Milspeak Foundation™ Programs developed and led by Milspeak Founder Sally drumm
 
MILSPEAK FOUNDATION™ Programs Incorporated, 03 November 2009 501c3 designation June 2010 milspeak foundation programs are always offered free to participants. At this time, milspeak foundation, as a start-up, grass roots organization, has limited funding and no paid employees. All programs are staffed by volunteers. A generous donation of royalties by the writers and editor of the Milspeak anthology, Milspeak: Warriors, Veterans, Family and Friends Writing the Military Experience and sales of MilSpeak Books fund milspeak foundation operations and programs. • MILSPEAK PROGRAMS ARE ALWAYS FREE TO PARTICIPANTS. • MILSPEAK PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS ARE NEVER REQUIRED TO SHARE THEIR WORK. • MILSPEAK PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS’ PERSONAL INFORMATION IS NEVER SOLD, AND IT IS NEVER SHARED OR OTHERWISE REVEALED WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND/OR PERMISSION. • CHILDREN PARTICIPATE IN MILSPEAK PROGRAMS ONLY WITH PARENT OR GUARDIAN PERMISSION. MILSPEAK foundation PROGRAMS MILSPEAK CREATIVE WRITING SEMINARS (MCWS) (2005) MAKE-A-BOOK (2007) SIED BOOKS (2009) MILSPEAK MEMO (2009) MILSPEAK BOOKS (2009) Scars on my heart (2009) future programs ETX=MG2 MILSPEAK GEAR & EQUIPMENT MCWS West MCWS EMBED MCWS (AFRH) Milspeak foundation reading series MILSPEAK FOUNDATION GRANTS MILSPEAK FOUNDATION INTERNSHIP MILSPEAK CREATIVE WRITING SEMINARS (MCWS)™ MCWS is a creative writing program designed by military people for military people. MCWS began in June 2005 as an idea and began meeting September 6, 2005. Each seminar is given on-site or teleconferenced. Military people lead MCWS, and only military people participate in the seminar workshops. Writers either meet as a bonded class over a period of six-eight weeks, or as a more informal workshop group. During a traditional MCWS, writers are guided in taking an idea for a true story about military life from first draft to second draft to final draft. Participants also learn to serve as readers for each other’s work. During Seminar Saturday (first Saturday), writers receive a craft talk and learn about the workshop method. On Second Saturday, or Guest Writer Saturday, an established author is invited to speak about the writing life. Following Second Saturday, writers submit first drafts to the workshop leader via email. The workshop leader distributes drafts to workshop members for critique. During Third Saturday, or Workshop I, critiques are discussed in a structured environment and suggestions for revision are offered. Following a break for revising, revised manuscripts are again routed through the workshop leader for critique. During Fifth Saturday, Workshop 2, critiques and suggestions for revising final drafts are offered. Sixth Saturday, Celebration Saturday, brings Milspeak Writers together with family and for a potluck breakfast and a read-aloud of final drafts. Milspeak Writers are offered the opportunity to post their final drafts in the Milspeak Writers Gallery, however this is not required for participation. The end result of Milspeak Writers’ hard work is compelling writing that captures moments in history and fosters greater understanding of military life. The true personal stories, or memoir, emerging from MCWS are helpful for both readers and writers. Writers better understand their experience and readers learn how another military person has successfully navigated both the challenges and rewards of military life. Workshops can be adjusted in length or designed to suit the needs of a particular group. MCWS WORKSHOP LEADERS. Only military people who write seriously and who share the MilSpeak Foundation vision for MCWS - that it remains a free service whose participants’ writing must take priority over the workshop leader’s writing while MCWS is in session, that it teaches military people about the healing power and stress management benefits of writing and reading, and that it assists military people develop their creative potential - are eligible to become workshop leaders. MILSPEAK MEMO™ An online literary journal, flagship publication of Milspeak Foundation, Milspeak Memo is dedicated to freedom of speech and devoted to providing a venue for creative works by military people. Milspeak first began posting creative works by military people during September 2005. Operating expenses in the future will include marketing, print production and mailing expense. MILSPEAK BOOKS™ Publishing imprint dedicated to publishing creative works by military people and resurrecting out of print creative works about military life, to include but not limited to MCWS anthologies, MCWS Embed anthologies, Make-A-Book anthologies and literature for military children, MCWS(AFRH) anthologies, combat correspondent anthologies, collections of poetry, nonfiction and fiction written by military people, and military art books. However, it should be noted that participants in Milspeak Foundation programs are never required to share their writing via publication. Participation in publication is a means for Milspeak Writers to share their stories with other military people and to broaden civilian understanding about military life. Publication is always voluntary for Milspeak Writers, and only happens with their explicit consent. MILSPEAK BOOKS will launch as an eBook publisher during the 2009 holiday season. Two novels by Richard Reynolds, Averil, My Anchor and Mayhem in Mazatlan, and an abridged version of Milspeak: Warriors, Veterans, Family and Friends Writing the Military Experience (Press 53/Jul 09), will be the first three titles in Milspeak Books’ list. Four books are scheduled for print and/or eBook release during 2010. Operating expenses include book production, marketing, and payment to authors. SCARS ON MY HEART: MILITARY LIFE IN THE WORDS OF THOSE WHO LIVE IT™ This theater production/community outreach/community education program designed for colleges and civic organizations brings the Milspeak message to communities throughout the US. This program is especially important for use as a communication tool to open dialog among civilian students and students who are veterans at colleges and universities that will see their veteran population increase dramatically due to benefits offered through the Post 9-11 GI Bill. Through the SCARS program, Milspeak Foundation leader and playwright Sally Drumm guides drama students or theater groups through creating a script excerpted from the anthology Milspeak: Warriors, Veterans, Family and Friends Writing the Military Experience. These excerpts are woven together into a conversation that spans a period of time from the Korean War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and