|
A Heart-Breaking Announcement
Unfortunately, as you might have noticed, our company's sole charitable endeavor - DProphet.com - has been inactive for several years. Originally, when we stopped updating the site, we hoped it would be a temporary hiatus. Much to our disappointment, that hasn't been the case.
Our founder, Heather Lawver, the one person who kept this entire operation running since its inception, fell ill several years ago. She had fought off long-term illness throughout the early years of The Daily Prophet, but by the age of 18, her illness became more than she could manage. At age 19 she was diagnosed with a rare degenerative genetic condition known as Dercum's Disease. She's been fighting it ever since. Now, at the age of 24, she's still suffering from the horrific pain and myriad complications caused by the disease, all of which have left her mostly confined to bed and unable to work. And thanks to a stroke she suffered just last year, even the most basic of life's activities and joys became too much for her to manage on her own.
So it's with that sad news that we must announce that Prophet Incorporated will be on official sabbatical for an indeterminate period of time. Even though we are retaining our 501(c)3 status for the time being - in the hope of coming back to our work - we will not be soliciting or accepting donations of any kind until we announce otherwise. We don't know when Heather will be well enough to pick up again where she's left off to continue leading our efforts to tutor and mentor children around the world. We have not been soliciting donations for years, ever since she first fell ill. But we had been putting off making this announcement, in the hope that she might get better. Putting it in writing just seemed so... permanent. But given the severity of recent circumstances, we realized we just couldn't put it off any longer.
We want to thank all of our friends for all of their unending support and love. Your thoughts, prayers, and kind words mean the world to us and to Heather. If she should ever be blessed enough to overcome her medical situation, please know that the Daily Prophet will be the first thing on her agenda. But until that day comes, Prophet Incorporated is officially on vacation.
Thank you! And in the mean time, keep reading, keep writing, and keep sharing the love of creative writing with everyone around you!
If you would like to learn more about Dercum's Disease, Heather established an educational resource website with the help of the world's leading experts on the disease. Please take a moment to read about it! Unfortunately, it can become fatal if left untreated. Sadly, because the disease isn't very widely known, it is often left undiagnosed. The thought of so many people suffering and dying from this disease, never even knowing the cause, breaks our hearts. Even if just one more person learns about the disease, it just might save a life.
You can find it at www.DercumsDisease.com.
Prophet Inc Featured in 'We Are Wizards' at SXSW
Our founder, Ms Heather Lawver, and her work with The Daily Prophet, PotterWar, and Prophet Incorporated, is featured in 'We Are Wizards', an exciting new feature-length documentary that chronicles the people who have helped to shape the innovative creative subculture that has evolved around J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' series.
The film is an official selection in the Documentary category of the 2008 South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
For more information about the film, our role in its making, and how you can see it, please visit our News Blog.
We'll see you at the movies!
Did You Know...
- Proficient readers are the minority: in 2003, only 32% of fourth graders attained at least the proficient level in reading.
- The average kindergarten student has seen more than 5,000 hours of television, having spent more time in front of the TV than it takes to earn a bachelors degree.
- Over one million children drop out of school each year, costing the nation over $240 billion in lost earnings, forgone tax revenues, and expenditures for social services.
Change is Possible
- School grades improved for 59% of students who have received help from mentors.
- Community-based mentoring programs have experienced a 96% success rate for keeping children in school.
Innovation Opens Doors
By utilizing the international, cross-cultural potential of the Internet, Prophet Incorporated provides educational innovations for use in classrooms around the world. Peer-to-peer education provided free of charge will open borders, increase the potential of any classroom, and entice children to advance their own education to prepare themselves for the opportunities of the twenty-first century. With connected classrooms, the world - and indeed, the finest minds it has to offer - will be their mentor.
We invite you to explore our website, learn more about online education, and participate in this global revolution.
|
