Our Viewers/Our Heroes

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Our Viewers, Our Heroes

			Grove Dedication from a Link Viewer "There is a canyon of Willow Creek in Humboldt County, just a mile before it joins the Trinity River, where I used to fish as a child. A highway improvement project after a flood 50 years ago closed the upper 12 miles of salmon spawning beds at an area called the Forbidden Zone. Unmitigated landslides have prevented salmon from returning to their natural habitat, but we have begun the process of healing the slides by planting the slides with redwoods. The first grove we have named in honor of Link TV, our Link to the Future Grove. We placed 400 redwoods in the Link Grove along with native grasses, clover and shrubs. In the spring we'll have a plaque to commemorate our admiration and thankfulness for Link TV." - Patrick Shannon, Link TV Viewer Photos show tribal members Tic-mil and Will Bear and sf freelance writer, Chris Roberts, who lived in a cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Zone, the young fellows who planted the steep slopes on the far side.
			A Standard of Voluntary Simplicity Long time Link TV viewer and supporter Gerald Iversen has been involved in non-profit organizing for over 35 years. As the former Executive Director of a national non-profit he's had the opportunity to travel around the US and address groups about the five life standards of Voluntary Simplicity: Do Justice! Practice Peace! Learn from the World Community (Fair Trade) Nurture People, not Stuff (relationships) Cherish the Natural Order (Earth friendly) Non-conform Freely (non-commercial media) When speaking locally, Gerald uses exemplary organizations to illustrate each of these principles. He applies Link TV to #5 on the list, while proudly showing off his Link TV tote bag.
			Evidence of Humanity Don Baker and his wife Kolea started an online advocacy organization called Evidence of Humanity to promote public awareness and cultivation of social and environmental well-being. From years of volunteer work, they felt it was important to supplement a regular dose of positive happenings with the usual steady diet of negative news to which people have become accustomed. As part of this mission Don and Kolea felt it was important to created a page on their site dedicated to Link TV as an example of a non-corporate, unfiltered, and more hopeful news source that their visitors could access. ACTIVATE YOURSELF! Evidencyofhumanity.org
			Discovering Link TV Fortuitously! Larry Polsky from Boise, Idaho stumbled upon Link TV by accident and is perturbed that he didn't find it sooner. He feels the channel offers a refreshing alternative to the current influx of reality television where one seeks to escape from reality, allowing instead the opportunity to ENGAGE in reality through meaningful documentaries, world music and comparative, analytical news. Thus, he decided to take action to help people discover Link TV, instead of leaving it up to chance, by writing a letter to the editor of his local paper, the Idaho Statesman, and placing an ad in Boise Weekly, proclaiming Link TV for public awareness. Larry also personally urges people to locate the broadcast schedule online and watch streamed programming there if Link isn't carried in their area. Yet he warns, as an infrequent TV watcher, the one inherent problem of Link TV: "You'll feel guilty for not watching more television!"
			She Rocks the Vote Amy Howard, a busy single mother from Tennessee, has long been a fan of Link TV. She watches Mosaic every night with her son, Caelen Willow, who has become his 5th-grade classroom's resident expert on Middle Eastern politics. When she recently tuned in and saw Counting on Democracy and our coverage of the Republican National Convention, this first-time voter had a vision.
			Across Mountains and Continents Link TV viewers and avid Ducati racers Wendy Hogg and Mark Sutton woke up one morning and turned on Link TV. They were mesmerized by the story of two Tibetan boys crossing the Himalayas to escape living under the repressive Chinese government. Escape from Tibet so moved Mark, that Wendy knew she had to find out how to help the boys, and to further her own commitment to the international Buddhist community. ACTIVATE YOURSELF! Wendy joined the Drepung Loseling Institute, the U.S.-based organization that supports the Drepung Loseling Monostary in India, which is where Pasang and Tenzin in Escape from Tibet end up after their arduous journey. They have an educational fund which raises money to support 2500 refugee monks and nuns. Wendy and Mark's motorcycle shop espresso bar raises money for the Tibet Fund; they provide critical support for the Tibetan community at home and in exile. They have a variety of programs you can support. Wendy feels that getting educated about the Tibet issue is one of the best ways to start. The International Campaign for Tibet combines news updates and tips for action. She also recommends the weekly updates put out by the Students for a Free Tibet web site. Their Activist Toolbox has some useful suggestions for anyone who is ready to put passion into action, no matter what the issue is.
			Driven to Donate Ed Scott, a retired Silicon Valley executive, saw a documentary, Deadly Embrace, on Link TV about the impact of national debt in the developing world. Until that time his philanthropy was primarily focused on orphanages in Latin America, so as he was drawn into the section on Nicaragua in the documentary he was intrigued to learn about the root causes of poverty in that country. The next day he looked for a policy organization to support, but discovered there was no institution focused on debt relief. Scott eventually decided to donate $10 million to create the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C., and credits Link TV for the initial impetus to get involved.
			Education Through Link A former professor of Link’s Production Manager Heather Hurford at College of Marin, Ron Gaiz is a one-man academic marketing machine for Link, using Link in his classroom and advertising Link TV on his school website. In the fall of 2007, Ron even suggested an extra credit project to his students to analyze and critique Link programming, and he sent these on to us!
			The Power of Networking Donor Preston Enright of Denver, Colorado has created a public Amazon.com list of 37 films Link has aired that are available there for purchase. At the top of the list, he writes: “Link TV has opened up entirely new perspectives on the world for countless people who receive their incomparable programming. Sadly, only a handful of their documentaries and international films are available on DVD; but here are a few samples of "TV without borders”.” "This is a great example of the power of Link's network." – Kim Spencer, President, Link TV
			Action Hits the Road Pablo Sanders of Kansas City, Missouri wants to use his van as “a moving billboard of alternative news resources”. As you can see, he already has Democracy Now, and we’ve sent him the files so that Link TV will be on the other side. He should be sending the picture with the van and Link graphic shortly!
			Artful support Celebrated West Virginian artist/sculptor Mark Blumenstein sent Link an unsolicited gift – an extraordinary sculpture personalized for Link! Mark intended for Link to auction off the sculpture to the highest bidder, and it was advertised and auctioned off on eBay during Pledge 22.
			The Project for a Better World “We had our bakesale today, we sold all $1 muffins and although it was a freezing day, we sold over 100 muffins and raised over $100 for Link TV! I'm sorry it couldnt have been more, but we are very happy that we got the word out to so many people who visited the table today! A few people wanted to donate directly to Link online and were given information to do so. We got out a ton of information! We have video of the event and when we put out our November video update on the last day of the month, we will email pics and a video link so you can see it. Thanks so much for all of your great work and for the educational and inspiring program at a time where that is few and far between.” ACTIVATE YOURSELF! The Project for a Better World www.myspace.com/projectforabetterworld Check out the November Month of Action Video Update!