presents an overview of military life and the challenges presented to military personnel and their families. The SCARS program began in 2009. Operating expenses include marketing, travel and expenses to participating educational institutions, and partial production expense. MaKE-A-BOOK (MAB)™ Literature written specifically for military children or young adults that relates to the experiences of the military child is missing from corporate publishing. Military children and young adults need stories they can relate to. What’s it like for military children to move so often, to have mom or dad, brother or sister, go off to war? What’s it like to wake up as a child in a military hospital surrounded by wounded warriors? How does it feel to never have a home town> What’s it like to have mom or dad come home wounded by wartime service? MAKE-A-BOOK gives military children and young adults the opportunity to write their stories and to share their stories with each other. MAKE-A-BOOK is designed to take military children through the creative writing workshop process. Younger children create storybooks about a particularly challenging or rewarding aspect of military life to share with other military children or with deployed parents. Young adults create short stories, poetry, essay or memoir about the military life. Military children in hospital write about their experience, which helps them accept the reality of their illness and empowers through communication. Sharing their stories with others is entirely voluntary and is not required for participation. Milspeak Foundation also seeks to encourage the work of military people who write children’s literature and to publish literature written by civilian writers for military children. Through Milspeak Books, the foundation hopes to establish a military children and young adult list of titles. An extension of MCWS, which began in June 2005, MAB became a Milspeak program in 2007. Operating expenses include marketing, travel and expenses for workshop leaders, and materials for participants. Additional expenses might include voice-activated software and computers for children who do not have use of their arms or cannot write or draw because of physical limitations. SIED BOOKS™ SIED BOOKS, a free book giveaway to troops, was established to honor the memory and writing of F.P. Siedentopf, Master Gunnery Sergeant, dedicated Marine, and MilSpeak Writer. Sied passed away Memorial Day 2009, two months before publication of the MilSpeak anthology, which he was so proud to be part of. SIED BOOKS provides free copies of MilSpeak Books eBooks and print copies of Milspeak: Warriors, Veterans, Family and Friends Writing the Military Experience (Press 53) to military people. Thousands of dollars worth of books have been distributed. This program began in 2009 with delivery of books to troops in Iraq and to Wounded Warrior Battalion East. It will continue during the 2009 holiday season with delivery of books to Walter Reed Medical Center, and, upon publication, with free downloads to troops of the eBook version of Milspeak: Warriors, Veterans, Family and Friends Writing the Military Experience. Operating expenses include purchase of books and shipping. In order to alleviate expenses, eBook coupons for all books published by MilSpeak Books are distributed to troops and wounded warriors when requested by units, individuals, or via Operation EBook Drop. Through the Sied Books program, hundreds of books have been distributed to military people at no cost to readers. MCWS EMBED™ This Milspeak Foundation program carries MCWS to the troops wherever they are, including active theaters of operation throughout the globe. MCWS Embed is designed to reduce combat stress and stress related psychological wounds through creative writing and sharing experiences in a structured environment. MCWS EMBED, an extension of the MCWS program which began in June 2005, will launch in 2014, if funding becomes available. Operating expenses include marketing, travel for workshop leaders, meeting space, and materials for participants, including production of the MCWS Embed Handbook and the MCWS Embed Workshop Leader’s Handbook. MCWS(AFRH)™ A program designed to collect, through written and oral means, the military life stories of veterans living in Armed Forces Retirement Homes. This program, an extension of MCWS, is designed to be accessible to older veterans and to bring young veterans together with older veterans, is expected to launch during 2012, if funding becomes available. Operating expenses include marketing, travel and expenses for workshop leaders, and materials for participants. Additional expenses might include digital voice recorders and/or film equipment to capture participant’s stories. ETX=MG2 ™ ETX=Milspeak Gear & Equipment™: mugs, t-shirts, calendars, posters, stickers, waterproof and weatherproof writing supplies, ETX (etcetera)! We’re hoping to launch our writing gear line in 2012. Operating expense includes design, production, marketing, cataloguing, sales and delivery. MILSPEAK FOUNDATION INTERNSHIP Partnerships with colleges, universities, and the Veterans Administration will allow students and veterans to receive on the job training in NPF management, marketing, public relations, IT, web design, and publishing. This program is expected to launch during 2015. Operating expenses include training and supervision of interns, and coordination with associated schools. MILSPEAK FOUNDATION reading series This program, an extension of MCWS, will launch in 2012 in conjunction with the MCWS Guest Writer program. Operating expenses include travel, expenses and stipend for visiting writers, as well as event marketing. Contact: milspeakfoundation@milspeak.org Copyright 2013 MilSpeak Foundation, Inc. Disclaimer: The appearance of hyperlinks or logos does not constitute endorsement of Milspeak, Milspeak Memo, or linked sites, or the information (written and graphic), products, or services contained therein, by the Department of Defense, any other government agency or office. MILSPEAK FOUNDATION (501c3), foundation programs and publications, do not engage in political activity; however, writers and artists may present political opinions. Every attempt will be made to make space for diversity. Content on these pages represents thoughts and opinions of the writers & artists, and not the official position of MilSpeak Foundation, its directors or of any other person, organization or institution.  Purchasing a MilSpeak Books title supports MilSpeak Foundation. Milspeak Books are available at MilSpeak Books on Smashwords! Enter coupon code LN46E at checkout to receive a free copy of the MilSpeak anthology.  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