For me personally, and like for many people I know, I didn’t have a clue what cystic fibrosis was until I watched the film – and since watching the film, I’ve been connecting with people to see what we can do to help find a cure, raise awareness about the health services CF patients need, and efforts to improve the quality of services available to people with CF.  Please join the conversation on twitter @65_RedRoses.

We are extending our sale on #4Eva campaign merchandise – the proceeds will go to a campaign to promote organ donation and CF awareness. Please use coupon code BREATHE#4EVA at check out to receive 25% off.

If you are interested in getting involved in the campaign, please send us an email to get in touch with us outreach@65redroses.com

Hello Cool World is the force behind this website, the Canadian distributor for the film, and directs the entire #4Eva Campaign so please support this project which has the potential to help the 65_RedRoses campaign get even bigger! It’s fast and free – so BOOST them now! Hello Cool World also puts all their profits into this campaign, which is volunteer run. Voting – AKA ‘Boosting’ only lasts one more week, so lets get them boosted into the lead!

Hello Cool World’s  plan is to build a platform to help the creators of social change films and projects to get their work out there, that will help audiences (like you!)  more easily support the causes they care about. Each campaign will be part of a larger network that can share content and audiences, amplifying the efforts for all.

“There’s a story behind every dream…”  Read Kat Dodds’ blog (HCW founder & Creative Director) on how the idea started.

Hello Cool World is an interactive agency that works exclusively on social cause projects and campaigns. We did the grassroots marketing and produced the online campaign in four countries for The Corporation. We create, support and promote transmedia content and use grassroots and mainstream methods to get the good word out! As social entrepreneurs we run a triple-bottom line company. As film distributors for The Corporation (educational version) and 65_RedRoses, we are defining fairer trade for films with a social message. We use our profits, including all sales from our web store, to sustain campaigns.

The person who donated his kidney to me is a man named Stephen McClelland. He found out online that I was in end stage renal failure, and he wanted to help. We had never met. He stepped forward to donate one of his kidneys to me. It was an incredible gift Stephen gave me… Life.

During the testing process, which happened over the course of several months, we got to know a bit about each other. Stephen is a bit quiet, easy going and modest. He never thought it was a big deal to donate one of his kidneys to a stranger.

I am an outgoing, extroverted optimist, yet I have difficulty trusting people. I thought it was a HUGE deal for someone to donate one of their organs to a stranger!

I didn’t get my hopes up, because what if he backed out? That would be heartbreaking. But he didn’t. Stephen let the doctors and nurses poke him with needles, take his blood pressure, scan his brain, EKG his heart, and test his lungs. He was subjected to psychological questions by the social worker. He was forced to listen to my goofy jokes in the waiting room, occasionally rolling his eyes. He passed all of the tests and it was determined he was a match.

Stephen’s right kidney was successfully transplanted into the left side of my abdomen. It started working within 30 seconds. When I opened my eyes in the recovery room, I immediately felt healthy… A feeling I had been unfamiliar with for so many years. The surgeon asked me how I felt. I joked, “It almost feels like I had a kidney transplant!” Stephen was feeling great too.

After our surgeries and recovery time, Stephen was ready to return to Las Vegas where he resides. As he was making his journey home, he wrote this message to me:

To Savilla,

Just a few departing thoughts……

This has been a truly wonderful moment in my life. Let’s say one of my life’s best!!!!

I’m a man who never craved having children, and passing his seed. Yet, you have pressed some button in me that satisfies the need to pass life along. I do see you completely as my sister! With all the strong feelings of happiness, protection, nurture, and love.

I will never be apart from you now, because of what we share. So have a glass of orange juice a day. I’ve craved it since being a baby, and it’s made me strong & healthy (for you LOL).

Indulge in a treat once a month! Share an adult chocolate shake, or something else! You have to feed the soul too. It’s having something that gives you a warm & happy to be alive feeling!

