Paris Hilton

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Kalina Silverman / @makebigtalk on Instagram

The Dogist

Patriotic Kenny Foundation

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Little Miss Flint

Carlos Eduardo Espina

Samuel Weidenhofer

Ben Saunders - Flawless Cleaning

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Latonja and Taylor Richardson

Officer Richard Craig

<div>Thank you so much for taking the time to read about my dad, Varouj Bedikian. I’m Alique, his older daughter. If you know me or my dad, you know how close we are. My dad has always been the most constant and loving presence in my life, and for as long as I can remember, he has been that same source of strength and light for so many others.
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<div>Whether it was his boundless energy on the pickleball court, his artistic eye inspiring friends at the art studio, or his generous heart bringing people together at our Armenian church, my dad has always been the person others turn to—for advice, encouragement, or just a great laugh.
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<div><strong>Three months ago, my dad was in a life-changing car accident that left him with a traumatic brain injury and several severe physical injuries. Since then, the road has been long and uncertain, but we’re grateful to share that he’s beginning to show progress.</strong>
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<div>He is now able to communicate nonverbally and occasionally speaks a few words, though it varies depending on his energy and the day. While these small victories give us hope, the journey ahead remains challenging. We are committed to giving him every opportunity for continued recovery, but the specialized care and therapies he needs come with significant costs.
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<div><strong>The funds we’re raising will go directly toward his ongoing medical care, including long-term care facilities, physical, occupational, and cognitive therapies, mobility aids, and necessary home modifications. </strong>We are also exploring innovative treatments like stem cell therapy to maximize his recovery potential.
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<div><strong>My dad has always been a giver.</strong> He has tirelessly supported the Armenian community, whether through generous donations to organizations like Armenia Fund, AGBU, and Homenetmen or by mentoring others and fostering a sense of connection and pride in our heritage. Through his businesses, he has impacted countless lives, and his friends—whether from the Bay Area, the pickleball courts, or his art circles—have all felt his kindness and generosity firsthand.
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<div><strong>Now it’s our turn to give back to him.</strong> My family and I are deeply grateful for the love and support we’ve received over these past three months, but we still need help to give my dad the care he deserves. Every contribution—no matter the size—brings us closer to providing him with the best chance at recovery.
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<div>Thank you for standing by us during this incredibly difficult time and for supporting my dad, who has given so much of himself to so many.
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<div>With gratitude,
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<div>Alique
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Help Varouj Bedikian Heal After Tragic Accident

<div>On the evening of January 9th, amidst torrential rain, we heard a faint rumble which quickly grew in intensity until it shook the entire house with a thunderous roar. The power went out; we scrambled to find a flashlight and rushed upstairs, where we could see a ravine behind our neighborhood dissolving into a rushing landslide, carrying boulders and water careening down the hillside into our neighbor’s Jane and John’s yard and house.
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<div>Our initial thought was that they were severely injured or possibly dead. We rushed to their house to see if they were alive. Luckily they were, but had sustained severe property damage and losses.
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<div>My name is Melanie. My boyfriend Mike is a photographer and I work for Fender (the guitar company). We moved up to Ojai in 2021. We are setting up this fundraiser for our neighbors, Jane and John, whose house and property have been severely impacted and parts devastated by a debris slide that occurred at approximately 5:30 pm PST on Monday, January 9th just north of Ojai, CA.
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<div>About Jane and John:
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<div>Jane and John have lived in Ojai for 12 years. They are the sweetest people and have become family since we moved up here.
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<div>Jane and John married when they were 50 years old. They had each been married before but were divorced and widowed when they found each other. They are proof of soulmates and that it is never too late to find true love. They've been married for 30 years. Jane is retired and John still works but has chronic leukemia.
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<div>About the Slide:
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<div>On Monday, we received 25 inches of rain in 12 hours, which is unheard of for this neighborhood. The rain caused a debris slide of rocks and mud to fall behind their house. The slide had formed a river that flowed through their entire first story.
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<div>The road was impassable and there was no possibility of evacuating. The power in the neighborhood went out, but their generator kicked in, which provided heat, electricity and internet. We couldn’t make a phone call but were able to text my family in Kansas City. They called 911 on our behalves and unfortunately found out that no one was coming because highway 33 was impassable as well. We were told to shelter in place. That’s terrifying news when you don’t know if the hillsides around you are going to continue giving out.
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<div>Despite everything that they’ve lost, they’ve been feeding everyone, providing places to sleep and a space to convene, talk, and process what’s been happening.
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<div>We know this is a large amount of money to ask for. I don’t know if we’ll even raise a fraction of this, but we feel powerless and this is the only thing we feel we can do to show them our gratitude as they try to move forward.
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<div>This Money Will Cover:
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<div>•	Most importantly, John’s leukemia medication
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<div>•	Weeks/Months of backhoe work that’s needed to clear the property of boulders and debris
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<div>•	New flooring, paint, and furniture for the first floor
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Help Jane & John Dig Out & Repair Their Home

