*Steps up onto the stage of Chuck’s Terrible Minds blog while squinting at the spotlight. Chuck waves a green flag to get started*
*Thumbs up back at Chuck and takes a deep breath*
Salutations, everybody! Can y’all hear me? *Taps on mic* Yes? Right – let’s get this started:
The Pixel Project, a 501(c)3 anti-violence against women nonprofit, is proud to announce that our Read For Pixels campaign reached its 10th annual Fall Edition in September 2023.
Read For Pixels has come a long way since September 2014 when Chuck himself, Joe Hill, Sarah J. Maas, and nine other award-winning bestselling SF/F, Horror, and YA authors helped us reach out to their readers and fandoms about violence against women (VAW) and raise funds to keep our anti-VAW work alive. A decade on with almost 300 author livestreams, 90+ AMAs, 20 fundraisers, and 1 Shirley Jackson Award- and Audie Award-nominated charity anthology under our belt, we are continuing to expand our archive of globally accessible resources about VAW for geeks, book lovers, fandoms, parents, teachers, and kids, as well as leveraging the power of genre fiction and storytelling to educate people about VAW. Authors, editors, publishers, and agents have also helped us raise approximately $10,000 per year by providing exclusive goodies as giveaways for readers, fans, and book collectors who donate to support our work.
You’re probably thinking: “Neat-O! I’ll go check it out. So why the guest post on Chuck’s blog?”
The short answer: “Because we need your help to reach our $10,000 goal for the 10th anniversary of Read For Pixels to keep our work alive in this [insert expletive of your choice] year of 2023.”
Like many small grassroots-run nonprofits, our efforts to fight the good fight while grappling with the ongoing fallout from the pandemic and spiraling global inflation in 2023 is taking its toll. Women’s organizations have experienced decades of scarce funding for the overall women’s rights movement and women’s human rights are often one of the first casualties in turbulent times such as these. So, with our 10th anniversary Read For Pixels fundraiser progressing in the same fits-and-starts pace that Crowley was railing against while being stuck on the M25 in his attempt to get to Tadfield Airbase to stop Armageddon in its tracks (it’s been just over a month and we’re stuck at $9,255, which is that darn so-near-yet-so-far 92% of the way to our first attempt at raising a modest $10,000 in a single fundraiser), you can imagine our growing concern. While we are 100% volunteer-staffed, we do have bills to pay so that we can keep our campaigns, programs, and services running.
Chuck, being the generous soul that he is, received our SOS and leaped into action by publishing this blog post to boost the signal for our fundraiser.
So here I am, right at the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2023, presenting five great reasons why you should consider giving to our fundraiser to help get us to our $10,000 finish line by our extended deadline of October 31st 2023:
Great Reason to Give Generously #1: Support accessible information for victims and survivors of VAW… while slaying your holiday gift list
One of the core services that The Pixel Project provides is bridging the information gap that victims and survivors encounter when trying to get help. Our daily helpline retweet session, which tweets out domestic violence and rape/sexual assault helplines for women in 205 countries worldwide from 8.00PM to midnight Eastern Time, 24/7, 365 days a year, is currently on ice thanks to Elon Musk’s ongoing destruction of The App Formerly Known As Twitter. While we transition this program to another platform, we continue to respond to individuals contacting us for help, doing the research legwork to provide them with information about specific victim assistance services in their part of the world, and incorporating this life-saving information in the books, videos, shows, and other awareness-raising tools we deploy.
THE WIN-WIN FACTOR: Donate to us and you can also tackle your holiday season gift list at the same time! From signed rare/limited/luxe editions to goodie bundles stuffed with books and swag to tuckerisations galore, we have treats for every donation level from luminaries such as Anne Bishop, Brandon Sanderson, C.S.E. Cooney, Dana Cameron, Juliet Marillier, Kendare Blake, P.C. Cast, Sebastien de Castell, and more. And while you’re savoring the joy of squaring away some of your holiday gifts early, also savor the fact that your donation will be going towards keeping our programs and initiatives that connect victims and survivors of VAW with the help that they need.
Great Reason to Give Generously #2: Support resources for educating folks about VAW… while getting help for your writing
We have built an ever-expanding archive of nearly 300 resource articles to date about everything from how to stop street harassment to lists of organizations tackling everything from child marriage to MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women). Additionally, our website has beginner-level primers about different types of VAW, including violence against trans women and obstetric violence and our Facebook page is an excellent just-in-time source for the latest headlines and articles about VAW.
