Dearest Friends and Supporters.

We've been working hard behind the scenes to get this off the ground and get these bands to Uganda. With that said I have some major updates:

The biggest update is that due to her intense touring schedule a few other major factors, Lykke Li will no longer be able to come on the trip with us. She is extremely regretful and wishes she can be a part of it, but has a grueling touring and press schedule that won't allow her the time to come to Uganda.

So, we've been on the hunt for a 3rd artist to fill those petite Swedish dancing shoes and we're close! Our criteria for the artists on this trip (amazing musicians, pure hearts, adventurous spirits, clear visions, etc) is extremely particular and we want to do this film and this situation justice. We're in talks with some artists that we're really excited about and know you will be too.

Once we have our 3rd artist locked in, we'll then cross all 3 bands' schedules and will coordinate a time to get them out to Uganda. I'll keep you updated during this process both on this page and on the blog we set up. 

If you have any questions at all feel free to get in touch directly. takeawayfilm@invisiblechildren.com

We're so excited that this is moving again after a fairly devastating break.

Dearest Supporters of this project...

I wanted to send all of you an update about where we're at moving forward with the making of this film and experience.

Obviously, none of us could have predicted the terrorist bombings that took the life of our dear friend Nate and 75 other people 4 months ago in Uganda's capital city, Kampala. We really wanted to make sure that this was an isolated incident and thought it best to push our trip with the bands back a bit until there was enough distance between the bombing and the time we arrived for everyone to feel confident of our safety.

We are now ready to move forward and are currently taking on the task of cross referencing these 3 very busy bands' schedules to find the best dates to get out there.

Thank you for being so supportive and patient. This film will be nothing short of amazing.

Feel free to stay up to date on this blog: http://takeawayfilmuganda.com/
It will pick up a bit more once we nail down the dates.

Best.

Dearest Friends and Supporters,
I'm sure by now you've heard about the terrorist attack in Kampala, Uganda that happened just a little over 1 month ago.

It has deeply affected us here at Invisible Children as we lost our good friend and coworker Nate Henn who passed away among 75 other people in these attacks. He was one of the most honest, humble and hard working people I've had the pleasure of knowing and this world will miss him dearly. Learn more about his story here: www.natehenn.com

Although experts are saying that this attack in Uganda seems to be an isolated incident from a foreign terrorist group (unassociated with the conflict we've been raising awareness about) we are taking all precautions to ensure the safety of not only this trip, but of all our trips.

We've worked with the bands to come to the decision to push the trip back a few months in order to put some time between when the attack occurred and when we will travel with the bands to Uganda.

Obviously making a film has many bumps and road blocks along the way and I appreciate your patience and support while working through these unique situations on this one of a kind film. I'm confident that getting the bands out in Uganda with clear heads and credence in their decision will not only prove to produce a greater experience for them, but it will translate into an even more sincere film that we'll bring to the world.

This decision came over much deliberation and I wanted this Kickstarter community to be the first to know about the delayed trip as you all have played a major role in telling this story. We're now looking to head over to Uganda toward the end of this year or early next depending on the bands' schedules.

For more information and articles on the attack in Uganda please visit this blog post from Invisible Children:
http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/2010/07/in-loving-memory-of-nate-oteka-henn/

To watch a beautiful short video about Nate and his relationship with one of our Ugandan students visit this site:
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/media/videos/detail.php...

WE DID IT!

We just crossed the $20k mark with 9 hours to go!!
I am so ecstatic and completely humbled by all of your support. The amount of money that has come in over these last couple of days is mind blowing.

And although there were some large donations that came in that we are incredibly grateful for, a majority of this project was funded from a LOT of the $25-$50 pledges.

We will be excellent stewards of this money and will make a film that will do so much for these kids in Uganda. Thanks so so much for being a part of this. You have no idea what it means to me.

Feel free to alert your friends that we've met our goal and that they still have 9hours if they're interested in receiving any of the rewards offered.

EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS TO TOM SHADYAC who has been a mentor and supporter of Invisible Children for years. His generosity has given IC the ability to be the creative organization it is so that it can push the boundaries of philanthropy. It's also his generosity that helped push us over that last bump to the finish line this morning so that we wouldn't be stressed all day! hah LOVE YOU TOM!

Equally as special are these latest supporters:

Gildas
Sarah Draper
Kristen
Zourabichvili
Olivier Le Mire
Tara Peters Barrows (Thanks Tara!!)
Salle
M Zopf
Yann Daoulas
Angela Curtis
Britany
Fred Benenson
Lauren Zelman (Lauren!! You're amazing!)
Christina Sambor (Ok.. now I'm getting overwhelmed by you guys. Thanks X.)
Jill
Albert Luong
Noémie Ragot
Andrew Fitzgerald
Albert Wenger
Ian C Anderson
Blandine

Love you all. Sincerely.
IC + BLOGO + KENNY

PS... Keep an eye out for the new website. I'll send the link out in a final update.

I added 3 more of the pledges to receive:

All of the above along with a small personalized trip journal (made from an authentic Ugandan school notebook) SIGNED BY ALL THE BANDS AND CREW on the trip. The notebook will also have 10 original behind the scenes photos pasted onto the pages. ■ ”Special Thanks” Credit in the film ■ Receive a SPECIAL INVITE to a Take Away Show shot in the nearest major city to where you live (limited to the US and Paris, France)

Because we had run out and in these last few hours we could use the big money! :)

The coolest part of seeing this project unfold has been how many people have come together for this goal. We currently have over 300 backers which is incredible! And so many more who can't necessarily afford to get involved have been Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging etc like crazy to get their friends to donate.

Again.. thank you all.

Ps.. in case you haven't seen it, here's a free smile from me to you: http://www.raincitystory.com/flash/screenclean.swf

Have I said it enough? You all are AMAZING.
In a 24 hour time period you've just about met the goal we set yesterday of raising $3K more!

The fundraising for our project ends at midnight EST tomorrow March 10th.

Please keep on doing what you're doing to spread the word to blogs. It's working.
As I told you before I've been working with some people interested in the project and hopefully by tonight should have their contribution which will be huge for all of us. In the mean time... keep pushing! I'll do the same.

Click this link to learn about the UNBELIEVABLE progress being made by young people in the US to get their government involved to help end this war... it's unprecedented: http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/...
And none of that could have happened without the support from the international community that was shown in a worldwide event IC held called THE RESCUE: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/media/videos/detail.php...

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. Here are the latest additions to the family:

Matt Roper
Caryn Rogers
Ruth Ann Harnisch
Lorrel Brown
Geraldine Castelain
Will Miles
Austin Saylor
Naveen Chaubel
Jesse Foltz
Amy Cordileone (as if she doesn't do enough getting her doctorate, raising a beautiful child, and heading up IC's Teacher Exchange Program.. luv you Amy)
Martin Untersinger
Bertrand Pailhes
Gary Yarrow
N_Aya
Alexandre Boucherot
Andreea
Olivier
Lolow
David Manheim
Peter Shadix
Andy Sternberg
Marc Bourhis
Treny H
Michel Delgoff
Kristine Hetzel
Kayleigh
Nuno
Rita Pereira
Thyme Council
Abby Fiscus
Kevin Lawver
Amanda Rainey
Abbymoriah
Chey Colbourne
Andrew Cook
Sara Morrison
Christopher Gora
Meredith Rosenbluth
Chuck Morgandale (you would Chuck.. thanks for changing lives everyday out in Taiwan)
Kyle Ramstack
ASL4U
Meg Duffy
Taylor Murdoch (thanks Taylor.. hope you're having fun on the road!)
Erin Roddy

wow.. there are a lot of you. I'm truly humbled.

