Let Stories Be Told An Urgent Call to Action from We Tell Stories Founder, Carl Weintraub	We Tell Stories is a 501 (c) 3 Non-Profit Organization. Location: 5740 York Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90042 Phone: 323.256.2336 Fax: 323.256.3236 Email: info@wetellstories.org Online: wetellstories.org Board of Directors Carl Weintraub, Chairman William Turner, President Gilbert Pacheco, Secretary Dennis Carter Tanya De Leon Larry Guzin We Tell Stories is grateful for the support from the following organizations: Corporate Partnership Employees Community Fund of Boeing California Funders Ahmanson Foundation City of Culver City Performing Arts Grant Program Fund with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs City National Bank Employees Community Fund of Boeing California Los Angeles County Arts Commission Norris Foundation Ralph Parsons Foundation Stern Memorial Trust Collaborators Arts for All Centennial Plaza Park Children’s Creative Project Community Arts Resources (CARS) Los Angeles County MTA—Go Metro Los Angeles Music Center Education Division Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles Unified School District, Arts Education Branch North Figueroa Association Old LA Farmers Market Orange County Performing Arts Center Performances to Grow On Festival Plaza de la Raza
Dear Friends, Over the past 28 years, We Tell Stories has performed nearly 16,000 shows and over 26,000 student workshops to close to 5,000,000 children, their families and their teachers. We Tell Stories is a vanguard in the field of arts education and theatre for young audiences. According to Lynne Heffley of the Los Angeles Times, We Tell Stories “is one of Southern California’s oldest and most respected educational children’s theater companies.” Suddenly, We Tell Stories’ existence is threatened, and we desperately need your help. Give us $10 and save We Tell Stories. Here’s the problem. For the past four years, we have had a contract for services with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Under this contract, We Tell Stories has performed 486 shows, conducted 8,633 student workshops, and administered 218 staff development workshops over the past four years. As a result, our overhead has increased by approximately $150,000 a year. Suddenly, due to the state budgetary crisis, this contract has been abruptly rescinded. We have programs in the works for 2010 that we are hoping will generate that overhead again, but, right now, we need to get through this year, and we need $150,000 to do it. We have never sold tickets to our performances. For 28 years, we have prided ourselves on the fact that, unlike most non-profits, we have existed primarily on contracted services; approximately 80% earned and 20% contributed by government, corporate, and foundation entities. Due to our $150,000 shortfall, those contributions will not be nearly enough to sustain us. So for the first time in our history, we are reaching out to individuals. Every friend, every friend of a friend, every person who has ever had a warm spot in his or her heart for a child or an artist needs to log on right now and give us $10. http://wetellstories.org/donate.h tm Then, if you feel comfortable doing so, forward this email to your friends. If 15,000 people give $10 each, we will make our goal. If some of you can give $20, $50, or $100, it will not take as many of you. But we need it by February 15th. If we can raise this money, we will be able to continue many of our programs. If we cannot, many of these programs will cease. Please, log on now and donate what you can: http://wetellstories.org/donate.htm Our artists and kids all over Southern California will be eternally grateful. Carl Weintraub Founder of We Tell Stories
We Tell Stories is funded in part by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs; Los Angeles County Arts Commission; and the City of Culver City Performing Arts Grant Program Fund with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment. WTS is grateful for support from the Ahmanson Foundation, Employees Community Fund of Boeing California, City National Bank, Norris Foundation, and Sidney Stern Memorial Trust. We Tell Stories is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (Tax ID# 95-3803911)