ATB Newsletter – DVD NEWS AND UPDATES

I made it through the storm. Last Thursday, so many of you ordered the DVD at the same time that the server crashed for an hour or so. Talk about crisis management.

I made sure to stay near a computer to answer any questions that you may have, but I have to be honest, thousands of emails came in and I couldn’t keep up.

Therefore, I’ve decided to address everything right here in this section. Read in it’s entirety before ordering a DVD, if you haven’t ordered yet. That way all of your questions will be answered.

1.  I had about 4,000 declined credit cards. The reason for the vast majority of the cards being declined is that the shipping address doesn’t match the address listed on the card. The processing center told me they set it up that way to prevent fraud, but it turned into a nightmare.

The good news – I set aside 9,000 DVD’s for anyone that had a problem with their card or any other complication. I only have 9,264 Collector Edition DVD’s left. If your credit card was declined, then try it again, using the same address that the card is listed under.

If it still won’t go through, then email me and I can arrange to input everything manually or I can arrange an alternative method of payment. It’s my intention that everyone that wants a DVD will get a DVD. One way or another!

To order the DVD go to this site:

(don’t forget to put in the words – savefive – to get the discount price of $19.99. The DVD will be $24.95 if you don’t put the – savefive – discount code in the discount box when checking out.

BUY DVD NOW

If the above link doesn’t work, go to: www.americathebeautifuldoc.com/buy

2. Which brings us to everyone (and there were tons) that forgot to put the discount code in the box when you ordered last week.

Good news – the processing company showed me how to manually go in and apply the $4.96 per DVD back to everyone’s credit card. So EVERYONE that paid $24.95 per DVD will get a refund of $4.96, making the DVD $19.99.

You’ll know when the $4.96 discount has been applied to your credit card because you’ll receive a confirmation email. If you haven’t received a confirmation by next Tuesday, email me and I’ll take care of it right away.

3. The PG-13 version of the film will be ready in approximately 2 weeks. I will send an announcement when it’s ready. We will only have 10,000 of the PG-13 DVD’s and HUNDREDS of high schools have already emailed wanting that version. Make sure you order the PG-13 version as soon as it’s ready!

4. If you’re planning an “America the Beautiful,” house party, send me an email. I may join you. One of my requirements is that you have pizza with Italian Sausage and Jalapeno peppers. 

I’ve been invited to 178 house parties so far. One in Japan, one in Austria, 8 in Canada, 1 in Cleveland, 1 in Dallas, 1 in Rochester, 1 in Wisconsin, 6 in Australia, 11 in San Francisco, 2 in Hawaii and so on. I’ll only be able to go to 10-15 of them.

I’m not sure what criteria I’ll use to select the 15 house parties, but just know, it’s going to be a blast. We’ve been communicating for the last year via this newsletter and now I get to watch the film and have pizza with you and your friends in the privacy of your home. Did I mention pizza?

I will post pictures of all the house parties.

5. All of the DVD’s will ship this Friday which means you should have them next week, depending on your location. Exciting! If you don’t get your DVD by the end of next week, email me and I’ll put the trace on it.

6. On December 1st, the film will come out on Video on Demand Cable and Netflix. Video on Demand is where you order the film for $4.99 on cable. I think you’ll be able to get it on ITunes on December 1st as well.

The link on the homepage of our website goes live on December 1st as well. From that point on the DVD will be $24.95. “America the Beautiful,” is coming to Amazon as well. I’ll let you know the date as soon as I know.

Special Note – The Netflix, Amazon, VOD, etc. version of the film won’t be the Collector’s Edition with special features. It will be a DVD with the movie on it only. The Collector’s Edition is a special thanks to you for supporting the film for the past year.

FYI – Netflix ordered several thousand copies of the film and I heard the que for “America the Beautiful,” is full, meaning as soon as Netflix gets their copies they’re going out to customers.

This has truly been an adventure. I can’t wait to do it again. You are family for life. All of you. Collectively we’re going to put our heads together and help young girls around the world. I’m committed. Not going anywhere.

To order the Rated R Collector’s Edition of the film, click here:

(Remember to use the discount code – savefive – to receive the $19.99 price)

BUY DVD NOW

if the above link doesn’t work, go to: www.americathebeautifuldoc.com/buy

- I HAVE A DREAM FOUNDATION

Last weekend, I went to Los Angeles and attended the “I Have a Dream,” luncheon .

This is a nationwide organization that sponsors the entire first grade of a particular school and mentors and supports them from the 1st grade all the way through the 12th grade. They even help with scholarships to college.