Scott Timberg died suddenly on Tuesday, December 10, leaving all of us with the impossible task of saying goodbye to a brilliant and kind friend -- and leaving his wife Sara and 13-year-old son with the even harder job of grieving and somehow moving forward without him.<br /><br />They need our help in this sorrowful moment. Scott built communities and he made them stronger. He shared his passion for music, literature and culture in his books and journalism. He was an enthusiastic evangelist for new bands, great writers, dazzling filmmakers. His work lifted up poets and thinkers and culturati of all kinds. He loved the art of discovery, and the joy of sharing something wonderful and life-affirming with everyone. He loved so much: the perfect wine, the California desert, two guitars wrapped around each other, sentences crafted with smarts and grace and style.  He cared deeply about the dumpster fire that our media and politics has become.<br /><br />Opinions! Scott had opinions. He liked to share them. Sometimes on social media. We will miss him just as intensely.<br /><br />Scott's work for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Salon, the L.A. Review of Books, his acclaimed book "Culture Crash," a forthcoming project with Richard Thompson and so much more established him one of our leading culture writers. <br /><br />He adored, rapturously, Sara and Ian. All funds that we raise now will go directly to Scott's family to assist with immediate expenses related to his passing, as well as longer term needs that will present themselves soon, most importantly a college fund for Ian.  <br /><br />Donations of any amount are deeply accepted and appreciated, and we'd also be most grateful for your sharing this memorial fundraiser widely through your own social networks.

Scott Timberg memorial and college fund

<p><iframe media_type="0" media_id="KHlDQ8NvOkc" class="youtube-replace" title="YouTube video player" style="margin-bottom:20px;width:560px;height:315px;" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KHlDQ8NvOkc/?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1"></iframe><strong>The First Poetry Circus, Hosted by Nicelle Davis , </strong><br /><strong>LA Winter 2015</strong> <br /><br /><strong><img class="not-resizable" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/16213168_1479793762.0693_funddescription.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /><br />What is The Poetry Circus:</strong> <br /><br />The Poetry Circus is part workshop, community outreach, performance, ride, dance, and creation. This community event blurs the line between performer and audience to allow everyone the chance to run away and join the circus. <br /><br /><img class="not-resizable" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/16213168_1479793789.2597_funddescription.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /><br /><strong>This Year's Poetry Circus: </strong><br /><br />This August 26th (in celebration of the 97th anniversary<br />of the 19th Amendment) we will host 25 women poets, performers, as well as many literary organizations and literacy outreach programs. <br /><br />By presenting poetry in an alternative venue, the egalitarian characteristics of poetry are amplified. Poetry IS for everyone, regardless of where we come from or how we got there; we all process and understand the world through metaphor. <br /><br /><img class="not-resizable" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/16213168_1479793818.953_funddescription.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />Photos by Michael Everett Crawford<br />___________________________________________________<br /><br /><strong>The Ultimate Goal:</strong></p>
<p>Raise $3,000 for the Fourth Poetry Circus (10% of all funds raised will be given to NRDC) <br /><br />The date for this event is Saturday August 26, 2017.<br />Below is a breakdown of past Poetry Circus Costs. <br />______________________________________________________<img class="not-resizable" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/16213168_1488847397.8346_funddescription.jpeg" alt="" width="100%" /><br /><br /><br />Press for Past Poetry Circus: <br /><br />Hometown Pasadena <br />The Poetry Circus<br />By Kat Ward<br />Sep 16, 2015<br /><br />Imagine reciting lines while riding a lion. How about riding one’s steed while being regaled with verse?Well, the “poetic rides” are free at Griffith Park’s historical and restored merry-go-round on September 19, at The Poetry Circus.<br /><br />Favorite local writers and poets will be reading such as Ron Koertge, Kim Dower, Nicelle Davis, Douglas Kearney, and Cindy Rinne, and Poet Laureate of Los Angeles Luis J. Rodriguez is featured along with 33 established poets. Rachel Jennings contemplates “What Is a Shakespearean Fool?” with Gary Boyles and Glynis Fuller, and prepare for “The Duel of Fools!”<br /><br />Besides poetry, there will be “crafts for kids, haiku balloons, a paper monster, circus performers, and freaks and geeks are not only welcome, but expected.” Chapbooks will be available for purchase at the book fair. (Yak Press has published a The Poetry Circus chapbook, too.)<br /><br />“Come join us, won’t you?”<br />—organizer and poet Nicelle Davis.<br />______________________________________________________<br /><br />If you have any questions or suggestion, please contact Nicelle Davis at [email redacted] . com<br /><br /></p>

