Grassroots media to advocate, educate and encourage adults and youth to think and act differently. Voices of Hope Productions is a creative services and multimedia production company specializing in short and feature length documentaries, social marketing, issue advertising, and media education. We work with nonprofit and government agencies to build campaigns through a wide-range of media and distribution options.

|THE EYE| is published regularly to announce the latest news about Voices of Hope films, programs, workshops, industry events and broadcasts. If your email is text only |THE EYE| can be viewed online.

_________________
>>>>
| NONPROFIT WATCH |
_________________

Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Hunger and HIV & AIDS in Africa
Millions of people in Africa are food insecure; lack of proper nutrition not only places them at risk for HIV transmission, it also speeds progress of the virus in those already infected. Food and nutrition security are integral to HIV & AIDS response, and particularly for the scale-up of access to anti-retroviral therapy. Project Concern International is a nonprofit health and humanitarian aid organization dedicated to saving lives and building healthy communities around the world. With 45 years of experience, Project Concern has worked in 25 countries and today helps more than 3 million people lead healthy, productive lives. A satellite session was held in August at the XVI International AIDS Conference, in Toronto, titled, "Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Food and Nutrition Insecurity and HIV & AIDS. A policy reference guide on food security and HIV & AIDS was released that includes Africa Forum recommendations and the World Health Assembly Resolution 11 on Nutrition and HIV. Steps for action include supporting the UNAIDS-led process for setting national targets by December 2024.
__________________
>>>>
|UPCOMING EVENT|
__________________

New Jersey’s fifth annual celebration of Addiction Recovery set for September 16, 2024, Liberty State Park, Jersey City

Friends of Addiction Recovery-New Jersey (FOAR-NJ) celebrates Recovery Month by hosting an annual Recovery Walk scheduled for September 16, 2024, at Liberty State Park.
New Jersey’s annual Addiction Recovery Walk has emerged as the Metropolitan
area’s largest event marking the many lives redeemed from alcohol or drug addiction. It will correspond with 166 such recovery events taking place across the country as part of a national Rally for Recovery. The event at Liberty State Park will feature Grammy-winner Paul Williams as keynote, recovery delegates
representing their communities and a Battle of the Banners contest. More information contact Jeanette Grimes or call 1.888.872.3979 x109

The 2024 and 11th Biennial GERALDINE R. DODGE POETRY FESTIVAL September 28 – October 1, 2024 To mark its 20th year the Dodge Poetry Festival, the largest poetry event in North America, will return in 2024 to its birthplace - beautiful Waterloo Village, a National Historic Site in Stanhope, New Jersey. Join more than 60 poets and dozens of accomplished musicians and storytellers for four days of poetry and music.

>>>>

NJHI 2024 Call for Proposals Now Available
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) New Jersey Health Initiatives (NJHI) program is designed to improve health and health care in New Jersey communities. NJHI primarily funds implementation projects. Research projects are not eligible for funding through NJHI. To be eligible for funding under NJHI 2024, projects must address one of three specific RWJF interest areas:

• Addiction prevention and treatment

• Halting the rise of childhood obesity

• Services to vulnerable populations that address health and health care problems that intersect with social factors – poverty, race, education and housing.

Approximately $2.4 million will be awarded for up to eight selected grants in New Jersey. Grants can range from $50,000 to $300,000 for a duration of two to three years. The application process for this program is completely online, and the deadline for submission of proposals under the first phase of the program is Tuesday, October 17, 2024 at 3 p.m. Visit www.njhi.org or call (856) 225-6733.

________________
>>>>
| ETCETERA |
________________

VOICES OF HOPE ADDICTION RECOVERY PSAs TO AIR ON NEWS12NJ IN SEPTEMBER
NCADD-NJ's Addiction Recovery campaign entitled Recovery Happens Every Day--We're Living Proof of It was developed by Voices of Hope Productions to show real people, real stories and that addiction recovery does happen. Through September (2) 30 second spots will rotate to run every day for National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. News12NJ reaches a total viewing audience of 1,806,210 cable subscribers in New Jersey. Watch PSAs.

>>>>
Profitable economic cooperation initiatives can cement relations between rivals in the same way that common-place business partners profit from exchange in today's market place. In this manner, business can enable the conditions necessary to achieve long-lasting social understanding and prosperity in conflict regions around the world. PeaceWorks acts as the catalyst for economic interdependence. Watch how they do it.

