Seattle, WA. Three Dollar Bill Cinema‘s video production and media literacy program, Reel Queer Youth, will be held online this summer from August 3rd through August 7th. During the program, LGBTQ+ youth and allies ages 13-18 will explore filmmaking and make documentaries using whatever tech and media they have available at home.
Three Dollar Bill Cinema launched Reel Queer Youth many years ago and the program has since reached more than 100 students. “This year will probably be a little different,” says Kathleen Mullen, Three Dollar Cinema’s interim executive director. Due to COVID-19, Three Dollar Bill Cinema is partnering with Northwest Film Forum to offer Reel Queer Youth virtually. The program will include daily Zoom meetings and opportunities for one on one mentorship. Participants will have the chance to explore what they want to say about themselves in the media and build connections with other LGBTQ+ and allied youth and filmmakers.
2019 Reel Queer Youth participants at Kaladi Brothers Coffee
According to Mullen, with the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic going on, “it’s a really important time to talk about media literacy.”
In a letter to Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s supporters, Mullen and Clay Warner, the president of Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s Board, wrote “Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s mission is to strengthen, connect, and reflect diverse communities through queer film and media. We will continue this work and do better to work towards a more equitable, pluralistic, and decolonization framework.” Reel Queer Youth plays a role in this mission by connecting a diverse group of LGBTQ+ youth and allies and arming them with the skills to decide how they want to represent themselves in media.
Last year, program participants worked with professional industry mentors to create documentaries about local LGBTQ+ non-profits
Carter and Dakota, ages 13 and 16, created Three Dollar Bill Cinema, a short film, included below, about Three Dollar Bill Cinema, and how it works to make LGBTQ+ lives visible through film and video.
Registration for Reel Queer Youth is still open to LGBTQ+ & Ally Youth, ages 13-18 who are interested in filmmaking.
From Three Dollar Bill Cinema:
We provide access to films by, for, and about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ2+) people and their families, and a forum for LGBTQ2+ filmmakers to share and discuss their work with audiences. We curate themed screenings throughout the year and produce programs in partnership with other arts, cultural, and service delivery organizations in the Greater Seattle area.
Seattle, WA. Travel is a big part of adopting internationally, so travel bans due to COVID-19 have delayed the adoption process for many families. “I think it depends on where you are in the process,” says Joleigh Little-Bass, an author, and mother of two. She adopted from Bulgaria about ten years ago and just knows how it feels to be delayed while adopting. “The closer you are to travel either to meet your child or to pick her up, the harder the delays are!” Little-Bass explains. “I ate a lot of junk food and cried a lot,” she says, “I think earlier in the process it would be less frustrating. Maybe. It’s just hard to know that someone you love is on the other side of the world needing you, and you can’t get to them!”
Now that some European countries are loosening travel restrictions, more families adopting from abroad have been able to move forward. In the last week, multiple families partnering with Agape Adoptions have been able to travel to Bulgaria to meet or pick up their children.
Families adopting from Bulgaria must travel there twice. During their first trip to Bulgaria, families meet their child, and during their second trip, families pick their child up and bring them home. China, the largest country working with Agape Adoptions, remains closed to travel from the United States.
According to Myriam Avery, Agape’s executive director, Agape Adoptions did not experience delays in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, many families trying to use their increased free time positively began the adoption process in April and May.
Moreover, delays and complications are common in international adoptions, and most families are prepared for the adoption process to be challenging. “International adoptions are very complicated and complex,” says Avery, “this isn’t new to families.” In Avery’s experience, families tend to do well with delays for the first five or six months, but “we’re at that place where their patience is wearing thin.”
Newly adopted children walk with their father down a Bulgarian street.
During these trying times, Avery wishes to stress that “the need for a family will not go away because of COVID.” “These are the most vulnerable children in the world,” she says, “children don’t care about political things or COVID things.” According to Avery, the most important thing you can do to help Agape Adoptions, even more so than donations, is to spread the information that “This will go away. COVID will go away. But children will still need families.”
Adopted Child, Zahari. Current Photo
From Agape Adoptions:
Agape Adoptions is a licensed placement and home study agency located in Sumner, WA. We serve adoptive families across the U.S. and work in six countries globally. Agape Adoptions provides professional adoption services marked by personalized care and passionate advocacy.
Burien, WA. The Weed Warriors, Nature Stewards Program has continued to serve the King County community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. “Of course, our activities and events have changed,” says Grace Stiller, the program’s President. Volunteers with the Weed Warriors must maintain social distancing protocols, but according to Stiller, the program is still active and engaged.
While the COVID-19 crisis has forced many organizations to close their doors, the Weed Warriors continue to do essential work in Burien’s New Start Community Garden, pictured above. The community garden includes personal patches as well as many feature gardens, and a stage that, before the COVID-19 crisis, was used for community events. According to Stiller, the Weed Warriors’ work in the community garden is “an important part of being able to plant and harvest food for the food bank.” “Volunteers are always needed,” says Stiller, “we always need help in the community garden, and at Mathison Park in Burien.”
Earth Day event 2019 – Students installed Native Plants in the New Start Community Garden, Edible Native Plant Section.
2018 – Produce harvested from the New Start Community Garden for the food bank.
The Weed Warriors program also partners with the National Wildlife Federation to provide the Gardens for Wildlife program. The program includes Zoom Workshops on topics like sustainable gardening practices and controlling invasive, non-native weeds, as well as a restoration event at a community garden or park. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, this year’s restoration events will follow social distancing protocols and forgo large group interactions. According to Stiller, the National Wildlife Federation’s goal to protect wildlife complements the Weed Warriors’ mission to “protect the habitat that gives the wildlife homes.”
Kid’s Native Bird Workshop and Birdhouse Building project 2019 – Kids built their birdhouses at Seahurst Park.
Stiller co-founded the Weed Warriors in 2008 to help students meet their community service requirements, and the program has grown since then. The Weed Warriors, Nature Stewards Program provides educational workshops, habitat restoration, and community service opportunities. Stiller explains that “when people understand our relationship to nature they’ll respect and advocate for nature and advocate for policies that continue to allow for harmony with nature.”
From Weed Warriors, Nature Stewards Program:
We’re advocates for healthy habitats for both people and wildlife. We connect kids to nature through education and the arts, empowering them to steward the earth and change the world. Our vision is to see the world living in harmony with nature.
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