Cycling to Grandmas - A Book About Menarche
A$4,710
of $3,500 targetyrs ago
Successful on 26th Aug 2013 at 11:44AM.
A Children’s Book Campaign Launched to Promote A Positive Cultural Understanding of Menstruation through the eyes of a child.
Written by award winning development practitioner and writer Jac Torres-Gomez
THE BOOK: I’m writing this beautiful story to support children to learn about the various ways different cultures celebrate menarche (the first menstrual cycle or first menstrual bleed by a woman). By reading this fun, colourful, and adventurous story, a child will become more familiar with the meaning of menarche to help reduce any anxiety and fear related to this time and to be introduced to some basic cultural celebrations related to menstruation. This will be a great light-hearted story to support your child to prepare for puberty, and also for primary/elementary schools to teach about menstruation in an interesting, open and positive way! The target age for the book is 6-12 years and once (through the help of our backers – YOU!) it is published, it will be available for purchase online through Lulu and Amazon. There will also be scope to have the book sold through different bookshops if possible.
THE ISSUE: There is a lack of educational, mainstream information and dialogue around menstruation throughout the world, and so many women and young girls have no awareness of menstruation or what products are available to them. Often, young girls receive no information at all about menstruation and are left to cope alone and, often, in fear. Schools around the world often have a lack of supportive and educational resources that support positive dialogue and conversation around menstruation from an early age. Supporting this, many parents and carers feel they do not have the tools to opening discuss menarche with their children, and thus may find they avoid the topic until the day a girl starts menstruating. Anecdotal evidence from our partners in Papua New Guinea and Kenya also suggest that young women do skip school when their periods begin. Many girls feel they cannot go to school during their period because there is no running water, sanitation or required privacy.
THE SOLUTION: Menstruation is no longer a barrier that stops girls and young women attending school and higher education. School curricula all over the globe include positive and relevant education about menstruation (including an expansion beyond brief short-term health education) to ensure all girls and women, as well as their male counterparts, have equal access to positive information about menstruation from an early age. Young women feel able to attend school while they have their period, and school attendance and retention is high for women and girls. Schools are knowledgeable about menstruation, and provide sufficient facilities to allow women and girls to feel comfortable about their periods. This allows girls to understand their bodies better and communicate this to others, including their partner. Community leaders and politicians understand the importance of, and support, larger educational systemic changes including education policy includes menstruation education as part of its planning.
THE CONCEPT – THIS CHILDREN BOOK: Approaching puberty, and particularly menarche can be frightening and intimidating for any child, but a positive understanding and acceptance of menstruation especially at an early age is vitally important and has implications for one’s body image, relationships and future life outcomes and choices. The startling fact is that a child can start menstruating as early as seven years of age, and creating positive pathways for children to understand menstruation supports positive conversations and experiences about this traditionally ‘taboo’ theme. This book will compliment a broader movement to support parents and educators to educate about menstruation in a positive and empowering way, including a free school curriculum that includes beautiful artwork from the book with cultural images from around the world and case studies for students to discuss and develop, as well as ‘Stories of Old’ – a collection of stories from women across the globe about menarche.
BACKER'S CONTRIBUTION: Your contribution funds will be used to edit and illustrate the book, format the digital copy, and print and deliver the book to you and your loved ones at home and school. For a breakdown of exactly how your backers contributions will be used please see our breakdown of items below for allow this project to be published and delivered.
RISKS AND CHALLENGES: If we do not achieve our goal, this book will not be published. We simply do not have the funds to make it a reality. Every backer means so much to us, we can't even say. We are eternally grateful.
This project will be fulfilled successfully to my backers because the first draft of the manuscript is already complete, the publishing company has been chosen, and scoping has begun to source an illustrator to bring the story to life. Once we finish these steps with your support, we will be ready to publish, print, and ship.
