Children’s Character Jonnie Bray to Help Haiti’s Orphans

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Oct. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- October 5, 2013, Solvang, CA- There are over 350,000 Orphans in Haiti and the children’s book “Jonnie Bray’s First Christmas” is determined not to let the world forget about these children in post earthquake.

The character and story were created by, author and marketing consultant, Robert Charles who was searching for a holiday book for children.  At the same time, author Uwanda Parks was looking for a new project after her book “Messy Marvin.”  Their searches brought them together thanks to fate, and the creation of Jonnie Bray came to life within two weeks.  “It was just organic from the onset.  I shared my experience writing Messy Marvin with Robert and he quickly presented a totally different experience to ensure a smooth and exciting journey.  To watch him work is magical—it’s like watching an orchestra leader guide hundreds of musicians in a symphony—I’m on cloud nine.”

The story was written by Parks and Charles, illustration ideas were sent to artist Cristina Pecherle in Romania then to book graphic designer Keith Tarrier in Japan.  Charles then put together the video promotion by contracting video editor Jun Park and music composer Dale Crowley of the U.S.  The last piece to the puzzle was the voice over for the book promotion video and Charles found Loes van Horn in the Netherlands.  This team, all dedicated to the cause, contributed to the final piece being viewed on YouTube.

Robert Charles, a successful author, producer-director in his own right,  then brought the project to the crowdfunding guru Kickstarter.com to raise funds to make hundreds of books possible for both the orphanages in Haiti and women shelters in America.  “It was an important decision that the book be available in the U.S. for American families to keep Haiti in their thoughts during the holiday.  The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere still is poverty stricken and children need families that care.  By contracting to translate the book in Creole, we can work with Haitian American ministries to ensure the books get to the right churches, orphanages and families in Haiti.  We also included the amazing work that American women shelters offer during the holiday for children—we’re just happy to be able to offer this small gift along with a share of proceeds from book sales”, says Robert Charles.

People interested in donating to the fundraiser, from $1 to $250 with donation rewards as a thank you, can find the project at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/92092821/jonnie-brays-first-christmas?ref=live.  Updates and Blog can be found at http://www.JonnieBray.com.