Also thanks to Maria Popova for posting on one of my favorite sites GOOD Magazine:
http://www.good.is/community/brainpicker

Talk to you all tomorrow!! I probably won't be sleeping much tonight.

IC + BLOGO + Kenny

STATUS/TWEETS:
LAST DAY TO DONATE! Invisible Children, Yeasayer, Polyphonic Spree, Take Away Shows Africa. Let's do this! http://bit.ly/dr9d7e RT-Like crzy

Let's shoot for a big day tomorrow and set a goal of $3,000 raised! I'm going to continue to post on music blogs, popular YouTubes, friends' Facebook pages etc and if you can do the same I'm sure we can get $3,000 in the next 24 hours.

That will put us in a really great spot for the final day of fund raising as I hear most of the projects receive a bulk of their money right at the end.

Ok, ok.. the band! We have confirmed the 3rd and final band for the trip! And I know you're going to love them... BUT.... I'm working with a friend who is donating his time to build a site so that you can continue to receive updates about the project and other people can continue to donate.

We'll be announcing the 3rd artist once the site is built so that the music blogs can send people to the new site. So please forgive me for the tease but be comforted to know that I couldn't be more impressed with the quality of musicians, both in talent and in character, that will be headed out to Uganda with us.

Here's a sample Tweet and please let's reach this goal of $3K tomorrow!!

TWEET/STATUS
Invisible Children, Yeasayer, Polyphonic Spree, Take Away Shows, Uganda. What's not to like? 2days left 2 donate! http://bit.ly

Talk to you soon...

IC + BLOGO + Kenny

Hi Friends...
This weekend has been pretty amazing with all the support we've received. It's going to be a sprint to the finish but don't lose hope!

I've been speaking with some philanthropists and activists who really believe in this film and what Invisible Children is doing on the ground in Uganda. They are especially inspired that YOU all have been able to raise over $10K in less than a month. I expect their support will help get us across the finish line in time to reach our goal but we still need to keep pushing forward.

Keep doing what you're doing... and if you can't tell from my updates by my overzealous use of exclamation points and emoticons, I am very excited about these next few days.

Here is the update for the newest members of the IC+Blogo+Spree+Yeasayer support team:
THANK YOU:

Brian Tomasette
Lauren Oholendt
Tim M
Courtney Lewis
Dave Diedrich
Moon Sang
Ryan Hathaway
Elizabeth
Luis Gonzalez
Gregort Trowbridge
Suzanne
Carzon
Jake Dwyer
Leilah Rampa
Jean-Marc Couffin

And to Carleton Palmer for this post on Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-31820-Long-Island--Contemporary-Arts-Examiner~y2010m3d7-Kickstarter-is-a-webbased-funding-platform-for-artists

Also.. When I thanked Sezio on the last update I gave the wrong site! ... oops, sorry Zack... please visit SEZIO.ORG not .com. ;)

Keep an eye out for our friends in LXD on the Oscars tonight! They're the amazing dancers you'll see soon enough.

Thanks again and again to all of you.

IC + BLOGO + Kenny

STATUS:
Invisible Children, Yeasayer, Polyphonic Spree, Blogotheque, Take Away Shows. What's not to like? 4days left 2 donate! http://bit.ly/dr9d7e

Wow.. You guys are amazing!!

We've definitely seen a decent spike the last couple of days in donations. Whatever you're doing to get the word out PLEASE KEEP IT UP this weekend and especially Monday and Tuesday!!

We have 229 phenomenal supporters and our combined reach can easily get the remaining amount!

OTHER FUN UPDATES
Don't forget to visit to check out the latest Blogo updates: Tegan & Sarah Take Away Show and Vampire Weekend Pocket Party.

Invisible Children is working hard in the USA to get encourage Sen. Coburn to remove his hold from a bill that would help end this war: http://vimeo.com/9554019

And our friend's dance crew LXD is performing at the OSCAR'S!! They're selling shirts where 50% of the proceeds will go back to IC. Incredible. http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/...

