Pickleberry Pie Incorporated
Annual Report
July 2008
22 years of small projects with big impacts
Songwriter Dave Kinnoin helps a participant write her own song about
cancer.
THE HEALING POWER OF
MUSIC
Pickleberry Pie Inc., a public charity for children and families, has accomplished small music-oriented projects for over 22 years. Our many projects are united by a single goal: to use the healing power of music and personal contact to improve the lives of kids and teens.
We provide free monthly concerts and one to one entertainment for seriously ill children in 23 hospitals and one hospice nationwide.
We are working with a nationwide system to put on-demand, closed-circuit children’s music and stories in hospitals
We have pioneered a program to use the songwriting process to help teens living with cancer.
We are partnering with our local public radio station to create the first national public network of free web-based radio channels for children with a strong technology education component.
We empower kids in families, schools, and day care centers worldwide to vote on awards for music and storytelling.
And we help families and schools connect with entertainment professionals and related services worldwide
Carol Boyd Leon and a young participant
Over the years Pickleberry Pie Incorporated has helped several million children. Yet our volunteer structure allows the needs of individual kids to stay in focus. When we put on a concert, we create one for specific children with specific needs. When we put together an awards program, we let individual kids have a majority voice in the judging.
Everything we do for kids, we do for free. We don’t rely on fancy logos or advertisements. There are no plastic Pickleberry dolls, no video games or celebrity photo-shoots. We have no paid staff, no overhead, and no development costs.
Our Board of Directors is part of the process every step of the way. We “meet” online and email frequently, discussing projects and how best to utilize our volunteers. Several of our recent projects have been initiated by Board members. They are always thinking about how the Pickleberries can help kids. Again, there’s that phrase- it’s all about the kids.
We focus on the kids, not on ourselves.
We focus on the kids
OUR HISTORY
Our volunteer organization was started in 1986 by Linda Arnold, P. J. Swift, and a small group of adults and kids. We saw a need for programs for young children in the national public radio system. We simply couldn't understand why no one was making such a series, and so we decided to create one! We eventually recorded over 500 half-hour programs, put together entirely by volunteers. “Pickleberry Pie” was the most popular young children's series on public radio. Our honors included the Gold Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 1991, The American Women in Radio and Television Award, Parent's Choice and many other awards. Toward the end of the 80's, our volunteers started outreach activities in the San Francisco Bay Area. We created a program to teach songwriting to kids in elementary school, and then an entire radio channel for kids in hospitals called “Sprouts.
We go where kids need us
THE HOSPITAL CONCERT SERIES
When we created the “Sprouts” closed circuit children's
radio for Stanford's Packard Children's Hospital, we were reminded how healing
music can be.
Larry Saenz gives a personal concert
LOCAL AND ADAPTABLE
We can be adaptable because we're small and locally-run. Our concert series is planned, scheduled, and managed entirely by the local co-ordinators of Pickleberry Pie: all the hospital staff has to do is publicize the concert to their patients and staff. Because we are well-connected to children's music, we hand pick the entertainers for the concerts, selecting people we know and trust. We pay our entertainers well, assuring an individualized, site-specific performance each time. Our entertainers are given strict guidelines and supervision, created in conjunction with hospital staff, to insure that their performance is upbeat and comforting.
All of the money
connected with the hospital series goes directly to entertain kids in the
location that it is raised.
Zun Zun with a young musician.
We've had a great variety of multicultural performers in our many concerts – from singers to storytellers to clowns to magicians. All performers strive to involve the kids in the concert, using rhythm instruments, group singing, and collaborative storytelling where possible. Small, participatory concerts are crucial to the success of our program. What these kids need most is personal attention.
After every performance, the entertainers visit the kids who are not able to attend the group concerts and give them private concerts in their rooms. And all of our Pickleberry performers leave free CDs for the hospital library.