THE WIN-WIN FACTOR: Whether you are a budding writer or experienced author who is considering making a donation, we have a stellar line-up of Read For Pixels author alumni offering critique bundles for WIPs (works-in-progress) and/or 1-to-1 video chats focused on the craft of writing and/or tips about the publishing industry. Participating authors include Alan Baxter (Horror), Jasper Fforde (Fantasy), Mary Robinette Kowal (Science Fiction and Fantasy), Meg Gardiner (Crime/Mystery), Sebastien de Castell (Fantasy), and Sylvain Neuvel (Science Fiction). Enjoy knowing that while you are getting expert help for your WIP or fixing a stubborn writing challenge, you’re also supporting the creation and growth of online resources for educating folks around the world about VAW.
Great Reason to Give Generously #3: Support online platforms for people to speak up about VAW… while having a chat with your favorite author
A key pillar of our activism and advocacy work is providing digital platforms that are safe spaces for people from different walks of life to speak up about VAW. Every October for the past 9 years, we have hosted the “People and Pets Say NO!” photo statement campaign via Facebook and Instagram for people and furbabies from all walks of life to step up publicly to call for an end to VAW during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We also offer VAW survivors and dads who are male allies opportunities to speak up via blog interview initiatives such as the Survivor Stories blog interview series and the Voices of Dads Against VAW interview series.
THE WIN-WIN FACTOR: While your donation keeps our platforms available for folks to speak up about VAW, you can enjoy a chat with your favorite author in the name of supporting a good cause. For this fundraiser, Julie E. Czerneda (Science Fiction and Fantasy), Karen Odden (Historical Mystery), Kimberly Belle (Crime/Mystery), RJ Barker (Epic Fantasy), and Swati Teerdhala (YA Fantasy) are all happy to have a video chat with donors to natter about everything from writing and the publishing industry to Victorian crime history and geeky hobbies. These video chats are all open to individual donors, with some also open to groups (book clubs or library groups or even just a group of like-minded geeky friends/fans are welcome to pool together the donation to get one or more of these chat sessions).
Great Reason to Give Generously #4: Help us boost the signal for anti-VAW activists and advocates worldwide… while gifting your geeky loved ones with terrific treats
A longstanding part of our work involves showcasing how anti-VAW advocates, activists, and organizations worldwide are changing the world for women and girls, as well as their ideas about what people can do to help stop VAW in their communities and countries. Our Inspirational Interviews series has been running for a decade and counting. We also run topical sessions with anti-VAW advocates and activists speaking about their work and educating people about VAW.
THE WIN-WIN FACTOR: If you have a geeky friend or family member and you see a Read For Pixels goodie offered by their favorite author available on our fundraising page, donate to snag that unique treat and delight them during the upcoming holiday season while supporting signal boosts for anti-VAW activists and advocates. BONUS: You’ll have an interesting story to tell them about where the gift came from. It might even be a great opener for chatting with them about VAW.
Great Reason to Give Generously #5: Support the right of women and girls to live a life without violence
Nearly 1 in 3 women and girls worldwide experience some form of violence in their lifetime. In terms of domestic violence alone, over 1 in 4 women under 50 have experienced physical or sexual violence from a male partner.
So donate to our fundraiser because you believe in supporting efforts to prevent, stop, and end VAW. Whether you can give us $10 or $1,000 to help us reach our $10,000 goal (or even zoom past it to a stretch goal), every cent counts.
(And when you donate to us, please also consider donating either cash or supplies to your local women’s shelter or rape crisis center. Like us, they need all the help they can get.)
It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.
Interested in checking out The Pixel Project’s anti-violence against women work? Visit us at https://www.thepixelproject.net/
Interested in checking out our Read For Pixels fundraiser and making a donation to help keep our work alive? Go here.
Regina Yau is the founder and president of The Pixel Project, a virtual volunteer-led global 501(c)3 nonprofit organization on a mission to raise awareness, funds and volunteer power for the cause to end violence against women at the intersection of social media, new technologies, and popular culture/the Arts. A Rhodes Scholar with a double Masters in Women’s Studies and Chinese Studies, she has a lifelong commitment to fighting for women’s rights. In addition to running The Pixel Project, Regina also teaches English to middle-schoolers and high-schoolers, writes stories about cheeky little fox spirits and terrorist chickens, and bakes far too many carb-and-sugar-loaded goodies.