I am confident that I will have a copy of the book within schedule and I plan to constantly update all backers on the status of the project. I am always available to answer any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
DIVISION OF ESTIMATED BUDGET ITEMS:
· B&N Inside the Book
· Project Communication
· Copyright Registration
· Cover Copy Polish
· Custom Cover
· Design
· Design of advertising materials
· Editing
· Editorial Review
· Global Reach Distribution
· Google & Amazon Search Program
· Illustrations
· Image Insertions for Black & White / Colour Books
· Interior Book Design and Layout
· ISBN Assignment
· Library of Congress Control Number
· Material Expenses (including postage)
· One on One Author Support from Publishers
· Basic Operational Costs
· Personalized Back Cover
· Printing and making eBook
· Printing of advertising materials to get the book out there
· Consultation Fees for Jane Hardwick-Collins, a menstruation expert (for authors notes to parents and educators).
· Publish book
· Basic Travel Expenses to Schools Across Australia to promote the book 2014
TOTAL MINIMUM FUNDS REQUIRED: $3500
Reaching this minimal goal will allow us to edit, publish and distribute our children’s book and to make this dream a reality. THANK YOU for your support!
TOTAL MAXIMUM FUNDS: $6500
Reaching our maximum goal will allow us to additionally:
- Professionally print our school curriculum package,
-Present 100 free copies of the book, curriculum, and teachers training manual to ten schools from low-socioeconomic areas across Australia to use as a resource
-Publish the book into additional languages such as Spanish, Italian or French for global distribution.
Written by award winning development practitioner and writer Jac Torres-Gomez
THE BOOK: I’m writing this beautiful story to support children to learn about the various ways different cultures celebrate menarche (the first menstrual cycle or first menstrual bleed by a woman). By reading this fun, colourful, and adventurous story, a child will become more familiar with the meaning of menarche to help reduce any anxiety and fear related to this time and to be introduced to some basic cultural celebrations related to menstruation. This will be a great light-hearted story to support your child to prepare for puberty, and also for primary/elementary schools to teach about menstruation in an interesting, open and positive way! The target age for the book is 6-12 years and once (through the help of our backers – YOU!) it is published, it will be available for purchase online through Lulu and Amazon. There will also be scope to have the book sold through different bookshops if possible.
THE ISSUE: There is a lack of educational, mainstream information and dialogue around menstruation throughout the world, and so many women and young girls have no awareness of menstruation or what products are available to them. Often, young girls receive no information at all about menstruation and are left to cope alone and, often, in fear. Schools around the world often have a lack of supportive and educational resources that support positive dialogue and conversation around menstruation from an early age. Supporting this, many parents and carers feel they do not have the tools to opening discuss menarche with their children, and thus may find they avoid the topic until the day a girl starts menstruating. Anecdotal evidence from our partners in Papua New Guinea and Kenya also suggest that young women do skip school when their periods begin. Many girls feel they cannot go to school during their period because there is no running water, sanitation or required privacy.
THE SOLUTION: Menstruation is no longer a barrier that stops girls and young women attending school and higher education. School curricula all over the globe include positive and relevant education about menstruation (including an expansion beyond brief short-term health education) to ensure all girls and women, as well as their male counterparts, have equal access to positive information about menstruation from an early age. Young women feel able to attend school while they have their period, and school attendance and retention is high for women and girls. Schools are knowledgeable about menstruation, and provide sufficient facilities to allow women and girls to feel comfortable about their periods. This allows girls to understand their bodies better and communicate this to others, including their partner. Community leaders and politicians understand the importance of, and support, larger educational systemic changes including education policy includes menstruation education as part of its planning.
THE CONCEPT – THIS CHILDREN BOOK: Approaching puberty, and particularly menarche can be frightening and intimidating for any child, but a positive understanding and acceptance of menstruation especially at an early age is vitally important and has implications for one’s body image, relationships and future life outcomes and choices. The startling fact is that a child can start menstruating as early as seven years of age, and creating positive pathways for children to understand menstruation supports positive conversations and experiences about this traditionally ‘taboo’ theme. This book will compliment a broader movement to support parents and educators to educate about menstruation in a positive and empowering way, including a free school curriculum that includes beautiful artwork from the book with cultural images from around the world and case studies for students to discuss and develop, as well as ‘Stories of Old’ – a collection of stories from women across the globe about menarche.