TEEN SONGWRITING PROJECT
The Pickleberries found that teens are often left out of hospital visits. In fact, statistics show that teens and young adults comprise the most neglected group of cancer patients. We knew that we could do something about it so we sought and received two grants- one from the Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation and one from the Lance Armstrong Foundation- to use the songwriting process to help teens living with cancer in Oakland and Los Angeles We worked hard to use the songwriting process to aid in the psychological recovery of teens with cancer.
Teen songwriters and their friends gather to record the chorus of a song
on the CD
Our three year odyssey culminated in a full length CD featuring professional recordings of the teens’ songs. It’s very impressive. We were recently able to perform songs from the CD and pass out free how-to brochures at a national child life conference.
Recording your own words and music is therapeutic
A PUBLIC RADIO NETWORK
FOR KIDS
For the past several years, our Pickleberry volunteers have been quietly partnering on a project with KUSP-FM, our local NPR affiliate public radio station. Our goal is to help public stations nationwide finally address their most neglected audience: children. To that end, our Pickleberry volunteers have combined new and existing children’s programs to create a free internet-based, multi-channel network for kids. We will launch in September with two channels:
Lullaby and Jabberwocky
We hope to expand to five channels by 2010. Our roster of donated programs will feature award-winning series such as Kinetic City Supercrew Science series, Rabbit Ears Radio, Kids Earth and Sky, and Scholastic News for Kids. It’s a forward thinking project, one that educates and respects children in the way that non-commercial broadcasting does best.
Where we could not find existing series for use on the
network, we made them. Thus, Lullaby
features a classic jazz lullaby program with artists from Ella Fitzgerald to Bing Crosby. And a classic rock lullaby program called, of course, ‘We Will Rock You.” We’ll even have a program hosted by an imaginary kitten called Classical Catnap.
Our free programming will be available on multiple platforms, including internet streaming and podcasting. A strong component of Kids Public Radio will be the connection with teachers and parents to help promote reading activities at home and at school. To that end, we’ll use teacher forum sites to provide detailed technical help to produce material for use on the channels, such as kid-voiced book reports, “News” reports, and Reader’s Theatre productions.
Kids’ Public Radio’s webcasting costs and teacher support activities will be funded by foundations and by public donations via PayPal on our site.
This year, Pickleberry Pie is partnering with the Get Well Network to put wholesome music and stories at parents’ fingertips in hospitals nationwide. Right now, most hospital systems only have broadcast television and videos of puppies. Really! So we’re working with our community of children’s entertainers to collect DVDs of musical concerts, storytelling, and other appropriate entertainment. There’s even talk of making our Lullaby channel available on the system. We hope this synergy will go a long way to easing the anxiety of hospital stays for parents and for children. Funds raised through this collaboration will support the expansion of the hospital concert series in new locations such as Denver and Chicago.
For twelve years, Pickleberry Pie, Inc. has been the fiscal agent and parent organization for The Children's Music Web, a non-profit resource for families worldwide. The Children's Music Web is entirely self-supporting through small individual contributions and program service revenue. Our site, www.childrensmusic.org , has had three million visitors over the years. The site features song suggestions for teachers, links to music education organizations, and tips on creating songs and audio by kids and for kids.
Our Children's Music Web's awards program for children's entertainers has been increasingly successful. Our awards program is the ONLY awards program truly decided by kids, because we involve families and schools in every step of the judging process. This year, we had about 170 entries in 12 age-specific categories. Over 2000 kids worldwide decide the winners. Our awards program is self-supporting.
OUR GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES FOR FALL 2008 TO SUMMER 2009
Our Pickleberry Pie, Incorporated Board of Directors (see last page) meets on-line frequently during the year. Our Executive Committee meets on-line at least twice a month. During these meetings, the following goals and objectives were set for the coming year:
· Continue
and expand the Hospital Concert Series
· Objective: Raise funds to continue the free monthly “Hospital Concert Series” for 23 children's hospitals nationwide, and begin expansion to other locations. Outcome: 250 concerts and 5 hospice visits by noted children's artists, presented free of charge.
