EXPAND YOUR LISTENING AUDIENCE submitted by Barbara Effron  4/07/2009

The internet offers easy ways for you to share your stories.  Here are two different opportunities to increase your exposure.

StoryBee is a volunteer-developed website featuring professional storytellers from across the country. Stories are divided into four age groups for listeners ages 4-18. Links for contributing storytellers’ websites are also included.  Join the growing list of contributing storytellers and share your stories.   http://www.storybee.org/index.html

Kids Public Radio is a network of web-based radio channels for kids.  One of the channels on the network, the “Jabberwocky” channel, contains stories and other programming for ages 2-8.  Visit http://www.kidspublicradio.org/ to see the full range of their offerings.  Their site also provides information about how to submit stories for use on Jabberwocky.

SHARE YOUR STORIES NATIONWIDE! Submitted by Barbara Effron 4/05/2009

Pickleberry Pie Inc., a 503(c)(1) non-profit public charity for children and families, has accomplished many music-oriented projects for over 21 years.  Pickleberry Pie’s projects have a single goal: using the healing power of music and personal contact to improve the lives of kids and teens.

Pickleberry Pie has provided thousands of free concerts in over 22 children’s hospitals around the U.S.   Much of the funding for Pickleberry Pie comes from foundations.  Recently, Pickleberry Pie formed a partnership with the Get Well Network www.getwellnetwork.com to provide wholesome music and stories to pediatric through individual computerized platforms in each patient’s room.  The partnership will enable Pickleberry pie to reach new hospitals and thousands of hospitalized children each day.

In many hospitals, the television offerings consist primarily of broadcast programs and a narrow range of videos.  Pickleberry Pie is expanding those offerings by working with our entertainers to obtain free use of DVDs showing musical concerts, storytelling, and other appropriate entertainment. Storytellers such as Bill Harley, Mary Jo Huff, Kevin Cordi, and August House Publishing, to name a few, have become part of the Pickleberry network.  Musical performers such as Joanie Bartels, Banana Slugs String Band, Trout Fishing in America, the “From the Top” PBS series, and many more award-winning musicians have also joined the group.

If you are a storyteller, musician, or otherwise produce electronic media that would be of interest to children, please consider making your material available to Pickleberry Pie for use in our hospital program.

In addition to the satisfaction you’ll get from helping children in need, artists will benefit in a number of tangible ways, including:

1. Each program will inform the patient of the performer’s website and similar contact information.   A program is being developed that will enable each patient’s computerized TV to have a direct link to each performer’s website so that families can order products directly for their children.
2. Arrangements can be made with hospital gift shops to sell the DVDs that are seen on the Get Well Network..

Visit www.childrensmusic.org/gwninfo.html for more information and a release form. For other information, please contact Irene Light at  teacher3@cox.net