Help Us Tell Stories That Matter: Fund Independent Media

Peace family! Happy GivingTuesday!

"GivingTuesday is a Movement that Unleashes the Power of Radical Generosity Around the World. GivingTuesday reimagines a world built upon shared humanity and generosity."

I'm launching this fundraiser now because I could use your support on this GivingTuesday. Many of you know me. You know my story. You know my heart. You know my mission to make the world a better place. You know my commitment to my community. You see my work. Whether I'm organizing demonstrations to address injustices in our world, facilitating our weekly food distribution in Queensbridge in partnership with The Connected Chef , curating multi-media art exhibits, leading young filmmakers in meditation with Echoes Of Incarceration , leading our weekly grief support group Together We Heal, or hosting my daily LIVE talk show, all of my work centers humanity and community. All of this work is great, yes, and it can all be taken to another level. It is a core belief of mine that no matter how great your work is, media is the tool needed to create even bigger impact. And that is my focus. Media. Narrative. Storytelling.

Since the beginning of my career, art and media have been my central focus. I believe storytelling has the power to bring the world together in a harmonious way. For this reason, I have continued to find ways to blend art & media with my activism. Below are the current outlets that need funding to operate:

SRDaily - A daily talk show I host from 9am until 930am EST, Monday through Friday. The first 248 episodes were on TikTok LIVE, but the last 2 have been on Facebook LIVE, which is the platform we'll be using going forward. Today, Tuesday, December 3rd, was episode 250. Wednesday, December 18th, will be our 1 year anniversary. I want to host a celebration then. Additionally, every 100 episodes is a milestone and for that I host a LIVE studio audience. Episode 100 was hosted at a local art gallery in Long Island City. Episode 200 was hosted at a High School in Harlem with the theme of youth & mental health. We had youth and adults as guests and in the audience. It was great. We have our next milestone episode 300 coming up in a few short months. I'm still figuring out a theme. We have to rent a space and make some purchases to make that happen.

"Vegan Adventures With Suga Ray" - This is my Vegan Food & Lifestyle show where I visit different vegan establishments to talk with owners/managers about the pros and cons of running a vegan business, discuss how veganism has impacted their life, talk about community impact, highlight their best dishes, and tie that discussion into social issues such as poverty, women's rights, education, housing, and more. The show airs exclusively on my Roku TV channel, SQTV. I currently film with a crew on a barter system. However, this crew is only available every couple of Tuesdays between certain hours. This works to a degree. Some establishments I'd love to highlight are not available on Tuesdays during the pre-set time frame. I would like to be able to hire another crew that has more flexibility so that we can shoot more episodes, thus driving more business to those establishments.

The Suga Ray Show - This is probably the media project closest to my heart. I first started "The Suga Ray Show" back in 2010 on BlogTalk Radio. I had partnered with a company and we had a good run. The show aired weekly and featured conversations on parenting, love, politics, education and more. Most times I'd chat and welcome callers. Back then, I wasn't interviewing folks regularly. However, that is what I aimed to do. Since a young boy, watching The Montel Williams Show, Oprah, Ricki Lake, and all the talk shows that were out, I was inspired to do the same. I didn't just want to interview folks though. I wanted to build a talk show that truly created positive impact. For example: there's a family in New Orleans - my boy Andre Apparicio, his wife Bre, their son A'sir, and their heavenly angel A'sani. Andre and Bre had twins. They were born prematurely, and after only 7 days, their beloved daughter A'sani transitioned. They've been fighting hard to address maternity issues in hospitals in New Orleans. They launched an organization, A'sani Heartbeat , and I'd LOVE to go down to New Orleans and do a full story with them. And through that interview, through highlighting their story, generate funds to support their organization and other organizations like it. That is how I want "The Suga Ray Show" to contribute to the world.

SQTV (Star Quality TV) - This is my independent TV channel on Roku TV. This is the distribution hub. If you aren't familiar with Roku, just think of blending cable TV with a streaming hub like Netflix. You have your scheduled programming that only comes on certain days at certain times, and then you have your on demand programs that you can watch on any day and at any time. That is how my channel operates. Through this platform, not only do I have an outlet to host my own content, but I can also host content from others. Whether it be feature films, skits, talk shows, news broadcasts, commercials, sporting events, and more, independent creatives have a home with me.

These are 4 media outlets that I am actively building. I believe that media is the most powerful tool in the world. I also believe that together we can make anything happen. There is no change that we cannot foster if we work together. I am striving daily to do my part. I am now coming to you, the community, to ask you to join me in funding these efforts not only so we can continue them, but so that we can take each project to the next level.

Visit my website to subscribe and learn more.

www.lashawnmarston.com

Lashawn "Suga Ray" Marston

aka World Healer

Let's heal the world!

#TogetherWeRise