"As long as cartoon characters are used to sell junk food directly to kids, then the entertainment industry is partially culpable for the childhood obesity epidemic." Susan Linn, a Harvard Medical School psychiatry instructor and author of "Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood"

ADDICTION RECOVERY PREPARES TO MOVE OUT OF THE BASEMENT AND INTO PUBLIC HEALTH ARENA by Jodi Mailander Farrell, Public Access Journalism

William Cope Moyers, the son of famed broadcaster and author Bill Moyers, unwittingly became the unofficial poster boy for the addiction recovery movement when he started speaking publicly in 1996 about his own alcohol and cocaine addictions. An award-winning journalist for 15 years with CNN and newspapers around the world, Moyers first experimented with marijuana as a teenager in the 1970s. Like many college kids, he was into binge drinking on weekends. But drinking turned into hard drug use and by the time he was 30, he says, he was addicted to crack cocaine.

For a community of people — believed to number in the millions — who have learned to live with their addictions, overcoming an age-old silence is the next big challenge.

A clearer picture of recovery successes would help policymakers, treatment centers and researchers improve treatment and the recovery process and learn how to deal with the long-term consequences often related to substance abuse – health issues, such as HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, liver and kidney disease, and emotional or social problems, such as job loss and divorce.

Determined to sink the message of successful recovery into the heart of the American consciousness, a new advocacy movement is urging people to go public with their recovery stories. This small but growing group of activists are hoping to end discrimination and drum up moral and financial support by modeling their efforts after the public awareness campaigns that pushed breast cancer and AIDS onto the country’s radar screen. Read Story
____________________________________________________

>>>>ON MEDIA >>>> 5 VOICES

Magazine: In 1997, Francis Ford Coppola launched a magazine devoted to supporting the brightest young voices in fiction. In its short history, Zoetrope: All-Story has received every major short fiction award, including the National Magazine Award for Fiction, while simultaneously discovering authors such as Adam Haslett, Melissa Bank, and David Benioff and publishing literary luminaries such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Don DeLillo, and Cynthia Ozick. Zoetrope is also an art magazine, inviting a different contemporary artist to illustrate and design each issue. Past guest designers include Julian Schnabel, Mary Ellen Mark, Helmut Newton, David Bowie, Laurie Anderson, Jeff Koons, Peter Greenaway, and David Byrne.

Film: America’s endless and futile war on drugs has become one and the same with its war on terror. Reluctant undercover cop Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) follows orders to start spying on his friends. When he is directed to step up the surveillance on himself, he is launched on a paranoid journey into the absurd, where identities and loyalties are impossible to decode. Based on legendary science-fiction author Philip K. Dick’s own experiences, “A Scanner Darkly” tells the darkly comedic, caustic, but deeply tragic tale of drug use in the modern world. The film plays like a graphic novel come to life with live-action photography overlaid with an advanced animation process to create a haunting version of America, seven years from now. “A Scanner Darkly” stars Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder and Rory Cochrane and is written for the screen and directed by Richard Linklater.

Music: The Independent Music Awards is a unique program that delivers yearlong promotion, marketing and distribution support for independent artists, labels and releases. IMA Winners are promoted to more than than 9 million music fans, radio programmers, talent buyers, journalists and other industry decision makers using direct marketing, promotions, print, broadcast and online initiatives. The "Sing Out For Social Action" category is the most recent of 19 Song categories and 18 Album categories included the IMA program. In addition to these 37 music categories, the IMA program also recognizes achievements in several music packaging, merchandising and related design categories. Firmly believing that this is no time for good people to remain silent, we felt compelled to add the Social Action category to the IMA program, to provide Artists with something to say an opportunity to reach a wider audience. Keeping our own political leanings in check, the category is open to all ends of the political spectrum.

TV: Link TV broadcasts programs that engage, educate and activate viewers to become involved in the world. These programs provide a unique perspective on international news, current events, and diverse cultures, presenting issues not often covered in the U.S. media. We connect American viewers with people at the heart of breaking events, organizations in the forefront of social change and the cultures of an increasingly global community. Link TV is committed to offering; in-depth programs, providing a global perspective, giving a voice to people who are under-represented in conventional media, promoting cross-cultural dialogue with live call-in programs and encouraging viewers to take action on social issues.

