Monday was showtime! Our Burma Relief fundraiser was scheduled to begin at 7pm and there was a lot to do throughout the day: All equipment, supplies and people in place? Audio and video sound check? Sponsors’ tables set up? Raffle tix ready? Silent auction arranged? Guest lists at front entrance? (Not to mention the added worry about our guests navigating through the area’s humongous traffic jam thanks to the action – or is that “inaction?” – at the U.N!)

Turns out, our Burma Relief benefit was a modest success. A big thank you to everyone who helped! (Family, friends and colleagues KNOW I tried to do it all myself!) The Friar’s Club was packed and everyone had a great time. Even though we raised just $7,000, it put us closer to our goal of building a 3,000-square-foot boys’ dormitory with bunk beds, electricity, computers, and rooms for the teachers. The total cost will be $20,000, and now we’re even more motivated to raise the final $13,000.

The morning after the benefit, I followed up with folks in the media and got coverage in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Daily News. Next week, I’ll be asking the event attendees to recommend potential donors who can help us get even closer to building that boys’ dorm.

Rich, our video editor, and I took a whole day to finish editing the 3-minute Burma Relief video that will show our generous contributors how their money is being put to good use and changing childrens’ lives. Check out the video at our site. We’re also getting ready to upload stills that were taken at our benefit. We have to strike while the iron is hot and peoples’ hearts are warm and giving.

• Auction Item Auction Item
• Auction items Auction items
• Austin Trevett and daughter Austin Trevett and daughter
• Brooks Williams, Christina Sullivan Brooks Williams, Christina Sullivan
• Burma Boy Image Burma Boy Image
• Burma Image Burma Image
• Burma Relief's Jeremy Taylor Burma Relief's Jeremy Taylor
• Burma Relief logo Burma Relief logo
• Concert pianist Rosa Antonelli Concert pianist Rosa Antonelli
• Crowd Shot Crowd Shot
• Crowd Shot Crowd Shot
• Crowd Shot Crowd Shot
• Crowd Shot Crowd Shot
• Crowd Shot Crowd Shot
• Earl Rassmussen, Elizabeth Tryon, Jay Kunz Earl Rassmussen, Elizabeth Tryon, Jay Kunz
• Elena Bushujeva, Elena Tchainikova Elena Bushujeva, Elena Tchainikova
• Elena Tchainikova, Jeremy Taylor Elena Tchainikova, Jeremy Taylor
• Elena Tchainikova Elena Tchainikova
• Elina Shchervinsky Elina Shchervinsky
• Elizabeth Tryon Elizabeth Tryon
• Guests Guests
• Guests Guests
• Jeremy Taylor, Elena Tchainikova, Naomi Wolf, Morgan Spurlock Jeremy Taylor, Elena Tchainikova, Naomi Wolf, Morgan Spurlock
• Jeremy Taylor, Naomi Wolf Jeremy Taylor, Naomi Wolf
• Jeremy Taylor, Naomi Wolf on stage Jeremy Taylor, Naomi Wolf on stage
• Jeremy Taylor Jeremy Taylor
• Jimmy and Lisa Aug, Ronnie Mitchell, Jeremy Taylor, Janie Taylor Jimmy and Lisa Aug, Ronnie Mitchell, Jeremy Taylor, Janie Taylor
• Morgan Spurlock, Jeremy Taylor Morgan Spurlock, Jeremy Taylor
• Morgan Spurlock, Jeremy Taylor Morgan Spurlock, Jeremy Taylor
• Morgan Spurlock Morgan Spurlock
• Naomi Wolf, Morgan Spurlock Naomi Wolf, Morgan Spurlock
• Olga and Stas Rostov, Nikolai Isaev Olga and Stas Rostov, Nikolai Isaev
• Ronnie Mitchell, Jimmy and Lisa Aug Ronnie Mitchell, Jimmy and Lisa Aug
• Rosa Antonelli Rosa Antonelli
• Steve Sabba Steve Sabba
• Tamim Khan and friend Tamim Khan and friend
• Tricia Rossiele and friends Tricia Rossiele and friends
• Vidak Radonjic, Elena Tchainikova Vidak Radonjic, Elena Tchainikova
• Crowd Shot Crowd Shot
•  

Unfortunately, we were unable to find a liquor sponsor for our Sept 19th fundraiser, so I was forced to purchase alcohol directly from a discount warehouse. If anyone has a liquor connection, please raise your hand now so that we have a source for upcoming events and don’t have to tap into funds needed for our Burmese relief efforts.

