Let's Bring "Sophie and the Swans" to Life!

Hi everyone! I am on a mission to support my dear friend Holly Peppe, who is wrestling with a very tough medical situation at the moment. But while she is able, she is determined to do something significant to combat bullying! Being the published author that she is, she decided to do it by writing a short book for children about swans and bullies.

As many of you may already know, Holly had a distressing change in her health which has severely impacted this book project. But in typical Holly fashion, she has inspired her friends to help her finish it.

Did you know that in the United States of America:

Oh, and by the way . . .

Why swans? On the lake below her house in upstate New York live two swans. Her story evolved into a story about children building a relationship both with the swans and with each other. Holly saw how, through the beauty of the swans, writing her story could effect change on a very ugly problem.

The book has been written and is now published (thanks to the early supporters). The official release date is October 1st, 2024! We hope the story will effect change by helping children who read it realize they are not alone when it comes to bullying. And there are ways to get help. It will also give adults a reminder of a part of their life growing up they had hoped to forget, and why it’s so important to stop the cycle of bullying before it starts.

In addition to completing the book and getting it published we have also accomplished the following in advance of our release:

- We secured endorsements and outstanding quotes from bold names including DJ Khaled, Richard Branson, Malik Yoba, and Holly Branson. 

- We have secured an incredible PR and Marketing Team—two women who are themselves successful children’s book authors and experts on children's book PR—you can check them out here: https://expoundpublicity.com/. Their PR plan is excellent and we are grateful for their partnership.  Since they came on board, Sophie and the Swans has received a Family Choice Award and a Purple Dragonfly Award (tied for First Place in the Charity/Making a Difference category), and Holly was interviewed for the “Reading with your Kids” and “The Growing Readers” podcasts, both to be posted as we get closer to publication.

We are asking you and others to help us—help Holly—and help stop bullying! Here is what we need to do now...

Now it's all about ramping up PR, promotion, and marketing! We know we have an awesome book, gorgeous illustrations, strong endorsements, a #1 PR team, and an important cause to support.

We have re-opened the fundraising now to do the following:

Here is a sneak peek at the website. We are close to having it fully completed and announced!

All of Holly's (the author) proceeds from the book will be our proceeds will be divided among three nonprofit groups: The National Bullying Prevention Center; We the Best, a group that supports underserved communities, and Animal Nation, a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center (near Holly’s home on the lake) that cares for 250 rescue animals and birds, including swans.

Take a moment, please. Will you help us?

Any and every donation counts. But—of course—the bigger the better! We will keep every donor informed and updated as we progress.

Thank you so much for joining us and making a donation. Your generosity will make a huge difference.

The donations in this fundraiser are for Darren Sussman (the fundraiser) to coordinate, make payments, and help publish and promote the book Sophie & the Swans which was written by Holly Peppe. The first payments were sent to the illustrator, book design team, and PR company. Now that the book is set to be published on October 1st we will use the remainder of the funds for the PR & marketing campaign. We will also send updates on these costs as they happen.

No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for donations.

Statistic Sources

1 Stopbullying

2 National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics