Leslie Glass's Blog, page 429
April 10, 2012
We’re Helping to Reframe the National Dialogue on Addiction and Recovery
Last week was Washington Week for Leslie and Lindsey Glass. On Monday, Leslie joined the White House Business Council for a “Conversation with Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, FL Business Leaders” to learn about White House Business Partnership Opportunities. Leslie joined Roxie Jerge, Teri Hansen, Joel Fedder, Ken and Barbara Edelin, Ed and Sheila Crego as representatives from Sarasota, which is not considered an entity on its own.
This 5-hour briefing was an eye-opener for the 90+ Florida business leaders in attendance, and was the largest of the 40 get-togethers the White House has organized to date. The purpose of the meeting was to encourage business partnerships between local and national businesses and a wide range of government agencies. The meeting provided real information about what is going on in the Obama administration to spur innovative business ventures. We had face time with 16 senior White House advisors and directors and left with a new understanding and respect for the efforts the administration is making to create economic growth in every state. There is a lot more positive work going on than we hear about from any source.
Lindsey Glass Speaks at Congressional Briefing
Then the week got even better. On Thursday, March 22, speaking for the 23 million people who are not currently receiving any treatment for addiction, Lindsey went to Congress and spoke to a standing-room only crowd of Congressional aides and addiction professionals with a ten-minute speech about how recovery works. She was on the roster with Dr. Laura Nelson Chief Medical Officer, Arizona Department of Health Services, Mark Stringer, Director State of Missouri Department of Mental Health, Divisions of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Sheriff/Coroner Brian Gootkin, Gallatin County, Montana. Lindsey was honored to speak on behalf of Faces and Voices of Recovery and NASADAD.
ROR Received a $10,000 Grant from an Anonymous Donor
A thousand thanks go to a beloved Sarasota donor, who contributed $10,000 to the ROR Film Fund for final editing of The Silent Majority, and design of The Silent Majority Website. This donor has no personal experience with addiction, but has a long and rich history supporting education projects for children and teens. The donor saw the movie, immediately responded to its potential for inspiring teens both local and nationally to make healthy choices about alcohol and substances. The donor wishes to remain anonymous.
“The Silent Majority” will have its first public screening at the JMATE convention in Washington D.C. on April 10. For more information, contact us.
ROR Goes to Hollywood
Leslie and Lindsey have been invited to The Entertainment Industries Council Prism Awards in Los Angeles on April 19th.The Entertainment Industries Council (EIC) honors films and television programs that make a positive difference in the world honoring film and TV programs which portray realistic depictions of dependence, in an annual, star-studded, televised awards show. They are now in talks to film behind the scenes interviews to launch their “Recovery Works” media campaign later this year.
Call to Action
ROR can’t change the world on its own. We need your help. In addition to speaking out for Recovery in the national arena, we are working on:
Events to launch “The Silent Majority” and use the film to enhance existing prevention, education, and recovery programs.
We are developing a “Recovery Works” Media Campaign–six public service commercials that will run all over the world forever for free. For this initiative, we need $20,000 for cameramen, editing, and graphics. And we need real people to appear on camera.
To donate to the campaign (Click here)
For an event, or to help with the media campaign, contact us. (Click Here)
We're Helping to Reframe the National Dialogue on Addiction and Recovery
Last week was Washington Week for Leslie and Lindsey Glass. On Monday, Leslie joined the White House Business Council for a "Conversation with Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, FL Business Leaders" to learn about White House Business Partnership Opportunities. Leslie joined Roxie Jerge, Teri Hansen, Joel Fedder, Ken and Barbara Edelin, Ed and Sheila Crego as representatives from Sarasota, which is not considered an entity on its own.
This 5-hour briefing was an eye-opener for the 90+ Florida business leaders in attendance, and was the largest of the 40 get-togethers the White House has organized to date. The purpose of the meeting was to encourage business partnerships between local and national businesses and a wide range of government agencies. The meeting provided real information about what is going on in the Obama administration to spur innovative business ventures. We had face time with 16 senior White House advisors and directors and left with a new understanding and respect for the efforts the administration is making to create economic growth in every state. There is a lot more positive work going on than we hear about from any source.
Lindsey Glass Speaks at Congressional Briefing
Then the week got even better. On Thursday, March 22, speaking for the 23 million people who are not currently receiving any treatment for addiction, Lindsey went to Congress and spoke to a standing-room only crowd of Congressional aides and addiction professionals with a ten-minute speech about how recovery works. She was on the roster with Dr. Laura Nelson Chief Medical Officer, Arizona Department of Health Services, Mark Stringer, Director State of Missouri Department of Mental Health, Divisions of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Sheriff/Coroner Brian Gootkin, Gallatin County, Montana. Lindsey was honored to speak on behalf of Faces and Voices of Recovery and NASADAD.
