Hey there!
My name is Tara Bordeaux, and I am a Cinema and Media Arts teacher at Navarro Early College High School in Austin, TX. (You may have seen my amazing students and I on Season 6 of Queer Eye this year !) 

Last year, during the pandemic, one of my outstanding students, Arely (also on the show!) and I participated in long-distance writing workshops with the Freedom Writers Foundation and folks from all over the globe. As a result of our work, Arely was selected to share her story as one of 50 co-authors for the soon-to-be-published "Dear Freedom Writer" book set to release on March 29, 2022. (You can already check it out on Amazon now !)

 

I am BEYOND proud of how hard this kid has worked no matter what life has thrown her way. Her story shows the resilience and courage it takes to navigate the unknown to find your place in the world, and it is a story I hope everyone gets the chance to read.

 

We need your help!

As authors, we have been invited to attend the official book release/signing and the Freedom Writers Symposium in Long Beach, CA, from March 25-March 29, 2022. The trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for my student. She gets to meet her co-authors and the publishers and participate in a symposium full of educational events with Erin Gruwell, the Original Freedom Writers, and surprise guests/activities along the way. As a teacher, I get to experience seeing my student recognized for her accomplishment and learn from other prominent educators, mentors, and professionals from all over the world. It will be a truly life-changing week for both of us!

 

In order for us to get there, we need your help! The estimated costs/expenses for the trip and a class set of books are around $6500. We are asking for $3500 because we were able to get funding for some of it already!

Any help, even just a few dollars or any amount you can spare, will be greatly appreciated.

I cannot thank you enough for even reading this. We are super excited to represent our state, our district, our school, and our Viking Visual Cinematic Arts, Media, and Design program!

A tidbit about the book:
In DEAR FREEDOM WRITER: Stories of Hardship and Hope from the Next Generation, their legacy continues as readers are introduced to a new league of Freedom Writers. Fifty students from around the globe share deeply personal and powerful stories in letters addressed to the original Freedom Writers and dedicated Freedom Writer Teachers. Hand in hand, original Freedom Writers and Freedom Writer Teachers answer each letter with a message of compassion, understanding, and profound advice as someone of similar plight but who has come out on the other side. For the reader, the result is an intensely poignant experience of witnessing these young authors bare their truths to a mentor, friend, liberator, and in some ways, their future selves.