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The Haven Foundation
From the desk of Stephen King:
In the summer of 1999, I was struck by a careless driver and nearly
killed while taking my daily walk. It was ten months before I was able to work
productively again. Some years later, a good friend of mine, audio reader Frank
Muller, suffered terrible head injuries as a result of a motorcycle accident.
He will never work again. My luck was infinitely better than Muller’s, but the
two events set me thinking about the uniquely perilous situation of many
freelance artists. The majority of mid-list writers, audio readers, and
freelancers in the book and publishing industry have little or no financial
cushion in the event of a sudden catastrophic accident such as that suffered by
Muller and myself. Many aren’t affiliated with any professional associations or
guilds that can help them in the event of such reversals. Even those who are
affiliated with organizations such as The Authors’ Guild cannot look for much
beyond token help over a short period of time.
My response to this has been the creation
of The Haven Foundation. Its goals will be fourfold:
First, to establish a compassionate and
committed group of board members willing to sift through cases and identify
those where the need seems to be the greatest. These “greatest need” cases
would be freelance artists—writers, readers, and those in the associated
publishing industry—who have found themselves unable to work due to disease or
accident. We will also be focusing on freelancers associated with the book and
publishing industry who lost their homes and work spaces (with freelancers
these are often the same) as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Second, to help a number of these
individuals each year, based on need.
Third, to establish cut-off points for
such help. As I have discovered, the decision to cut off aid is an agonizing
one, and best made by a group rather than by an individual. I have come to
believe, however, that it must be made if help is to be rendered to the many
rather than the few.
Fourth, to seek fundraising opportunities
so that The Haven Foundation can continue to do this work.
Stephen King
June 7, 2006
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