Stephen McClelland

“Here’s to serendipity!!!!”

Many transplant recipients write thank you letters to the families of their deceased donors. It gives the family solace to know that something wonderful came out of their tragic loss, and their grief can be eased in the process. I felt compelled to write a thank you letter to Stephen’s family, even though he is a living donor. I thought that they must know how much he has enriched my life with his one selfless act. This was my letter to his family:

To the family and beloved friends of Stephen, my kidney donor:

I want to thank you for the precious gift I received on January 5, 2009. Your son, brother, husband and friend saved my life. Prior to being diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy, I lived a healthy and vital life. I was a university graduate, a model, an artist and a fashion designer. I enjoyed spending time with my family and traveling. The world was full of hope and promise. When my disorder caused my kidneys to fail, I was no longer able to work or travel to see my family who lives 3,000 miles away. I always had hope that I would recover and I fought desperately to stay alive. One day, my doctor told me the gravity of my health situation. She said that I would die within weeks. It was devastating, but gradually I learned acceptance. I was at peace as I prepared for my death. 

Stephen unselfishly made the decision to become an organ donor. Because of his pure and heroic intentions, my life was saved. I am now able to fulfill all of the goals and dreams I was meant to do in life. I am modeling, designing and painting again. I am also giving back to my community by volunteering. I was only able to walk a few steps when I was ill. Now I am able to ride a bike and go for long walks. These may seem commonplace for most people, but for me they are little miracles. I travelled to see my family again and it was a wonderful reunion. 

Every day when I wake up, I touch my scar where my new kidney lives. It is a constant reminder of how precious life is. I have been truly blessed to know and angel named Stephen. I was put on this earth for a reason and I intend to live a full and happy life. I can do this now because of your wonderful hero.

Sincerely,

Savilla Kress

If you’ve been following our blog you’ll know that April is Organ Donation Month (they call it National Donate Life Month in the U.S) and May is CF Awareness Month. Last May 65_RedRoses aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network, and they played our PSA!

Now we are an entirely volunteer-run campaign, trying to get the film and the message out to as many people as we can to support these two important causes.

We are honoured that Hot Docs (which is where 65_RedRoses launched, with Eva in attendance) has chosen our film to be part of their 20th Anniversary celebration screening series comprised of the 20 award-winning films representing the past 20 years. It screens Tuesday April 9, in Toronto at The Bloor Cinema, 6:30 pm. If you are in Toronto and can go to the screening you’ll see our amazing team of volunteers selling DVDs & tees and hopefully signing you up to our campaign. If you are not in TO, never fear, we’ll be tweeting for the cause and posting pics from the screening on Twitter and Facebook.

DO YOU WANT TO HELP US?

It’s as easy as sharing our posts and re-tweeting out tweets! If you are more ambitious you can host a screening as a fundraiser to the organ donation & CF organizations you want to support. You could organize a local #4Eva team, to table, poster and spread the word! Read on for ways you can get involved.

SOME OF THE WAYS VOLUNTEERS CAN HELP

• Join our TWEETATHON – on now! Just follow @65_RedRoses and follow our lead.

• Post and Share our campaign materials (everyone can do this online! ) Start by “Liking” us on Facebook, then get your friends to like us too.

• Organize groups where you live to table, poster and fundraise using our campaign materials. Find appropriate events to have a presence at. If you are more ambitious you could organize your own events and screen the film. Sign up to volunteer, or host a screening.

• Form a street team to poster with our beautiful images from the campaign.

• “Sponsor” a guerrilla billboard! Pay for the printing of our billboard size poster panels, get a street team together to wheat paste. Pick a location and organize a flashmob to raise awareness!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 

Q. Are you a non-profit organization?

This film was made by independent filmmakers, and is being distributed in Canada by the innovative social enterprise company Hello Cool World. They are ‘fair trade’ distributors, and campaign creators. Their promise is to give a fair rate to filmmakers, and use profits to do more campaigning. Anything they sell goes back into campaigns.