I read some staggering statistics (positive) regarding the graduation rate and general well-being of the kids that graduate from the program.

I’ve long held the notion that if young adults had a healthy self-esteem, they’d be in a better position to fight the negative messages “you’re nothing – unless you buy our products,” that are perpetuated in the media everyday.

The affair was in a 15,000 square foot mansion in the hills of Encino. IHAD was looking for donors and mentors for the kids. It costs $1.6 million per year for IHAD to adopt the first grade of a school at the start of a school year and follow them to grade 12.

By the way, I almost jumped in the pool, but I didn’t want to embarrass the guy that invited me.

This is Wendy, the Executive Director of the Los Angeles branch of “I have a Dream.”  Most major cities have a local chapter.

This is one of the board members of IHAD. Aaron was a board member at another organization, but believed so much in “I Have a Dream,” that he resigned and started fundraising for IHAD.

I happened to turn to my left and saw this awesome spread. My, my, my. People were talking about the tasty morsels all day.

That’s Don, one of the top tax accountants in Los Angeles, bar none. Do you remember her? That’s Christa, the yoga instructor from the San Francisco area.

The board members of “I Have a Dream,” gave a presentation letting everyone know why it was important to donate or become a mentor. The message was loud and clear – The kids need us!

I couldn’t believe George Duke was here. George Duke, is musical icon. A rock star! I grew up listening to his music. And that’s his lovely wife Corine Duke. I met her a year ago at the Los Angeles Premiere of “America the Beautiful.” I think she brought 10 women with her. Very, very nice woman!

This is one of the dreamers from the “I Have a Dream,” program. You can read his story off the board.

This is Shaniece. She’s a Dreamer as well. She spoke during the program and shook all of us to the core. Her story is extremely inspiring.

After listening to her, I knew “I Have a Dream,” was doing something right. As a matter of fact, a lot of things right.

If I was in Los Angeles I would sign up to be a mentor. No doubt about it.

I’ll cheat a little and tell you that Shaniece is the “Beautiful Person of the Week.” You have to read her story below. What a strong, inspirational woman!

When I left the “I Have a Dream,” affair, I asked Christa if she wanted to have a glass of lemonade in the lobby of the SLS Hotel.

The hotel was designed by famed designer Phillipe Stark and has a style that is grand, romantic, eclectic and amazing all at the same time.

The interior reminds me of something that we would see in Beijing because of its worldly nature. It is like entering a wonderland where there is no concept of time or reality.

The mind is stimulated by the old, new, modern and classic. It seems that furniture pieces from every era sit in the hotel.

Here is Miss Christa. She’s always smiling. So pleasant and charming.

I sat next to her to see if her magic smile would rub off on me. I must admit, I don’t do it as well as she does. I had an absolute blast hanging out with Christa. her zest for life is highly contagious.

I shared with you of couple of weeks ago that Christa was one of the top yoga instructors in the San Francisco area – Well here is Christa in action.

Isn’t this an awesome picture? She was in Mexico when a friend of hers took the picture.

The sun, the water. Yoga must be very relaxing in a setting like this.

This is where I have to gloat a little. I was complimenting Christa on how awesome she seems to be with yoga and somehow the conversation turned to us racing. For some reason (I know the reason actually) she thought she could beat me in a race. I told her I played college basketball and ran track and she snickered. I mean snickered where I could hear her.

So I took my shoes off and she said let’s go – ladies and gentlemen, I won!  That’s no small feat because she really is in good shape. The moral to the story for all the kids out there – “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”

Sorry Christa, but I had to tell the story.

Christa shared with me that her goal in life is to spread wisdom and love. I have no doubt whatsoever that she’ll be highly successful with that endeavor.

- NEW TESTIMONIALS
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Daryl-

PLEASE keep my 5 bucks!

You are transforming the way women feel about themselves.

Thank you so very very much!

Wish I could give you 5 mil.

My Best,
XXXXXX
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Hey Darryl,

My name is XXXXX. I met you at Queens University in Kingston Ontario, and was sad that we did not end up meeting up at Alfie’s the campus bar.  You changed my life, and the press that I have been following is a testament to how good people can make positive change in the lives of others without economically evil reasons.  I purchased the DVD this morning using my credit card and the code would not work, I used a Visa and am in Canada perhaps this is the problem.

