About this project
This project is the national radio release of Stephanie Pauline's song "Toy Soldier" to the U.S. in September (the remix version has been written by Chris James as well as by Stephanie) and also the production and release of a thematic music video (highlighting the plight and need of kids in detention centers/telling their story) in tandem with the song's release.
Many youth in the U.S. juvenile justice system have been exposed to myriad traumatic events, as victims or witnesses, and developed PTSD and other disorders, which impacted their ability to achieve normal developmental milestones in a timely manner. This exposure to trauma increased their risk for substance use and subsequent victimization, and aggression. 70% are from fatherless homes. 55% were abused or neglected as children. 50% have family members who have seriously abused drugs in the past 5 years. More than 50% have family members who had been incarcerated. 75% of the juvenille sex offenders have been victims of sexual abuse. 95% of teenage prostitutes have been sexually abused. GIVE A VOICE - A FACE - TO THIS NEED! HELP THE “TOY SOLDIER MARCH ON THE U.S.” (Does anyone have the statistic for me of how many kids in U.S. detention centers were formerly in the current American foster care system? I would very much like to add that number here. Most likely its staggering, mirroring the one for the adult prison system I surmise.)
$7,000 is what is needed to get started with the remix and music video production. $4,000 more will complete this project and enable the song's release to U.S. radio. The goal here in kickstarter has been set at $7,000 so a payout can be received and filming can get started once we attain that goal...but we still need your support until we reach $11,000 total - okay team!
The song "Toy Soldier" was given to me, Stephanie, some years ago now after I had been doing allot of concerts in detention centers in Colorado through Youth for Christ. I was so overwhelmed by the need in the world and the amount of pain that can be held in a young persons heart. I was sitting in the apartment staring at the toy soldier on my key-chain I had carelessly tossed on my keyboard earlier. I had been carrying it around with me to remind me I'm a warrior in Christ for over a decade. So there it was staring at me, and this song just poured out. In it, one can so clearly hear the divine heartfelt reply in the precious vulnerability of the question itself; it's just a raw confession of need. Even Jesus wept, was grieved and spent at times...why are we so afraid to be honest about our desperate need for God. I like to say that God will be real to us when we are real with Him. This song is just that - real.
SO THE VISION FOR THE VIDEO: This came to me; struck me really, all at once awhile ago now. It would start with a close up of the toy soldier on my key chain and you would realize that it was sitting on a piano as the camera panned back to take me into the picture as well. I would be singing and playing and then the video would quickly go into images of the kids in detention centers and all they've been through. It would flash back and forth between me just singing and crying at the piano and the kids, the violence they've seen, dealing with parental substance abuse situations, inferences to molestation, their own hopelessness, the trauma of being in the foster care system, drug use, and then crimes committed. Intensity of the images would increase with the climax of the song into the bridge culminating then in a moment of break through into the last chorus - where as I said in the promo video, there would be anew light. We would have stats run then through the outro about these kids. We would talk about the great need for mentors. We would have information about Southern CO Youth for Christ, (a ministry with which More than Music has partnered to reach out to kids in detention centers in CO) and More than Music - what we are doing here in CO, and across the country.
I believe this video will be powerful both in reaching people for Christ; giving voice to their need, but also in inspiring others to reach out to these kids in their own community and support the work of YFC and MtM.
FYI: It's good to know that Toy Soldier did very well when released in Europe; debuting at #5 on the NCM Euro Chart, and staying in the top 20 on the chart for more than 10 weeks. It's time to bring that impact home. We do anticipate this will go to air on the Gospel Music Channel - airing to millions.
Because I release all my songs, and produce my projects through More than Music Inc, and MtM is a 501c-3 nonprofit - ALL GIFTS ARE 100% TAX DEDUCTIBLE!
SPECIAL THANKS to Jerry Vreeman and Bill Lutsch for all your help with the promo video. To the rest of you: thank you for your time, consideration, and faithful support!
FAQ
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on September 2, 2010.
Pledge $20 or more
*To those who $20 I will give a DVD of the music video we produce.
Pledge $100 or more
*To those who give $100 I will give two signed copies of the DVD and a personal thank you.
Pledge $500 or more
*I will do a concert in a detention center in their name (I will send you a description of the event, a picture, and I'll try to send along a thank you from the kids too) and give them a signed DVD and thank you.
Pledge $1,000 or more
*I will do my best to plan a detention center concert in the area of the donor so they can come with me to view the concert we do in their name, a signed copy of the DVD, and credit on the inside cover of the DVD.
Pledge $2,000 or more
*To those who give $2000 or more I will give Associate Producer credit on the DVD, do my best to plan a detention center concert in the area of the donor so they can come with me to view the concert we do in their name, a signed copy of the DVD, and a commemorative thank you plaque framing the DVD and artwork with a signed thank you from me, board members of MtM and the music video producer.
Pledge $5,000 or more
To one who gives $5,000 or more I will give Executive Producer credit on the DVD, a commemorative thank you plaque framing the DVD and artwork with a signed thank you from me, board members of MtM and the music video producer, and if you want to - an opportunity to come with for a day of filming and production - or a skype session while we are filming.
Project By
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Stephanie Pauline has proven herself a force to be reckoned with. The singer/songwriter from Minneapolis, currently residing in Colorado Springs, offers sincere lyrics, provoking melodies, powerful storytelling and dynamic live performances. With songs played on more than 500 radio stations and in more than 30 countries, there is something clearly compelling about Stephanie’s brand of folk, pop and rock music. Listening to Stephanie, one is reminded of great artists like Sara McLachlan, Jewel and Alison Krauss, as her voice pierces the soul and leaves listeners aching for more.
Stephanie says singing and writing songs came to her “like breathing or laughing.” She plays the piano and guitar and has written over four hundred songs. Stephanie co-produced all of her recordings to date, with her last two recording projects bringing her to Nashville and Los Angeles, where she worked with some of the industry’s best studio musicians. She has performed hundreds of concerts the last several years. Three of her songs landed in the top ten on indie radio charts this last year, and one of her songs was used on a soundtrack in a film called My Lawyer.
Tied closly to all of Stephanie Pauline’s endeavors is the goal of funnelling the resources from her life’s work to world relief efforts and social evangelism. The non profit organization More than Music Inc. Stephanie founded in 2003 is enables her to do just that. 30% of her concerts are performed in detention centers and drug rehab facilities around the country and she has been on several humanitarian forays. Stephanie has seen first hand the extensive destitution that plagues most of this planet and it is her destiny to use her gifts to make a difference here.
Stephanie is planning to continue touring and to record another album to add to her welling discography in 2011. You can purchase Stephanie Pauline’s music at www.morethanmusicinc.com or visit her myspace at www.myspace.com/themorethanmusicband.com.