Link Media, Inc. will receive a grant of $1 million over three years in support of its new television and Internet program, Global Pulse. Global Pulse programs will consist of newscasts selected by professional editors from over 60 broadcasters worldwide. The newscasts will be translated and presented unfiltered to American audiences. The stories will be supplemented with commentary by regional editors and experts and presented on television and on the web as streaming video or podcasts. Link TV also intends to make the programs viewable via mobile devices. Link TV can be seen on DirecTV channel 375 and the DishNetwork on channel 9410.

Laurie explains, “There is a tremendous need for low cost treatment alternatives and transitional living support.” Laurie combines her education, personal experience, and empathetic heart to inspire others to find inner harmony and grow within. Laurie believes, “Music touches us in a place where words alone cannot. Sometimes those with eating disorders are shut down to their emotions. Music can be a good tool to bring about feelings that were otherwise buried.” Read Story

>>>>FIRST ANALYSIS OF ONLINE FOOD ADVERTISING TARGETING CHILDREN Food Company Websites Feature Advergames, Viral Marketing, TV ads, and Incentives for Product Purchases Concerned about the high rates of childhood obesity in the U.S., policymakers in Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and agencies such as the Institute of Medicine have explored a variety of potential contributing factors, including the marketing and advertising of food products to children. One area where policymakers have expressed interest, but have also noted a lack of publicly available data, is in the realm of online food marketing to children.

The report, It’s Child’s Play: Advergaming and the Online Marketing of Food to Children, found that more than eight out of ten (85%) of the top food brands that target children through TV advertising also use branded websites to market to children online. Unlike traditional TV advertising, these corporate-sponsored websites offer extensive opportunities for visitors to spend an unlimited amount of time interacting with specific food brands in more personal and detailed ways. For instance, the study documents the broad use of “advergames” (online games in which a company’s product or brand characters are featured, found on 73% of the websites) and viral marketing (encouraging children to contact their peers about a specific product or brand, found on 64% of sites). In addition, a variety of other advertising and marketing tactics are employed on these sites, including sweepstakes and promotions (65%), memberships (25%), on-demand access to TV ads (53%), and incentives for product purchase (38%).

"Online advertising's reach isn’t as broad as that of television, but it’s much deeper,” said Vicky Rideout, vice president and director of Kaiser’s Program for the Study of Entertainment Media and Health, who oversaw the research. “Without good information about what this new world of advertising really looks like, there can’t be effective oversight or policymaking, whether by the industry or by government,” she noted. The advertising industry has announced that it is developing more detailed voluntary guidelines for online marketing to children, expected to be released shortly.
Get Report | Watch Webcast

____________________________________________________

>>>>ADS ON PRODUCE AIMED AT KIDS: WHAT TOOK THEM SO LONG?
Expect to find cartoon images on fruit, veggies
September 6, 2024 (Arizona Daily Star) Mickey Mouse, SpongeBob and the Tasmanian Devil are coming to a produce aisle near you. The cartoon characters are popping up on fruit and vegetable packaging across the country as growers strike licensing deals with entertainment companies hungry to cultivate positive images among health-conscious parents and kids. Walt Disney Co., with its overwhelming cartoon capital and cultural clout, is the most significant entry in the produce business. Read Story

>>>>NATIONAL SURVEY FINDS PARENTS UNDERESTIMATE ALCOHOL AND ILLICIT DRUG USE BY YOUTH
Parents dramatically underestimate alcohol and illicit drug use by youth, according to data from the most recent national Pride surveys of parents and students. One-fifth (21%) of students in 6th grade reported that they had drunk alcohol at least once in the past year. Yet only 5% of parents said that their 6th grade child has tried or is using alcohol. While the gap between students' self-reported use and parents' perceptions of their own children's use narrows with age, parents continue to significantly underestimate alcohol use by youth. More than two-thirds of 12th graders reported past year alcohol use, while only 41% of parents thought that their 12th grade child had used alcohol. Similar results were found for illicit drug use (data not shown). For example, 36% of 12th graders reported using illicit drugs at least once in the past year, while 15% of parents reported that their 12th grade child used drugs. Recent research has shown that early alcohol use increases the likelihood of developing alcohol dependence at a later age. SOURCE: CESAR

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Become a Volunteer Contributor to |THE EYE|

Read Back Issues of |THE EYE|

Tell-a-friend and forward |THE EYE|

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For any information or comments please contact enews@voicesofhope.tv To unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject heading. To subscribe, send an email to enews@voicesofhope.tv with "subscribe" in the subject heading.