Q. Are you raising money for Organ Donation or CF?

We support fundraising by providing wholesale rates  to organizations and volunteers to re-sell the DVD and campaign materials, which they can do as fundraisers for organ donation and CF Causes.  We think the film is an amazing tool to motivate people to become organ donors and to give to CF Research. As distributors and  filmmakers  our goal is to raise awareness through the film and our campaign, and to sustain all these efforts through sales.

Q. How can I support your campaign?

You can buy our materials, as well as donate to our campaign. Donations will be used for campaign promotion  materials. And you can volunteer!

Q. Does it cost money to host a screening?

The cost of hosting a screening includes a license fee, venue rental, promotion costs and any hospitality costs associated with your event. There are ways to keep these costs down and we can provide support through social media to promote your event as well as advice on how to budget for it.

Q. Where does the money go that you get from selling the DVD?

It costs quite a bit of money to make a film. As distributor, Hello Cool World gives half the profit to the filmmaker for the DVD sales, and half goes back into keeping this campaign going. It does however, also cost money to run a campaign! (Printing posters, creating ads and video clips, etc.) So every sale in every way supports Eva’s wish to have a legacy of this movement and campaign. That’s what it’s all about. If we can make more money from selling campaign materials, we can do more work!

PS. It’s fast and free to support Hello Cool World’s project on IdeaBOOST. They want to build a platform to do this kind of work even more effectively and efficiently!  Two clicks, “boosting” them boosts our #4Eva campaign too!

Thanks for helping us spread the love. <3 , <3 , <3

With the recent passing of our friend Meg we wanted to give you all an update on Kina. Kina’s good friend Anthony was kind enough to send us some information since at the moment she has been admitted to Cleveland Clinic. In recent months she has been in and out of hospitals in the Pittsburgh area for various reasons. While a number of unfortunate events (including a fire where she lost all her belongings) displaced Kina from her home, we are happy to hear that she is in a loving relationship and is currently engaged to her fiancé Jeremy.

She has been seeing Doctor Budev, and they are doing many tests on her to find out why her health has been declining.

As many of you in the CF community will understand (and as we see repeatedly in the film) there can be long painful stretches in the hospital. To pass the time, Kina has been writing. Here are some excerpts from a recent post:

Chronic Rejection. It’s reared its head. Really bad this time. So many words left unsaid. So many people I love and cherish are going to be hurt by this. My health is going to decline. It’s basically like having my old lungs back…. I’m not depressed. Just hurting. I had 6 good years of transplant. I have changed lives. Inspired. Aided. Created. I’ve been through hell, and yet I still smile. Those who help me. I don’t have enough words to tell you how much it means to me. I sit here listening to other patients, they gasp, cough, choke, and cry out. I’m back in the ol’ ball and chain of fighting to breathe. I will pray for everyone. Not for myself. I don’t need anything but love.

More updates to come. Sending lots of love to Kina and all the CFers out there in hospital beds.

Love from,

The 65_RedRoses Team

PS. April is National Donate Life Month, May is CF Awareness Month. Please think about becoming an organ donor, and about contributing to CF research.

Before you complain about mundane things like weather and traffic, consider taking a breath. Breathe in deep and feel the air go into your lungs. Imagine the oxygen nourishing your cells. Take a deep breath. This is a luxury which many people don’t have. Yesterday Meg Moore passed away from Cystic Fibrosis. She was 25 years old. Meg left behind a young son who probably will never remember how it felt to be held by his mother.

Meg was in the film 65Red_Roses which featured my friend Eva Markvoort. Eva had CF as well. The documentary followed Eva’s amazing journey with her debilitating disease, waiting for a double lung transplant, the call, the surgery, and Eva’s first breath with new lungs.

