Dear friends, family and other humans,
I need money. Specifically, I need $5000. Now, you might be thinking, “Lauren, in this crap economy surely everyone could do with an extra five grand.” And I won’t dispute that. It would be nice to have some spare shekels kicking around. (BTW, please ignore the formatting SNAFU that is causing this run-on text blob.)
But this money I’m asking for isn’t so that I can buy some sparkly baubles, the services of a high-end escort or some other frippery. Recently, I was accepted into the Transom Story Workshop, a new program for beginner radio producers. They only admit eight people and it seems as though I dazzled the selection committee with my charm and wit (they clearly haven’t read my blog) and they were kind enough to grant me entry into the program. Now I need to pay for it.
Like most educational opportunities worth pursuing, the Transom Story Workshop ain’t cheap. It’s $5500 for eight weeks, and that doesn’t include room or board or general living expenses. That’s a lot of pennies, so I’m asking for a little help.
I am not above begging. And neither is this guy:
Before I give you the hard sell, let me give you a little bit of the backstory as to how I came to be admitted to the Transom Story Workshop. In October, I left my job as a staff writer at an alt weekly newspaper in Burlington, Vt. I didn’t intend on leaving (or at least not when I did), but I did, so let’s move on. Since my departure, I’ve been casting about for what to do and the thing I keep coming back to is audio storytelling (perhaps because I like the sound of my own voice).
When I heard about this program, based in Woods Hole, Mass., I knew I had to apply. I love storytelling and I love public radio and those interests dovetail nicely in this program. I don’t know what I’m going to do exactly with the education I receive at TSW, but I do know I need to do something different, I need to learn a new skill and I need to fight inertia.
So it is with cap humbly in hand that I come to you asking that you help me get there. I will be paying about $1000 of the program myself. If you can give $10, $15, $20 it would go a long way towards helping me reach my ultimate goal. If it worked to get Obama elected, it could work for me. Luckily, I don’t need to raise millions.
Crowd-funding, while increasingly popular with the advent of websites likeKickstarter, feels a bit unseemly for something personal like this. It’s not like I’m asking you to fund my band’s latest album or help pay for my new art installation — things that have the potential to affect the greater good. However, I will submit that my experience at this program has the potential to also affect the greater good. Or at least it will help me continue to write and tell stories and generally entertain. If you have ever enjoyed something I’ve written or produced, please consider donating. Here is a link to my Kapipal crowd-funding page.
A great many thanks.
Your pal,
Lauren