SPECIAL THANKS to Jeff at BOOOOOOOM.COM
He's used his resources to post a blog on his extremely creative and brilliant website, as well as to give banner space for free to this cause. If you're an art enthusiast please add his blog to your daily alerts, it's inspiring.
http://www.booooooom.com/

And thanks to these other supporters who just recently joined the BLOGO+IC Family:
Karen Löhner
Morgan Hall
Sebastien Rippon
Zac Nielson - He does an amazing job of supporting the San Diego art community - Sezio.com
Macaco Preto
Lance Troxel
Marci Beaucoup
Jason Rufledt
Karli Feser
Hiroyuki
Aaron Rayburn
Mark Van Der Hoeven
William Duignan
Robert William Peacock
Sasha Rappaport
Mark Schoneveld
Clay Farland
Kevin Marsden
Kayla
Ben Smith
Martin Caraux
Joe Avis
Mehdi 迷諦 Arfaoui

You all are inspiring. No joke.

Much love,
IC + BLOGO + Kenny

GoGo Status Update:
Invisible Children, Yeasayer, Polyphonic Spree, Blogotheque, Take Away Shows. What's not to like? 4days left 2 donate! http://bit.ly/dr9d7e

Hi Friends..
We're still climbing! But have a long way to go.

In an effort to get some larger donations, I've decreased the $500 pledge to $300 and the $1000 pledge to $750, but made them more limited.

The rewards are huge for those and now hopefully more obtainable. :)

I'd also like to add something to sweeten the $50 pot. If you have ideas on what would be exciting to receive.. please let me know!

$300 - limited to 10
■ Everything from $100 plus...
■ A 20 page iPhoto photo book with photos from the band’s trip.
■ A personal Thank You video from the bands and film makers that we'll shoot it in Uganda.
■ An Official Polyphonic Spree ROBE signed by the band members.

$750 - limited to 3
■ Receive a SPECIAL INVITE to a Take Away Show shot in the nearest major city to where you live (limited to the US and Paris, France)
■ Everything from the $300 plus...
■A small personalized trip journal (made from an authentic Ugandan school notebook) SIGNED BY ALL THE BANDS AND CREW on the trip. The notebook will also have 10 original behind the scenes photos pasted onto the pages.
■ ”Special Thanks” Credit in the film

Again and again, thank you for your support. These updates will stop in 6 days at which point I'll hopefully have a new site up, specific to this project. More to come on that.

Special thanks to the most recent members of our support family:
Rémi Gérard-Marchant
Claire Williams
Katherin Siracusa
Jordy Dykstra (king of home run derby)
Orion Paul (luv you brother)
Nicolas Julliard
Francois
Thomas Neau
Emilie Lavat
Sauterel
Juliette Hovart
Daniel
Jan McCaugherty

If anyone is going above and beyond to get the word out, please let me know! I'd love to thank you!

Cheers,
IC + LB + Kenny

Hi Friends...
These last couple days have been great and since YEASAYER added we've seen a lot more pledges on the Kickstarter site.

We've only got 7 days left and need to keep the effort up.

Please update your Facebook status to: Help Invisible Children bring YEASAYER & THE POLYPHONIC SREE to Uganda to film Take Away Shows with La Blogotheque. Donate here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/750755607/take-away-shows-in-uganda-with-polyphonic-spree

I hope you love the line up so far. I've been working hard to get stellar musicians who also care a lot about what's happening in the world, and so far I feel like we've really hit the jackpot. Many thanks to all those involved and for the bands' willingness to travel to region of the world that is often overlooked by most.

I'm close to confirming a 3rd artist and am working through some logistics. I'm positive you guys will be excited if we're able to confirm them/him/her. ;)

Thanks again for supporting this. It blows my mind that we're in a position where we can be creative and have fun and literally change people's lives positively while doing it.

7 days! LET'S DO IT!