BACKER'S CONTRIBUTION: Your contribution funds will be used to edit and illustrate the book, format the digital copy, and print and deliver the book to you and your loved ones at home and school. For a breakdown of exactly how your backers contributions will be used please see our breakdown of items below for allow this project to be published and delivered.
RISKS AND CHALLENGES: If we do not achieve our goal, this book will not be published. We simply do not have the funds to make it a reality. Every backer means so much to us, we can't even say. We are eternally grateful.
This project will be fulfilled successfully to my backers because the first draft of the manuscript is already complete, the publishing company has been chosen, and scoping has begun to source an illustrator to bring the story to life. Once we finish these steps with your support, we will be ready to publish, print, and ship.
I am confident that I will have a copy of the book within schedule and I plan to constantly update all backers on the status of the project. I am always available to answer any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
DIVISION OF ESTIMATED BUDGET ITEMS:
· B&N Inside the Book
· Project Communication
· Copyright Registration
· Cover Copy Polish
· Custom Cover
· Design
· Design of advertising materials
· Editing
· Editorial Review
· Global Reach Distribution
· Google & Amazon Search Program
· Illustrations
· Image Insertions for Black & White / Colour Books
· Interior Book Design and Layout
· ISBN Assignment
· Library of Congress Control Number
· Material Expenses (including postage)
· One on One Author Support from Publishers
· Basic Operational Costs
· Personalized Back Cover
· Printing and making eBook
· Printing of advertising materials to get the book out there
· Consultation Fees for Jane Hardwick-Collins, a menstruation expert (for authors notes to parents and educators).
· Publish book
· Basic Travel Expenses to Schools Across Australia to promote the book 2014
TOTAL MINIMUM FUNDS REQUIRED: $3500
Reaching this minimal goal will allow us to edit, publish and distribute our children’s book and to make this dream a reality. THANK YOU for your support!
TOTAL MAXIMUM FUNDS: $6500
Reaching our maximum goal will allow us to additionally:
- Professionally print our school curriculum package,
-Present 100 free copies of the book, curriculum, and teachers training manual to ten schools from low-socioeconomic areas across Australia to use as a resource
-Publish the book into additional languages such as Spanish, Italian or French for global distribution.
A big thank you and a social media mention through Crimson Movement
5 chosen
Est. delivery is Nov 13
A digital colour copy of our book and a social media mention through Crimson Movement
7 chosen
Est. delivery is Nov 13
An actual print copy of our book and a social media mention through Crimson Movement
42 chosen
Est. delivery is Dec 13
An autographed print copy of our book by the author, a digital colour copy of our book and a social media mention through Crimson Movement
11 chosen
Est. delivery is Dec 13
Your name (and school or business if you wish) featured on our website acknowledging your contribution, two autographed print copies of our book by the author, a digital colour copy of our book, and a social media mention through Crimson Movement
13 chosen
Est. delivery is Dec 13
A school curriculum package which includes five signed colour copies of our book for classroom use, a digital copy of our book, a printed and digital school curriculum that incorporates use of the books and five red boxes (a special celebration gift for your girls filled with organic, natural items that truly support her) to celebrate menarche, and a social media mention through Crimson Movement
1 chosen
Est. delivery is Dec 13
School curriculum package including eight signed colour copies of our book for classroom use, a printed and digital school curriculum that incorporates use of the books, eight red boxes (a special celebration gift for your girls filled with organic, natural items that truly support her) to celebrate menarche and finally a special feature about your school or business on our blog and next newsletter.
0 chosen
Est. delivery is Dec 13
Five printed ‘Empowering Women and Girls’ T-shirts, a copy of Lara Owen's ‘Her Blood is Gold’, a school curriculum package including ten signed colour copies and two digital copies of our book, a printed and digital school curriculum that incorporates use of the books and ten red boxes (a special celebration gift for your girls filled with organic, natural items that truly support her) to celebrate menarche and finally a feature about your school or business on our blog.
0 chosen
Est. delivery is Dec 13