Leading up to the event, I made sure that everything was on schedule, confirming the food delivery, security details, and images to be displayed at the Friar’s Club. I asked one of Burma Relief's sponsors, Eastwest Marketing Group, to create a step and repeat backdrop for the red carpet and to print our 17-foot-long Burmese historical timeline. I met with Rich, one of our video editors, to edit a video we’ll be showing at the event. Rich will also be producing a Quicktime file for a video I shot of a Burmese girl who desperately needs foot surgery. And a “thank you” video to Bill Intrater, who donated a laptop to a teacher at a school for refugee children in Maesot, Thailand…so that Bill can see some of the good his generous gift is bringing to these kids!

Still waiting to hear back from Bob Clark in Colorado regarding a marketing campaign we discussed. Also, trying to finalize our program page on UnitersHelp.com so we can launch our campaign to raise money for a boys' dormitory. It’s always frustrating trying to turn promises into action – especially after returning from Thailand and having fresh mental images of all the work that needs to be done. Wish everyone was motivated by front-line experience in the trenches.

I made a major last ditch effort to boost attendance at the benefit by calling everyone I know to get them to bring along as many friends as possible – so that people are aware of the injustices going down in Burma. I felt like a party promoter. A shout out to Elena Tchainikova who also stepped up and called, texted and emailed people to attend the event. I did a final email blast to the press, and sent individual emails to friends. Fingers crossed that all the work will pay off for our organization and, most importantly, for the children we’re trying to help.

Last leg of my return trip: a 5-hour flight across the U.S. from Burbank’s Bob Hope airport to New York’s JFK. Cali’s cool. Thailand’s terrific. But there’s no place like home. (You could say that my heart is in Manhattan as well as with the people of Burma!)

Before the flight, I was stranded in Los Angeles for a couple of days while Hurricane Irene tore up the East Coast. I took advantage of the time to meet with old friends who pledged to help Burma Relief stage a fundraiser in LA in the spring. I’m hoping that some Hollywood humanitarians will step up and help us build more dormitories for orphaned Burmese refugee children.

I asked anyone and everyone I knew to hit up their celebrity contacts. And to help find a restaurant owner with a caring soul who will donate his or her space for a few hours. And folks who will contribute food, alcohol, and whatever else we need to hold a successful event.

I got other things done while recovering from jet lag in the City of Angels. I did an EDL (Edit Decision List) for all the video I shot of Scot Waldon, our volunteer carpenter, teaching the Burmese boys and girls their new trade (building bunk beds) at the New Blood Migrant School in Maesot. I also worked on the Burmese historical timeline that we’ll be featuring at our NYC fundraiser on September 19th, and then on our website. It brings people up to speed on what’s happening in Burma today as well as in the past…so they get motivated to help make things better for the future.

After a 16-1/2 hour direct flight from LAX to Bangkok (three movies and still a lot of time to talk about our upcoming task), Scot Waldon, our volunteer carpenter, and I boarded another flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand on Burma’s border. Finally on the ground, we were picked up by our colleagues at Projects for Asia Foundation and taken to the orphanage they run for Burmese hill children. It’s really nice in Southeast Asia…if you’re not struggling to survive. After lunch we visited the Care for Dogs clinic (Thailand’s street dogs need help too, big time!), and then we drove 4-1/2 hours south to Maesot. We arrived at the Irawadee hotel, checked into our rooms, and called it a day – a very, very long day.

In the morning we headed to the New Blood Migrant School so I could show Scot around the dormitory that Burma Relief constructed – the place where he and Rich (another American carpenter on our team), would be building teak bunk beds for the girls’ dorm and some for the boys’ dorm. We stopped at several teak wood shops and then at a Thai version of Home Depot to buy tools. After the wood was delivered, all of us were thrilled to see how eager the 8-16 year-old Burmese boys were to help. So Scot and Rich began teaching them some useful vocational skills: How to measure the lengths of teak wood, saw it, cut the bed posts, stiles and rails, bolt the wood together, drill holes in the posts and bed rails, and then bolt the rails to posts. They showed them how to nail the various pieces together to make the bed platforms, sand the sharp edges, nail the

safety rails to the upper bunks and build the ladders. It was great to see them working together and accomplishing so much. In fact, out of the 40 posts, stiles and rails the boys drilled, there was just one hole in the wrong place. A job well done!

After the bunk beds were completed, it was time to get out of dodge, so we hopped onto a truck and drove 6-1/2 hours from Maesot to Bangkok. The flight home was great and we rested well knowing that a bunch of grateful orphans were sleeping in beds for the first time in their lives.