Donate
Kerry and Sandra have been working around the clock to create this community. What you see now is just the beginning. Over the next few years this community will grow as we raise funds to improve existing features as well as building new ones.
If you are an Australian taxpayer, you can make a tax deductible grant via the Documentary Australia Foundation. To do so, please download our donation form (PDF).
The information requested in this simple application form is required by the Documentary Australia Foundation (DAF) and by the Australian Tax Office for a tax-deductible grant to be made. It is not possible for grantmakers to give directly to a filmmaker if they wish to receive a tax deduction. An organisation, like DAF, with DGR or tax-exempt status needs to be the initial recipient of the grant, which is then passed on 100% to the filmmaker.
So what will we do with the funding?
1. Build a road safety campaign section:
When someone has been killed or seriously injured, the people involved know that they can’t change what has happened. These people often become passionate campaigners and have a strong desire to improve or change at least one small thing so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Passionate people can make a difference! Within the community and across Australia, you can team up with like-minded people who want to achieve the same outcomes as you do. You can form networks, pool resources and evoke positive change.
Our upcoming campaign section will include sophisticated group functionality where you will find campaign resources, event organising tools, online petitions and downloadable templates for petitions and letters. The campaign section will also include educational advice from road safety experts who will interact with community members via live chats on road safety, news feeds, statistics and links. Our experts have you in mind, and they’ll provide information so you can be a more effective campaigner.
We are following the MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) model. From its humble beginnings 25 years ago, MADD has evolved into one of the most widely supported and respected non-profit organisations in America. What began as a handful of angry mothers with a mission to stop drink driving has evolved into an educated and effective group of road safety campaigners. These mothers, by collaborating with each other and utilising the guidance of road safety experts, have now helped save thousands of lives!
2. Build a scrapbook:
Using a series of scrapbook-style templates, members will be able to create a scrapbook of “member generated content” by uploading their own photographs, drawings, poetry, eulogies and so on. The scrapbook can be used in many different formats: people who have been seriously injured could use it to make a rehabilitation diary… or even a cookbook, posting recipes that work for them under their changed circumstances. The scrapbook can also be used as an online memorial, creating a visual shrine to the memory of somebody you have lost.
Members can invite friends and family to view the scrapbook and add to it if they wish. When they are ready, people will be able to order a hard copy of their book, which will be sent to their door from an on-demand affiliate printer.
Schools may want to create a book for a student or staff member who has been seriously injured or killed. These books can be displayed in the library to educate the school community. Rural community groups may want to make a book consisting of a collection of stories from their local area.
3. Build a community calendar framework:
The site will host three types of community calendars: one for community events, one for serious injuries and one for fatalities.
Community Events Calendar:
This calendar can be used by existing community groups to promote real world events. Organisations pre-approved by the administrators can upload information about regular events such as group counselling sessions and fundraisers, or annual events like World Remembrance Day for Road Traffic Victims.
Injuries and Fatalities Calendars:
Members are able to choose one photograph that they would like to add to this communal space. Each photo combines in real time to form a mosaic on the days that the fatalities and serious injuries occurred.
Members and visitors to the site can zoom in on a particular day. When an individual’s photo becomes visible, you click on it to find out more about them, and can follow the link through to their memorial or blog. Members will be able to see who else was seriously injured or died on a specific day and – depending on privacy settings - contact the person who posted the item. Again, the idea is to help build relationships within the community.
4. Build a digital storytelling space:
We want to empower people to make and upload their own digital stories. Digital stories are short films, normally 2-3 minutes long. They are composed of photos, drawings, music, sound effects and - most importantly - a personal narration.
5. Employ a full time community manager:
The community manager will organise events such as online weekly grief counselling (a scheduled Internet chat that people can join via phone, VOIP or instant messaging). Such sessions can include contributions by special guests (for example, a defence lawyer) to answer FAQ’s (for example, “Why did they plead not guilty?”). Other guests might be road safety experts, lobbyists or politicians, or aspiring Paralympians.
Additionally, the community manager will periodically run competitions where members submit road trauma inspired poems, short stories, posters, songs they’ve composed, or photos.
6. Build a vent space:
The Vent Space is a feature that allows members to vent their negative feelings in an anonymous environment. Posts will be moderated and do not appear until checked. All posts will be permanently deleted after a designated time period.
7. Build a ticker:
A ticker is a real-time feed of the activity on the site to build a sense of community and alleviate a sense of isolation. Members will be able to choose whether or not they are happy for their activity to be displayed in the ticker. In addition, the Site Administrators will be able to publish content in the ticker; for example, to remind people of real world or online events.
8. Cover the general costs of running the website
9. Build an Online shop:
The online shop will provide the opportunity to buy books and documentaries on issues such as grief and bereavement, lobbying, and inspirational campaigns. Campaign support materials will be available, as will special remembrance trees that you can plant.
10. Sandra’s documentary webisodes:
Help Sandra make her documentary!
Site founder Sandra Cook personally experienced the loss of a family member in a road collison. Sandra and her family’s story will be featured online in a series of ‘webisodes’ (short documentary episodes on the web). The story will cover the legal process Sandra’s family undertook, and the powerful journey of grief and redemption they forged on the way. Online community members will be able to interact with this narrative by adding their own comments, audio and video about what they experienced at similar stages of their own journey beyond road trauma.