· Partner
with Get Well Network
· Objective: Expand the pilot project to place wholesome DVDs for kids in 10 hospitals nationwide. Material will be donated by children’s artists and organized by Pickleberry volunteers. We will use funds collected through this collaboration to fund the expansion of the Hospital Concert Series.
· Launch
the Kids Public Radio network
· Objective: Work with KUSP-FM to develop two free webcast channels for kids and families. Launch September 2008. Use existing public stations to publicize the channels. Develop strong teacher technical support program to generate “book reports” and other student-made audio material for the channels. Potential to serve millions of kids and families.
· Continue
support of the Children's Music Web
· Objective: Continue free services, including on line “webcast” for children. Publicize the site and Children's Music Web Awards. Outcome: 500,000 visits by July 2009, representing continued public awareness and use of the site.
BUDGET
Our funds come from three areas: grants from supporting foundations, program service revenue, and individual donations to the Children's Music Web. We have two separate accounts - one for Pickleberry Pie Inc and Kids Public Radio., and one for our Children's Music Web activities. Although these accounts are combined in the budget below and on our tax returns, we keep them separate in our day to day accounting.. Note: We have a significant fund balance at the end of each year because we receive funds for programs implemented in the following year.
INCOME 2007
The Autzen Foundation 4,000
The Bernard Osher Foundation 4,000
The Margo and Irwin Winkler Charitable Foundation 8,000
The Van Loben Sels/Rembe Rock Foundation 3,000
The Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation 8,000
The May and
The Carothers Foundation 500
The Dorothy Bender Foundation 1,000
Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation 2,500
The Washington Forrest Foundation 4,000
Foxes Music 200
Interest from accounts 92
Program Service Revenue 12,377
Total income 51,669
FUNCTIONAL EXPENSES 2007
|
Printing, Postage and Shipping |
3,218 |
|
Supplies, Equipment, Rhythm Inst, Internet |
742 |
|
Consultants (entertainers and local co-ordinators) |
48,080 |
|
TOTAL |
52,040 |
All other expenses (rent, telephone, administrative, development etc) are in-kind donations or volunteer. We estimate that these in-kind costs total over $200,000 per year.
OVERALL BUDGETS FOR 2009:
Listed by Project- detailed budgets
available
We have no
administrative, development, or overhead- all monies raised go directly to the
projects
Hospital Concert
Series (all locations, including hospice- 250 concerts)
Cost: $90,000
Existing funds: 0 (potential of $20,000 from Get Well Network partnership)
To raise: $70,000
Children’s Music Web
and the Children’s Music Web Awards
Cost: $10,000
Funds for this project come from program service revenue
Kids Public Radio
Cost: $35,000 (Technology Coaches $20,000, streaming costs $15,000)
Existing funds: $5,000 (individual donation, 2008)
To raise: $30,000
Pickleberry Pie Incorporated Board of
Directors 2008-9
This is an entirely volunteer and uncompensated Board
Executive Committee-
meets on-line twice a month
Monty Harper , children's artist, Vice Chair, Stillwater, OK
Fred Koch , writer for Parent's Magazine, Board Chair,
Irene Light, music educator, Secretary, Vienna VA
P.J. Swift, special education teacher, Treasurer and
volunteer CEO,
Other Board members-
meets on-line 4 times per year:
Linda Arnold, children's artist,
Katherine Dines, children’s artist, Denver CO
Ned Hearn, entertainment attorney,
Scott Liggettwood, children's artist,
Mary Lounsbury, PhD., clinical children's psychologist,
Seth Perleman, high school student, Chicago, IL
Robbie Schaefer, children’s entertainer and XMKids DJ,
Nancy Rose Senich, marketing and public relations consultant, McLean, VA
Lanny Sherwin, children’s artist,
Rachel Sumner, children's artist, Nashville TN
Barbara Tilsen, day care provider,
Robert Wesley, M.D(cardiology), Las Vegas, NV