However, I suggest you take the 5 dollars extra that I paid (possibly others from this system glitch) and donate it to someone or an organization that could utilize this money better.  Or perhaps you start a fund/ bursary/ honorarium/ scholarship in the ATB name that promotes individuals who in their everyday lives help one another to see their beauty.  I have tonnes of student debt, and realize that doing for others in a selfish society is a challenging task, trying to create something from nothing, or push harder when so many negative influences and peoples negative attitudes try to deter us from succeeded is A FEAT.

And people should be rewarded and your weekly newsletters highlighting women of all ages as being inspirational is AMAZING.   SO KEEP my five dollars because I have a feeling that you right now can do more with those five dollars to help people than I could.

I took the risk of missing the film screening at Queens to come out and talk to you, and it is truly a decision that I will never regret!  I would love to keep in touch and possibly work aside you on a future project or possibly be an intern or anything… your vision and spirit is fresh, and genuine.  And so I anxiously await your film that I missed out on, and plan on having people over.  I am a committee member on campus of Women’s Empowerment Committee (W.E.C) and perhaps after screening it myself will feel that it is necessary to screen it again next semester… because let’s face it these issues we face (and I believe exist in the film) are not going away anytime soon- but that is NO excuse to be complacent.

LOTS OF LOVE AND ADMIRATION
XXXXXX

ps.  I am so glad that you told me the story about how you quit accounting and decided to follow a passion- because passion is beauty, realizing  that we are all capable of being passionate and beautiful allows us to dream, inspire, and explore.  And gives us the ability to fulfill our selves and help others see the beauty and passion that they may have forgotten -
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Dear Darryl,

I ordered the DVD this morning.  I haven’t seen it yet, but have been anxious to, so it was the first thing I did when I saw your e-mail this morning.  I did not know how the “savefive” thing worked and, as a newly divorced woman, would appreciate the refund of $5.00.

I am struggling with my own image issues.  I’ve been dating a man who claims to love me the way I am, but keeps pointing out breasts sizes that would be “perfect” on me.  I’m very small busted and have taken countless years of teasing about “mosquito bites”.  For the most part, I’ve accepted that this is the body God gave me and I should be content with it.  I’ve found myself, lately, paying attention to other women’s bodies, especially on tv, and feeling inadequate.  I’m trying to admire women like Kiera Knighly and Kate Hudson, who, despite being small busted, are beautiful, sexy leading ladies.  By the way, I’m 44, not an insecure teenager.  Just goes to show that we are affected by media images of perfection, regardless of our age.

Maybe I’m babbling, but I can’t wait to recieve the DVD and get my boyfriend to watch it with me.

Thank you for addressing this very serious issue, which is just getting worse.

Sincerely,

XXX  XXXX
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Dear Darryl,

I am soo exited!

I  have seen your movie three times now in the theater, and took away different and equally important insights each time.  As the mother of a twelve year old with anorexia, and a teacher of high school students who have ridiculous pressure on them to ‘perform’ on every level-including the  beauty pageant that  goes on -whether they entered or not. I see the confusion and sadness resulting in anorexia,plastic surgery,  even suicide.
I m having a bday party for my daughter next week–the fourteenth-fifteenth and ATB will be the feature!
(Assuming it will be here by then…)

Thank you Darryl. You-and your movie have been talked about in therapy and in her schoolwork, as it is the only gauge she has to refer to with her body image,.

Thank YOU!
XXXXXX
San Rafael, ca
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Darryl,

This is amazing!  I saw your film in Atlanta quite sometime ago. I am so happy to see the momentum behind your movement.You are doing a great service to the world. Thank you for wanting to move humanity forward.

Keep spreading your beautiful light with the world.
XXXX
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I saw ATB last February when you were in Elmira, NY-it amazed me-I’m so glad that I can tell other people about it and they have the opportunity to get the dvd and watch it too.  Thank you for doing such a wonderful job putting it together.  It’s very powerful and I wish every American would watch it.

Sincerely,
XXXX   XXXXXXX
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Hi Darryl,

It seems like forever that I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to order my own copy of the collector’s edition of your DVD. I’m so exited to get it and watch it with my daughters. Each time your newsletter comes, my girls and I open it and discuss it. We’ve been so happy with the work you’ve done bringing awareness to so many people about women and girls issues and what beauty really is.

We’re especially touched by the awareness you’ve brought to so many about eating disorders. Both of my daughters, XXXXX who’s now 20 and XXXX, now 17, have both struggled with eating disorders for the last 5 to 7 years. Our family’s journey has been a tough one, but I am happy to say that at least for today, (and that’s all we really have, isn’t it? Today.)… they are both doing well. (Thank the good Lord!)

