videographers (WEVA members and non-members) who are facing enormous financial and personal challenges.
It is also the website where affected videographers can apply for direct assistance from the Fund. The VID Fund Application for Aid is downloadable from the site. If you know of a fellow videographer(s) who is in need of help due to the disaster, please direct them to www.weva.com/dri now to apply for aid.
The WEVA DRC is also working on an immediate initiative with the Foundation for the Mid South that will enable grants from the VID Fund and others to be provided to affected videographers who can use their skills to produce video productions needed in the relief efforts now underway.
Our five-member Committee will be updating this website regularly with personal stories, video, and images that reveal how the destruction and devastation has impacted the lives of our colleagues in the affected states. And, we look forward to proudly sharing the positive stories of new hope and the promise of rebuilding that will come as a direct result of your continued support and encouragement.
There is strength in numbers. With all of us uniting behind this urgent effort and working together we can and will make a difference in helping our fellow colleagues rebuild their lives and get back on their feet with jobs that need to be done. On behalf of our Committee and our international association, thank you for your concern and your support.
Sincerely,
Tim Sudall - drc@weva.com
Chairman
WEVA Disaster Response Committee |
