ATTN: Captain Google Fans - Need Ideas

seeso

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This question is open to all, not just to the contributors to the Captain Google video tribute.

An email from Deborah Robins, the director of the Australian chapter of The Duchenne Parent Project, follows below.

Check the bold type for the question she poses to us.

Hi Narciso & Ryan

I’m so glad Julie contacted you. As Julie writes, Cairns (pronounced Cans) in North Queensland Australia (where I live) is holding an inaugural International Ukulele Festival next June, 2010. Of course we had seen your tribute to Captain Google and used it and some footage of our boys with Duchenne (the most common and severe kind of MD) to ask some Australian artists and childrens’ book illustrators if they would be interested in painting a ukulele for us to auction at the festival for Duchenne MD research in Australia.

So many artists have accepted – over 30. The festival organizers were inspired too and they have invited 2 more charities to organize the painting of ukes so that the 2 week long exhibition will be very spectacular with maybe 100 ukes. We don’t mind – share the love I say. However, we are the only health charity. At the end of the period, the ukes will be auctioned for research. Like Jules’ son and my son, your friend also had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. I mentioned to Jules a little whim, “Wouldn’t it be lovely if some of the ukulele underground came to the festival, to perform” Hence this follow up email from Jules’ action.

So I guess my question is, how could your members be involved? If you could not come, could you send us a musical greeting? I don’t know. You might have another idea? I thought you/we could percolate an idea together. Maybe you have an artist in the Underground? If no support is possible we understand too.

Last weekend, our national community lost an 18yr old who had a very severely damaged heart muscle – certain mutations of the DMD gene are prone to this. Like Vince, Callum slipped away quietly, after “ticking all his boxes” - he spared his family from fuss his whole life. Something all seem to do. He even donated his brain to the brain research institute. Duchenne affects 1 in every 3,300 males yet is relatively unknown because a real man doesn’t make a fuss does he? I can understand that Vince would not have made a fuss either. My son is 21 and is very weak but goes to uni and he gets out with his mates when he can, and that teaches us something about how to live. I want to thank you for your tender way of raging against the loss of a fine young man - immortalizing your Vince in the process.

So, to help you decide if there is any way you can value-add to either the Cairns Ukulele Festival or our Ukulele auction, here are a few resources:

Duchenne Foundation website: www.duchennefoundation.org.au
The festival website: http://cairnsukulelefestival.net/
The festival organizer’s email: Gaby cairnsukulelefestival@live.com
A slide show of my own kid (an amateur tribute to all boys): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfZa01M4nJ8
Our family stories on our webpage: ( Jules included)
http://www.parentproject.org.au/htm...w.asp?art_id=704&nav_cat_id=146&nav_top_id=62

A comment I got tonight from one of our artists who writes Manga Graphic Novels:
I am going to paint my memory of playing the ukelele down by the Brisbane River with my good friend Peter Wilson when I was 12, we would make a campfire, cook bacon and eggs and tomato and toast and boil the billy, and after the feast we would play the ukelele and smoke gum leaves wrapped in lined school book paper! Strange but true, (we didnt draw back thank god!). But its a special memory to me.

How David is going to fit that scene on the Ukulele – I don’t know! But he is inspired. I can send you lots more information about us. I am pretty busy on a committee organizing a medical conference for all our families and doctors in February...but the art projects are important to me too for raising awareness in the community. All of us are volunteers – we don’t pay for offices or employees – we do it to try to support all our boys. The first Duchenne Parent Project was founded in the USA 10 yrs ago and it is the biggest. www.parentprojectmd.org

We Aussies look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time (Jules too) and I hope you feel a connection to our young men, and will think about it.

Stay loved good people – all.

Deborah Robins
NQ Director
Duchenne Foundation
PO Box 468
Smithfield Q 4878
 
Wow, I'm really not sure on what we could do but I'd love to contribute in some way or another.
 
I missed out on the captain google collab b/c my playing sucks but what you guys did was awesome. I'm not the creative kind here but what about a musical greeting or even better yet something along the lines of another brotherhood/sisterhood uke idea that we could donate to this cause????
 
I missed out on the captain google collab b/c my playing sucks but what you guys did was awesome. I'm not the creative kind here but what about a musical greeting or even better yet something along the lines of another brotherhood/sisterhood uke idea that we could donate to this cause????

I like that idea. Maybe if we can get all the contributors to the tribute video to sign an ukulele, it can be auctioned off at the fest.
 
I like that idea. Maybe if we can get all the contributors to the tribute video to sign an ukulele, it can be auctioned off at the fest.

Yeah that would be the best. I'd like to contribute to a video if another one is done but I think the time restraint would make that a fairly simple solution.
 
I just noticed that we have until June to do something. Another video is possible. There are limitless possibilities:)
 
I scanned through the note and saw it was in June, but didn't notice a particular date. Maybe we could do a video at UWC? There will be a few UUers there then.
 
I wish we could have contributed.. it all happened after Brit went home :\ whatever you guys want to do we'll help.
 
I am not the greatest uke player but i am willing to help.
 
I like that idea. Maybe if we can get all the contributors to the tribute video to sign an ukulele, it can be auctioned off at the fest.
I disagree. The cost to ship the uke from member to member to sign would be better spent making a direct contribution to an MD organization that directly helps those afflicted.
 
I disagree. The cost to ship the uke from member to member to sign would be better spent making a direct contribution to an MD organization that directly helps those afflicted.

Depends on how many will be contributors would be at UWC, thus minimizing shipping.
 
I would love to help out in any way possible!
 
Depends on how many will be contributors would be at UWC, thus minimizing shipping.

I disagree. The cost to ship the uke from member to member to sign would be better spent making a direct contribution to an MD organization that directly helps those afflicted.

Both good points. If we choose to go this route, we would need a roll call of contributors that are going to UWC. Those not making the trip would have to sign it some other way.
 
They already are going to be auctioning off about 100 ukes. It's a good idea, but maybe there is something better?

Maybe a straight up UU fund drive?

JT
 
They already are going to be auctioning off about 100 ukes. It's a good idea, but maybe there is something better?

Maybe a straight up UU fund drive?

JT

That is a great idea but to look at a con of this idea. I do a motorcycle ministry and we are constantly being asked to do charity rides. It can be difficult once u start doing fund raising b/c there are so many different needs out there. Do we stop at just doing fund raising for MD? Do we only do one? I am sure that we can do something and the original email only asked for a musical greeting. That seems to be just a video. Our we thinking too much?
 
I like the idea of a message from us. Vince's video obviously connects with people. While I support the other ideas suggested - signed ukes, fund raising etc etc etc - a direct message, perhaps video, would take more effort and IMHO would reflect more personal involvement from everyone at UU who wished to participate.

Whatever else forms part of our response, personally I'd like to see a video message in there. Just to put some faces and maybe voices there too.

A signed, auctioned uke is great, money is great, but a video kind of puts us there to support them.

[/:2cents:]

Whatever is decided, I'm totally in.
 
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