My youngest, XXXX, was so ill at one point that she was hospitalized for over three months in Ridgeview and then sent to a long-term residential treatment center in Arizona ~ Remuda Ranch. She was only 12 years old at the time and leaving my baby half-way across the country was so incredibly hard, yet today it was the best thing we could have ever done for her. I credit them with saving her life. They taught all of us so much and even today we go back to the things we learned there to help us during the tough times.

One of the hardest things that my girls have endured throughout all of this though has been the ignorance most people have about eating disorders. Sometimes peoples’ ignorance to something, especially mental illnesses, allows them to believe it is somehow okay to make fun of and degrade those who suffer with them. This ignornace has caused many heart aches for my daughters including one experience that I’d like to share with you that they just experienced this past week:

One of my oldest daughters’ best friends for the last 10 years, YYYYYY, posted some pictures of herself online from Halloween. Her costume included a black dress imprinted as a skeleton, a tape measure as a belt, a bone in hair, and a red heart pin with her name “Anna Rexia”. When XXXXX saw this, she was simply shocked, stunned, hurt.  YYYYYY has been XXXXXX friend throughout both her and her sister’s illnesses and relapses so to see her friend laughing and partying in a costume that poked fun of and “glorified” this disease that almost claimed XXXXXX life was heartbreaking.

XXXX posted a response to the pictures so that others might learn that anorexia is a serious, life threatening disease not to be taken lightly (I’m sure it was highly charged with emotion too). She felt so good that she had finally taken up for herself about her disease in a forum where everyone would see and know the truth (a hard thing for her). What came next might have been the cherry on top of it all ~ she was insulted and verbally abused.

Over 90 replies were posted after XXXXX comments stating that she was “just way too sensitive”, “acting like a victim”, and “stupid” to name just a few. “Guess we shouldn’t dress up as dead people either” was another post. As if it could get any worse, YYYYYY’s mother, a teacher at the local high school, decided to join the free-for-all. She actually sent my youngest daugther a link to a pro-anorexia website! It got very ugly from that point on to say the least.

The bright side of this experience is that our eyes have certainly been opened to the fact that so much more needs to be done to educate people on the dangers of eating disorders. Together, my daughters and I are hoping to organize a eating disorder walk-a-thon during eating disorder awareness week in February and include different activities including showing your film. I’m also going to the county to try to get the school version out there for our young people and educators to see. I’ll let you know how it goes. Of course, we’re also excited to get our own copy and have our own private party too. We’ll be sure to have some italian sausage and jalapeno pizza too!

Sincerely,

XXXX   XXXXXXXX

P.S. For some reason I couldn’t open my email account from Wednesday until today and now my debit cards not working!!! AGH!!! I’m praying I get it straightened out before the collector’s editions are gone!
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Dear Darryl,

For the last year I’ve been in treatment for an eating disorder that I’ve hidden from the world for 7 years.

When I finally stepped out of the shadows into “imperfection” I found so much pain. Nearly all of my friends left me and my classmates looked at me as if I were a different animal. I missed my entire senior year for the pain of recovery and loss, and am not attending college this year to continue healing.

I heard about this movie last year from my ED therapy group leader when you came to the Eastman theater and couldn’t wait to see it. However, I ended up getting really sick due to me ed and couldn’t come. I’ve been waiting to see it ever since and just ordered the DVD yesterday; I can’t wait for it to come in.

At this point I’ve started to realize that I’m beautiful on my own and just because SAKs fifth will only order size 2 mannequins doesn’t mean that I have to be that size as well. I’m still on the road to recovery but I’m also way farther into the break-up with ! ED (code-name for Eating Disorder!).

I love what you’re doing for young girls everywhere and I’m trying to do the same in my community where we have the highest rate of eating disorders in our county and those surrounding. Again, thank you so much and keep up the good work! You’re an inspiration to us “girls behind walls” everywhere.

Bessos!

XXX
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Mr. Roberts,

I’ve tried multiple times to order your amazing DVD and it took many tries to get my order to go through, but the confirmation e-mail with my order number matches the failed order number I received in an e-mail from you.

Please let me know if there’s something else I can try to get this to work.  I’ve been dying to get your DVD so I could have everyone over to watch it.  I’d followed it for a long time before I was able to watch it at one of the SF, CA showings you had, and I was in awe of it.

I’ve been working towards recovery from my eating disorder, but after my dad died this summer, I put my recovery on hold.  Your DVD inspires me and reminds me of all the reasons I need and want to keep fighting.  I want all my friends and family to see this film.  Please please please please let me know whatever I have to do to order a copy of this.