♥
IC + LB + Kenny

Hello All..
I've got more good news:

Not only did Pitchfork make note of Yeasayer adding to the trip (http://pitchfork.com/news/38048-yeasayer-to-join-polyphonic-spree-and-la-blogotheque-on-trip-to-uganda/)

But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made her first public remarks on the LRA's violence stating, "I just don't understand why we cannot end this scourge."
http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/...

Thank you all for your unending support. 8 days to go!! Please keep spreading the word. If you have any creative ideas... please share!

SAMPLE STATUS/TWEET:

YEASAYER to Join POLYPHONIC SPREE and La Blogotheque on Trip to Uganda to help expose the war!!! This is big. http://bit.ly/9acG3Q PLZ RT!

Soooo.. we got approval earlier than expected..

I'm excited to announce that YEASAYER has confirmed to join us all on this adventure to Uganda!

Yeasayer have been huge supporters of Invisible Children for a while and a few years ago had requested that if there's ever a chance to go to Uganda, they'd love to get out there. We're glad that the dream is finally coming true!

The good news doesn't end there. To honor your commitment to this cause and encourage you to reach out further, I'd like to offer

:: THE FRIENDSHIP DEAL ::

■ If you get 3 of your friends to pledge $25 or more before MARCH 10, and send a message to me via Kickstarter with your name in the Title (limited 1 name per donation) you will receive:
■ Your choice of an INVISIBLE CHILDREN FILM/BRACELET or TEE SHIRT from our store as a Thank You. http://store.invisiblechildren.com/

Thanks again for being a part of this.
<3
IC LB
& Kenny

SAMPLE TWEET:
Help bring The Polyphonic Spree and 2 other bands to Uganda with La Blogotheque to shoot a music documentary! PLEASE RT http://bit.ly/aCd47g

YOUTUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch...

Hi Friends..
Only 12 days left and we're going to be hitting it hard!!

We've confirmed the 2nd band but are awaiting approval to announce their presence!!! Sorry for the tease but from here out I'm looking to keep you all in the loop a lot more.

We've been working very hard to pull this together and very much appreciate everyone's support. As soon as we get word to announce the latest addition, you all will be the first to know.

Please take a moment to update your Twitters, Facebooks, Myspaces, Carrier Pigeons, etc.

<3
The IC - Blogo Team

SAMPLE TWEET:
Help bring The Polyphonic Spree and 2 other bands to Uganda with La Blogotheque to shoot a music documentary! PLEASE RT http://bit.ly/aCd47g

YOUTUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch...

Hi Friends,
We have updated the site with some really great rewards! So get your friends together to raise some money to have your own Pocket Party or even special invite to a Take Away Show we'll shoot near your home!

We've got less than 20 days to reach our goal so please spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. And remember that personal phone calls go the farthest. :)

Also, we're really close to confirming the other two bands and you all are going to LOVE them!! Hopefully will have that update early next week.

It's going to be a big push this next couple of weeks!! Please do all you can!

ADDED:
$101 - (Those who
■A Signed Polyphonic Spree album of your choice. **

$500-
■A Personal Thank You Video From the band and Film Makers
■An Official Polyphonic Spree ROBE signed by the band!

$1000-
■Special Thanks Credit in the film
■SPECIAL INVITE to a TAKE AWAY SHOW near you!

$5000-
■ASSOCIATE PRODUCER CREDIT
■We'll Organize a POCKET PARTY (Soiree de Poche) for YOU and you even get to chose the bands (we'll do our best!)

**The site does not allow me to update pledges for amounts where people have already donated. You'll notice that there is a new pledge amount for $101 that is exactly the same as the $100 pledge with some added frills. For you folks that already donated $100, we'll be sending you the signed Spree record as well. :) Just wanted to give you the heads up.

Much love,

Kenny, Chryde and the IC/Blogo Team

ps.. here is a compelling speech i thought you'd enjoy. i've posted a passage in the comments section if you care to share your thoughts.
http://vimeo.com/1711302