ROR Received a $10,000 Grant from an Anonymous Donor
A thousand thanks go to a beloved Sarasota donor, who contributed $10,000 to the ROR Film Fund for final editing of The Silent Majority, and design of The Silent Majority Website. This donor has no personal experience with addiction, but has a long and rich history supporting education projects for children and teens. The donor saw the movie, immediately responded to its potential for inspiring teens both local and nationally to make healthy choices about alcohol and substances. The donor wishes to remain anonymous.
"The Silent Majority" will have its first public screening at the JMATE convention in Washington D.C. on April 10. For more information, contact us.
ROR Goes to Hollywood
Leslie and Lindsey have been invited to The Entertainment Industries Council Prism Awards in Los Angeles on April 19th.The Entertainment Industries Council (EIC) honors films and television programs that make a positive difference in the world honoring film and TV programs which portray realistic depictions of dependence, in an annual, star-studded, televised awards show. They are now in talks to film behind the scenes interviews to launch their "Recovery Works" media campaign later this year.
Call to Action
ROR can't change the world on its own. We need your help. In addition to speaking out for Recovery in the national arena, we are working on:
Events to launch "The Silent Majority" and use the film to enhance existing prevention, education, and recovery programs.
We are developing a "Recovery Works" Media Campaign–six public service commercials that will run all over the world forever for free. For this initiative, we need $20,000 for cameramen, editing, and graphics. And we need real people to appear on camera.
To donate to the campaign (Click here)
For an event, or to help with the media campaign, contact us. (Click Here)
February 10, 2012
Nominated for a 2012 Voice Award
About the Voice Award
Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Voice Awards honor consumer/peer leaders who have done exemplary work promoting the social inclusion of individuals with behavioral health problems. The awards also recognize TV and film writers and producers that incorporate dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayals of individuals with behavioral health problems into their scripts, programs, and productions.
The 2012 Voice Awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, August 22 at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, CA. The event brings together people from the entertainment industry and behavioral health community for a night that celebrates increased awareness of mental health and substance use disorders and the power of recovery.
For more information about the Voice Awards, please visit www.voiceawards.samhsa.gov.
For information about using The Secret World for an event or fundraiser, contact us.
February 1, 2012
Lesley & Lindsey Glass
Leslie and Lindsey Glass enter the recovery world with a three-generation background in social activism, philanthropy and story-telling. Leslie's mother was a Civil Rights Activist and lobbied for Head Start and Labor Laws for Children in the l960's. Her father was the producer of Lassie and other beloved early TV series. Leslie created the TV series Fury when she was ten and has been a philanthropist and grant maker for 20 years.
Leslie Glass is a NY Times bestselling author of 15 novels, a journalist, playwright and filmmaker with a strong background in social issues. She was the President of Plays for Living and has written plays for teens at risk on suicide, prejudice, inner city violence, and alcoholism. Leslie served on the Middle States Commission on Higher Education for six years, was a trustee of the New York City Police Foundation for many years. She is the producer and director of The Secret World of Recovery.
Lindsey Glass is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and has an MA from NYU. She has been a screenwriter for 6 years and is in recovery from an addiction to pills. Lindsey is the creator and co-writer of Rehab is for Quitters, a feature comedy about rehab in pre-production. She is the co producer, writer and protagonist of The Secret World of Recovery, a mother and daughter's journey from addiction to recovery. Lindsey is a frequent speaker on recovery.
Collaboration Works To Bring Communities Together
Collaboration Works To Bring Communities Together
ROR's first Celebration and Awareness Day April 10, 2011 Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, Sarasota, FL. Record-breaking audience of 1650.
ROR was established as a 501c3 tax exempt charitable organization in March 2011. On April 10th and 13th 2011 ROR presented its first two events. A community Recovery Awareness Day and interactive forum with panels of experts in the addiction and recovery fields paired with a screening of "The Secret World Of Recovery," a feature length documentary about recovery in America. The full day, free event was planned as a model for engaging a community around the issues of addiction prevention and recovery. It was presented as a community outreach of the Sarasota Film Festival. 1650 people flocked to the performing arts center, the largest venue in the city, breaking all records both for a film festival event and an organization event that did not include celebrities, alcohol, or a sports event. ROR's event on April 13th was an elegant celebration dinner for 150, honoring 10 community leaders from many fields.
Engaging the media, community leaders, law enforcement, the medical community, government and social service agencies and a broad spectrum of community groups of all ages is the model for ROR's inspiring a grass roots movement to address addiction and recovery. Collaboration Works.