The world needs to see this movie.  They need to know.  It was incredibly inspiring to me, as I’m sure it was for many others.  I look forward to being able to have a house showing party for it, and you are TOTALLY invited to join us;  that would be AWESOME!  Thank you soooo much for making this movie and putting it out there, even though I’m sure it was a big risk.  Thank you for taking that risk, and speaking out and making a difference.  You’ve greatly touched my life, and I’m sure many many others as well.  Thank you sooooo much.  Please let me know what to do to get my order to work.  Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
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Dear Darryl,

I just wanted to say thank you so much again for making your dream come true with finally reaching the DVD release date!  The first thing I did when I woke up this morning, which was a mere 630 am.  Yes I am a college student, so for me, that was pretty darn early ( I have class at 8).

Anyways, I am so excited for my DVD to come in the mail and I will make my 3 roomates watch it.  None of them got the great chance to see it when you came to our school, East Stroudsburg University in PA.  I look forward to showing ATB to as many as my friends as possible and hopefully relay your message.  I wish you all the best in selling the DVD’s in order to spread your message about beauty.  For once in my life, you have made me feel special and I appreciate that more than anything.  Keep up the great work and I look forward to your future projects and helping you with them in any way.

Sincerely,

A great fan from the ESU Nursing Program,

XXXXXXXX
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- BEAUTIFUL PERSON OF THE WEEK

This week’s “Beautiful Person of the Week,” is a very special young lady. Her wisdom, courage, strength and ability to touch others is mesmerizing. When you’re around her, beauty ooozes from her sense of being.

I had the pleasure of being in her presence for a little while last Sunday and I wanted to give you the chance to be with her for a little while today.

In Shaniece own words, this is what makes her Beautiful:

I was the oldest of three children raised by a single mom. We lived on a street that was the dividing line between two gang territories, one of the most dangerous streets in the city. There were drive-by shootings all the time. I ducked and hit the floor every time I heard gunfire.

That was my childhood until the day of sixth grade graduation when my whole class walked into the auditorium together and found it filled with balloons and cameras. Eugene Lang told us we were the first class to be adopted by the I Have a Dream Foundation in Los Angeles, and that if we stayed in school, they would pay for us to go to college. I thought, “So what?” I didn’t know or care who those people were.

In seventh grade, I became a real teenager. I wanted to be me, and I didn’t want any grown-ups sticking their nose in my business. I stayed away from I Have a Dream, never went to tutoring, and never got to know my project
coordinator. My grades started to go down, and by the end of the year, I was nearly flunking out.

IHAD wouldn’t give up on me. They called and called and called. Then they called my mother. She dragged me to a tutoring session; that was the beginning. The day everything changed, though, was the day of a field trip. IHAD took me to see snow at Christmas-time, and the Project Coordinator started to talk to me and ask questions about absolutely everything. I realized, right then, in the middle of the first snow of my life, that they were not the enemy. By the end of eighth grade, I was close to getting all As again.

By high school, I was tutoring in the IHAD tutoring center. In tenth grade, IHAD flew me to New York City to speak at the United Nations when Eugene Lang was honored for his work with children. I spoke about my life, and how I had changed because of I Have a Dream.

I have plenty of friends from my old neighborhood who went the other way. I had a friend who tried to get out of a gang and was set up and shot in the back of the head. I had a friend who committed suicide during high school by walking onto the 110 Freeway. I have a friend who is serving twenty-five years in prison.

In twelfth grade, I Have a Dream took us on a tour of historically black colleges. We went to Tuskegee, Morehouse and Spellman. I saw all those students who looked like me. On the plane home, I remember thinking, I’m going to college. IHAD is sending me to college.”

Now, I am a graduate of California State University at Dominguez Hills with a degree in Business Administration, and I am a licensed realtor.

Because of what IHAD did for me, my younger sister decided to stay in school. My mother, who had dropped out in the ninth grade, went back to school and graduated from high school. My sister has graduated from college, and my mother from nursing school.

My daughter, Chelsea, is only in kindergarten. She’s just starting to read, but I already have plans for her to go to college. I am going to do for her what I Have a Dream did for me. And then she’s going to do it for her children. Who could have imagined on the day I walked into my
sixth grade graduation, that three generations of my family – and all the generations to come – would have been changed by the promise I Have a Dream made to me.

When people ask me what I Have a Dream has meant to me, I say that my life is like two bowls. One was empty, and the other filled with candy. That candy is the love, the home, the guidance, the opportunity – and the dream.