Eva felt so blessed to have the ability to breathe normally with her new lungs. She was grateful to be given the gift of life, and she was inspired to get involved with promoting organ donation. Being a brilliant artist, she had the idea to paint organs on other transplant recipients, and make a series of stunning photographs. I got the call. Eva asked me if I would model for her campaign, and I said yes. (I am lower left below, Eva is in the center)

When I met Eva over four years ago, I was immediately taken by her magnanimous personality and her beauty. At that point, her body had started to reject her lungs, and she was weak. Despite her fragility, there was a strength inside of her which was admirable. She had hoped to conquer her health problems and receive a new set of lungs. She was on the transplant waiting list… waiting for a call. That call never came. Three years ago today, 25-year old Eva Markvoort took her last breath.

On March 25, she wrote the last post on her blog:

I am not managing, not managing at all. I’m drowning in the medications. I can’t breathe. Every hour. Once an hour. I can’t breathe. Something has to change.

Eva had hopes and dreams like all of us do. She would never get married or have a child as she had hoped to. Shortly before her death, the theatre student received her degree from the University of Victoria at her hospital bedside. Eva’s legacy continues with her art and message of love.

So before you complain, take a breath. Be reminded of the precious little things we often take for granted. Take a breath for Eva, and one for Meg.

- Savilla Kress

If you are interested in finding out more about how you can participate in the campaign and Organ Donation Month, please send us an email, or click here to sign up. All #4Eva items are 25% off during April with promo code:   organdonor#4Eva 

Please Share our video made of clips from the DVD extras, in support of Organ Donation for the Month of April. (National Donate Life Month in the US!)

Spring is finally upon us – and we are gearing up for Organ Donation Month activities, all during April! All our #4Eva items (DVDs, T’s Art Cards) are 25% off our online store with the promo code: organdonor#4Eva

I’m quite excited to be working on the #4Eva Campaign this year.  One personal reason – A few weeks ago, a friend of mine passed away suddenly, but had been an advocate for organ donation, which his family made a point to recognize in the midst of the tragedy.  My friend who passed was an incredibly generous human being – one of those people in your life that lacks any malice in their spirit, but instead spreads joy and happiness to those around him.  I was really moved when I heard that he made it a point to spread the word about organ donation during his short life, as it revealed that his generosity extends beyond the end of his life.  Although I never personally met Eva, her message of love and giving resonates so much with my relationship with my friend, whose life emanated love, joy, and generosity.  It’s a message that I think is at the heart of the #4Eva Campaign – and a message worth spreading!

My hopes for Organ Donation Month are that we can inspire people around us to want to be involved with the campaign, and build momentum for a movement for organ donation.

To start off the months events, 65_RedRoses has been selected as one of Hot Docs 20th anniversary Top 20 films, and will be screening in Toronto on April 9th at the Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor Street West.  We are very excited to be profiled again by Hot Docs, and we are hoping to spread the word about the #4Eva Campaign at this screening.

If you are interested in the campaign, but aren’t sure how you can contribute, please send us an email, or click here to sign up!

~ David Ng

For the 65_RedRoses outreach team

So here we are.  Three years ago you left us but I can honestly say that not a day goes by without you. That’s the power of all that energy you put into the world: small drops in an ocean create a ripple effect. We find you in the success of the “Live Life, Pass It On” campaign which, thanks to your artwork, continues to create awareness about the need for organ donation. People see your photo on their hydro bills, driver’s license forms, public transit and on print ads throughout the city. They are reminded that they too can make a positive difference in someone else’s life by becoming an organ donor.

Through social media, we hear stories about your impact on the CF community. The movement you started online is still growing, and new members are always finding their way to us on facebook and twitter. And where you left off with your blog, others took over. Your voice is now echoed through thousands of voices, communicating with us through a global online network. They share their CF experiences, their fundraising efforts and the many impacts (small and big) that you made on their lives. Recently I was at BC Children’s Hospital and I saw a mother and her two children looking at the 65 roses painting you inspired. Those beautiful, colorful images bring joy and comfort to those who need it most.