January 29, 2012
ROR Breaking News for January 2012
What an exciting beginning to the new year. On January 26 ROR founders Leslie and Lindsey Glass met First Lady Michelle Obama at Caren Lobo's house on the bay in Sarasota. It was a great thrill to meet and be in this great lady's presence as she talked about the accomplishments of the Obama administration and the plans for the President's second term.
At Reach Out Recovery, we look back on 2011 with amazement that so much has been accomplished in such a sort time. We have made amazing new friends all over the country and are planning for great strides in promoting recovery as a national cause in 2012.
This is how the end of our 2011 shaped up. First came the documentary, The Secret World of Recovery. What a learning process it was to edit so much footage to find the right format for what we plan as a series of documentaries. We tried several versions. What was the right vision, the right tone, the right people to highlight and show? In its editing journey, The Secret World of Recovery went from 50 minutes to 68 minutes, then down to 45 minutes before it seemed right. The final cut was gleaned from 80 hours of extraordinary footage. The film is now ready to be marketed for distribution and can be viewed online at www.IMDB.com. We had some guidance from experts. After our initial screening at the Van Wezel Center for Performing Arts in Sarasota and a second screening at the Straz Center in Tampa as part of DACCO's celebration of National Recovery Month, we screened the film in Washington at SAMHSA in November and edited the new version which is suitable for classrooms and an hour TV show. We're very excited about the final cut. Watch it on www.IMDB.com
But that was just the beginning. In the summer and fall we filmed a second documentary, this one about teens. We are now in the editing stage. This is our second movie using our new format. The Silent Majority is an inspiring film about teens and their mentors for audiences of every age. Want to hear some good news about solutions for teens who desperately need positive reinforcement against the culture of drinking, partying and drug use that has become the number 1 health issue for teens in America? This is the movie for your community. "The Silent Majority" tells the story of 4 innovative and positive programs teens that inspire community, teamwork, and personal responsibility.
The Silent Majority will be screened for the public for the first time in Washington D.C. in April. More information coming soon.
To continue our work, Leslie and Lindsey have applied for an Echoing Green Fellowship, as well as support from the Ford Foundation, ITVS, and other nonprofits that support film and social issues. In Florida, we are seeking leaders and sponsors interested in partnering to show the film to middle school and high school students in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, and to partner for a fundraiser for local charities in the fall.
Contact us. If you are interested in bringing one of our films to your organization for a screening, a film event, or a fund raiser, or are interested in sponsoring a new film.
To help our communities and our precious children be safe from drug and alcohol addiction or be supported in their recovery from addiction, DONATE NOW.
Reach Out Recovery is dedicated to collaborative solutions to the epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction that affects nearly every family in America.
December 27, 2011
Congratulations You're On Kindle, Now Finish The Movie
Nine of my novels are on Kindle now, so you can find me digitally, if not in bookstores, and Random House has assured me that three more will be on Kindle soon. One of the top 2 questions people ask me is: Why aren't your novels in bookstores anymore? It's very simple. When you write a novel every year, you get a place on the shelf. After 12 years and 9 April Woo novels, Over His Dead Body, For Love and Money, and Sleeper, I'm making movies now, looking to be on a new kind of list. April Woo lovers are finding that hard to take. They love her. They want to see her actual wedding. They want to know if she had children and how many, and how crazy Skinny Dragon Mother is as a grandmother. If only I could read more in the series myself, I'd be so happy. I loved the series, too. But authors are not easy to control. As indeed very little in life is.
November 4, 2011
Fall Has Been A Crazy Time
Fall has been a crazy time. Earthquakes on the East Coast, hurricanes and blizzards in October has made dodging the weather bullet a challenge everywhere. Leslie was in the air with nowhere to land during the earthquake and on a train heading north from D.C. during the blizzard. But October 21-22 on Lido Beach, Sarasota was perfect.
Reach Out Recovery, with wonderful volunteers from many organizations and friends from Manatee Glens, First Step of Sarasota, Coastal Behavioral Healthcare, Sunshine From Darkness, Shamrockers USA. Inc, Ringling College, Rehab After Work and many others gathered to celebrate Recovery. Over 500 people enjoyed the music, food, and activities during the two day event.
Artists on the stage included Road Recovery with Simon Kirk and the Type 2 band who came from New York to rock out. They were joined by Twinkle, Willie Royal, Tim Wilkins, and the Damon Marks band, Time Will Tell. There was glorious food and a friends of recovery from North Port to Bradenton. It was a magical evening on the beach as the sun went down Friday and the music played at the first public event at the newly named Ted Sperling Park. In fact, it was the first ever event at South Lido Park. A spectacular site for a picnic, a concert and a sports event.