The Poetry Circus: Ladies Night

Kate Gale

<div><strong>A Message from Kate Gale, Publisher and CEO,</strong>
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<div><strong>and Tobi Harper Petrie, Deputy and Marketing Director:</strong>
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<div>Dear Friends,
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<div>For 32 years, Red Hen has published extraordinary poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, championing voices that might otherwise go unheard. Today, that work is under serious financial threat.
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<div>We are the biggest non-university non-profit publisher in Southern California. Every year, we publish 25 books, teach poetry to more than 350 students in our Writing in the Schools (WITS) program, host at least 30 international events, mentor 50 interns, provide eight publication awards, and publish almost 500 authors through the <em>Los Angeles Review</em>. To date, this comes to over 700 published books (including our imprints), 5,000+ WITS students, hundreds of events, over 200,000 hours of mentorship, more than 60 awards, and thousands of authors featured through the <em>Los Angeles Review</em>.
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<div>Without independent publishers like Red Hen Press, many authors’ incredible work might never find the audience they deserve. Our award-winning authors, books, and cover designs would go unseen. We love our authors and their incredible stories, and we yearn to champion their work, to spread it like morning glories to our community of readers eager to see themselves reflected in the pages they read.
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<div>In the past year, crucial federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was cancelled, and we were similarly unable to secure funding from foundations that have previously had the capacity to support our work. We lost three major donors who represented nearly 20% of our annual support, and were turned down for a transformative grant from the Literary Arts Fund. Meanwhile, the windstorm that sparked the Eaton Fire blew off our roof, our building flooded, and thieves stole the copper from our AC units, causing a total of $160,000 in damage. We recognize that arts funding is stretched thin, and we are grateful for our ongoing supporters, yet these losses and damages have taken a toll.
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<div><strong>Together, these losses have created a funding gap of approximately $500,000. Half of which we need to raise by June 30. Without additional support, we will be forced to make critical decisions about Red Hen's future by July 1.</strong>
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<div>The future of our Press will not be determined by a grant rejection, a few lost donors, acts of vandalism, or the federal defunding of the arts. It will be determined by the community of people who believe that literature is worth preserving and investing in.
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<div>Unlike larger organizations, we do not have an endowment or operating reserves. <strong>Overall, less than 1% of nonprofit funding in Los Angeles, and less than 2% nationwide, goes toward literary organizations. </strong>Especially now, we rely on the support of readers, writers, and people who believe that literature matters.
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<div>Through fires, floods, and uncertainty, our remarkable staff and authors have shown up with passion, determination, and a belief in the importance of our literary work—changemaking work that can shift lives and stir souls. Stories that provide courage, clarity, and hope. Books that uplift underrepresented communities, that highlight expansive realities, that give readers the bravery to stand in their truth. Narratives that save lives.
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<div><strong>While this is a daunting challenge, we face it with confidence and resolve. From this crisis, we are blessed with the opportunity to find the deep roots of our shared community. To listen to our supporters and to move forward with strength and hope into a brighter future.</strong>
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<div><strong>We are resilient, and we will persevere. </strong>
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<div>We are pursuing every available avenue of financial support, but to make it through the current moment, we need your help. We rely on the passion of readers, writers, and people who believe that literature matters.
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<div><strong>Please make a gift today if you are able, or renew your support if you have already given this year. If possible, consider becoming a monthly donor to help sustain our work.</strong>
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<div>Please share our mission with friends and family who care about books, literacy, nurturing young writers, and the future of the literary arts.
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<div>With your help, every contribution—large or small—keeps writers finding readers, poets finding publishers, and the next generation of literary voices growing.
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<div>And if all you can do right now is grab a Red Hen book from your local bookstore or our website—thank you. You are the reason for our work. You are our purpose.
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<div>Thank you for believing in books. Thank you for believing in writers. Thank you for believing in Red Hen Press.
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