Nimisha Mukerji & Eva Markvoort

And that big piece of yourself you poured into the film is still being seen and felt around the world. Four years after we premiered at Hot Docs, 65_RedRoses is about to screen again. Only this time not as a small Canadian film made by first-time filmmakers but as one of Hot Docs’ top 20 films from the past two decades. The film you breathed life into has joined the ranks of world-renowned documentaries. Later this year 65_RedRoses will finally begin screening in classrooms, and we know that it is just a matter of time before it makes it’s away across the country.

Eva, those ripples you created have become waves, traveling further than any of us could have imagined. It is impossible to count the ways in which you continue to make our world a better place.

We received the devastating news yesterday that Meg’s life ended too soon as a result of CF. Like you, she left behind so many incredible gifts – the greatest being her beautiful son Aven.

“When despair becomes the standard for a society, then a smile becomes the needed revolutionary act.” – Shane Koyczan

For now we’ll try to rock on and keep smiling.

Love, love, love.

Nimisha

Producer/Co-Director 65_RedRoses

Congratulations Nimisha and Philip (featured left with Oprah) for headlining yesterday’s article by Zoe McKnight on the “Oprah Effect”.

A warm Winfrey endorsement has opened doors for local entrepreneurs

“Filmmaker Nimisha Mukerji is one of the lucky few who have not only had their work endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, but have been in her presence. She met the former talk show host, publisher and all-around lifestyle mogul – who will be appearing in Vancouver Jan. 24, 2013 at Rogers Arena – at a party during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where Mukerji and co-producer Philip Lyall were shopping around their documentary 65_RedRoses, about a young Vancouver woman battling cystic fibrosis. The film had been selected as one of the first five to premiere on Documentary Club on the Oprah Winfrey Network, where it aired this May.”

Read the rest at Vancouver Sun’s website…

For those of you in Vancouver,  Canada who want to buy the film or any of our designed-by-eva #4Eva heart tee shirts, art cards and pendants, we are having a PopUpShop this Sunday in Chinatown, Sunday December 2, noon -6 pm, 525 Carrall Street in Chinatown. Or order online and use promo code #4EvaHeart for 20% off!

In a great article in the Globe and Mail Nimisha talks about how Eva talked her into the film, and how after Eva passed away, working on this new project helped her heal. Excerpted from the Globe & Mail article:

“I was very resistant to this story,” Ms. Mukerji said recently, over a chai latte in Vancouver. “My friend mentioned it and I said no: This is everything I said I didn’t want to do. It’s about illness, potentially fatal illness, it’s about kids, it’s a Third World country, I’m so out of my element, I’ve never lived in India before.”

Ms. Mukerji was also, understandably, worried about being labelled as a filmmaker who only does a certain kind of project.

She expressed these concerns to Ms. Markvoort, who was a friend as well as a film subject. “I was telling her about all my insecurities about this film. I said people are going to label me, say I only do health-care films, I can’t do anything else. I basically voiced all my fears. And she went,‘You’re telling me all these reasons not to do it. What are the reasons you should do it?’”

And of course, Nimisha did do it, encouraged first by Eva’s words, then by her memory. Three days after Eva died, Nimisha was on her way to India, and making this film helped her face what would otherwise have been a very dark time.

Nimisha’s fear of being ‘branded’ as a filmmaker who only does films about young people who are sick, should be reframed: She is a filmmaker who know how to transform dark times into hope, and create inspiring stories, that need to be told. As her brilliant tag lines says: India’s Heroes aren’t all in Bollywood.

If Eva were here at the premiere tonight, she would say: Love, Love, Love.

And for all of our fans of both Nimisha & Eva, if you’d like to buy any of the 65_RedRoses #4Eva items on our store, use promo code #4EvaHeart at the checkout and get 20% off.