On Saturday morning runners and walkers gathered early for a 5K run (or a one mile walk) on Lido beach. Gorgeous morning, a wonderful cause to celebrate and many raffle tickets sold. The winner received one of five ESP guitars signed by all the artists, donated by the Guitar Center. The female winner of the 5K race received a stunning leather and black pearl bracelet donated by Barbara McSweeney, who also designed the ROR dog tags we give with every donation. The male winner, from Venice, received a goody bag. The beautiful T-shirts were designed by Forrest Moulton and made by New Balance.
It was all filmed for our movie, The Silent Majority. So if you didn't get there you can still see it soon. Our competition on Saturday were the Breast Cancer walk at Lakewood Ranch and several other major events that we didn't know about when we started planning in July. Friday afternoon is practice day for high school teams, which made it difficult for many kids and their parents to get there.
But those who didn't make it to Lido Beach to celebrate recovery in person can still get the T-shirt and dog tag. Help us lift the stigma from addiction and recovery, tell the positive story of recovery, and support prevention and recovery programs.
Donate and show you care about the heroes who turn their lives around.
September 10, 2011
Happy National Recovery Month
Happy National Recovery Month. We're celebrating in Tampa on September 25, where Secret World of Recovery Will be shown at the David Straz Center of Performing Arts. www.DACCO.org, Reachoutrecovery.com
This is the news that April Woo fans have been waiting for, since. Well, ever since all the CSIs, The Bones and Monks and other wonderful series began. Wonderful novelist Amy Bloom is the show runner, developing the pilot now. All people can talk about is who will play April? Who will play April?
I have no idea. It's not up to me. All I can say is the series is set in Coney Island. I'm thrilled about that because all the deals that didn't work out included some doozies. Can we do it in London and have April be Indian? Can we do it in Seattle and have her be Japanese. Can we do it in Los Angeles and have her be half and half something? Well, no, no and no. So, she's Chinese, in Coney Island with the Russian mob, the strippers and Mafia. So great. I can't wait to see it.
I spent the summer filming The Silent Majority, Lindsey and my new feature documentary about prevention and recovery programs that are working. We filmed Drug-free youth in North Port; Teen Court in Sarasota County Florida and Nassau County New York at Hofstra Law School. We filmed Road Recovery, a New York based organization that brings celebrity musicians to mentor the Road Recovery band of teens in Recovery. Road Recovery teens composed and performed all the music for the film.
April Woo Being Developed For TV Series By CBS
Happy National Recovery Month. We're celebrating in Tampa on September 25, where Secret World of Recovery Will be shown at the David Straz Center of Performing Arts. www.DACCO.org, Reachoutrecovery.com
CBS has signed on for the April Woo series.
This is the news that April Woo fans have been waiting for, since. Well, ever since all the CSIs, The Bones and Monks and other wonderful series began. Wonderful novelist Amy Bloom is the show runner, developing the pilot now. All people can talk about is who will play April? Who will play April?
I have no idea. It's not up to me. All I can say is the series is set in Coney Island. I'm thrilled about that because all the deals that didn't work out included some doozies. Can we do it in London and have April be Indian? Can we do it in Seattle and have her be Japanese. Can we do it in Los Angeles and have her be half and half something? Well, no, no and no. So, she's Chinese, in Coney Island with the Russian mob, the strippers and Mafia. So great. I can't wait to see it.
I spent the summer filming The Silent Majority, Lindsey and my new feature documentary about prevention and recovery programs that are working. We filmed Drug-free youth in North Port; Teen Court in Sarasota County Florida and Nassau County New York at Hofstra Law School. We filmed Road Recovery, a New York based organization that uses music to help teens in recovery. Rock musicians mentor the Road Recovery band. Road Recovery teens composed and performed all the music for the film and will be featured at our Rock and Run our two day event in Sarasota on October 21 and 22nd where we will film the concert for the film.
I never thought I would produce a film like the Secret World of Recovery. I never thought I would be making films about young people finding new ways to help themselves and friends stay sober in a drinking and substance using world. I never thought I would sponsor a rock concert, never mind a sober rock concert.
All the bad things in my life that I never wanted to happen, happened, but all the good things that are happening now I never thought would happen, either. So, as this new fall season is upon us, on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 we have a lot to remember. A lot to think and talk about. So many challenges face our country and communities. But even those among us who are living and suffering with the addiction of someone they love (or a bad habit of their own that they can't seem to break), we still have a lot to be grateful for and a lot we can do to help others and ourselves.
I am committed to educating people about addiction and recovery. There is a lot to do to highlight the programs that are working, and the tools that help people stay sober after their rehab is complete. Watch for our website Recoverme.com Watch for our news about our book All's Forgiven, A Mother and Daughter's Journey from Addiction to Recovery and Beyond.
And watch for a new April Woo novel. Who knows, she may return in print as well.
