Dont Wait Project

“Expenses advertising 4,592 321 office expense 1,380 269 20 travel 719 1,514 total 8,815”

“The don't wait project (dwp), founded in 2011, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to raising community awareness about how positive life choices can impact the health and welfare of individuals, organizations and communities.”

“Don't wait to unmake a bully students write, direct, produce and star in anti-bullying psas based on their own experience. They use a professional quality film camera and other equipment while learning valuable teamwork and industry skills throughout production. Since partnering with filmmaker, educator and unmake a bully creator mike feurstein in 2012, don't wait to unmake a bully has worked with more than 10,000 k-12 students at schools throughout the country, producing hundreds of psas. The dwp has also hosted multiple premieres at donated venues (i.e. Numerica performing arts center in wenatchee, wa; as well as screenings at movie theaters in wenatchee and albany, ny) where students, teachers, administrators, families and entire local communities are invited to screen the student-produced psas and behind the scenes footage. Throughout the spring semester of 2021 school year, numerous schools canceled booked programs due to covid-19 school closures and budget cuts. In 2020, the dwp helped develop a virtual program that was successfully conducted in a few schools in 2020 and one school in spring 2021 when students gathered in google classrooms for brainstorming, scriptwriting and plot discussion. The students were also individually assigned in-home or outdoor filming scavenger hunts (i.e. Students were assigned a list of scenes to film with their own devices, then that footage was used when producing the psa). The psas were then edited and premiered throughout the country via zoom, so students, families, administrators and teachers could view the students' creativity and hard work during a time when gathering virtually was sometimes a challenge. In fall 2021, we resumed our in-person program in several schools in washington and new york states.”

“The don't wait project tour the don't wait project (dwp) has told hundreds of stories and reached millions of people through its website, video, print, social media, youtube and vimeo. From local community leaders to oscar award-winning actors, project founder lisa bradshaw has interviewed people from all walks of life who have thought-provoking and life-changing stories. In partnership with town toyota auto group, a local car dealership in the wenatchee, wa, community, bradshaw launched a seven-state, six-week tour in search of people living don't wait lives throughout wa, or, ca, az, ut, co and id. She embarked on the journey alone with only a dslr camera and a tripod, her mac computer for editing footage and her toyota rav4, pulling a nucamp tag trailer. Throughout the tour, bradshaw focused on don't wait stories, inspiring people to revisit the nouns in life: the people, places, things and ideas we sometimes give up on along the way. These stories were shared on dwp social media platforms and aired on bradshaw's television talk show, life with lisa bradshaw, on charter/spectrum and local ncw life channel. After the success of the first tour in 2018, town toyota auto group sponsored a second tour in 2019, this time bradshaw traveled eight southern states, including texas, louisiana, mississippi, alabama, georgia, tennessee, arkansas, north carolina and oklahoma. Toyota national's grassroots program match also allowed for a professional cinematographer to travel with bradshaw and film the storytelling mission. In addition, nucamp rv sponsored the tour and provided two teardrop trailers, one for bradshaw and one for the newly-hired cinematographer. Bradshaw interviewed people throughout the tour about their don't wait stories related to health, career, family, community and philanthropy. Town toyota auto group had committed to sponsoring the 2021 tour when lisa bradshaw and a cinematographer would've traveled 10 states from missouri to massachusetts, during four weeks in october and november, but the tour was postponed due to covid-19. The tour is rescheduled for march 2022.”

“This beautiful life, the song dwp founder lisa bradshaw met singer wendy moten during the don't wait project tour 2019's stop in nashville, tn. They met on the night of moten's debut performance on the grand ol' opry, and bradshaw interviewed moten about her story. The two became friends and stayed in touch, so when covid-19 caused the shutdown of all gatherings and travel, including music concerts, bradshaw reached out to moten and invited her as a guest on her television show to talk about her downtime during the covid-19 shutdown since she'd been used to traveling and singing backup for headliners like vince gill. Soon after their interview, bradshaw reached out to moten again about one line of a song she'd written in 1992 that she'd like to finish, but bradshaw doesn't sing or play an instrument. Moten put bradshaw in touch with her longtime partner, bass guitar player and songwriter david santos, who was also home during the covid-19 shutdowns, along with all performers and musicians in nashville. Santos liked the one line bradshaw had written about her grandfather's death in 1992 and the two collaborated on the writing the rest of the song, now titled this beautiful life. Santos has worked with some of the greats, like bob seger, elton john and crosby, stills & nash so he reached out to his friends in the business in nashville when it came time to produce the song. By now, in its finished form, it had become a song about the loss of bradshaw's husband after receiving a double-lung transplant at the age of 35 and bradshaw raising their young son without him, who was now 21 years old. Santos wrote and produced the music for this beautiful life; bradshaw wrote the melody and lyrics; and he called in some favors to his musician friends, including producer peter young; denny hemingson (steel guitar player with tim mcgraw); and jimmy nichols (faith hill's music director). Aly cutter performed vocals. Bradshaw then reached out to donate life america (dla), a nonprofit organization leading its national partners and donate life state teams to increase the number of donated organs, eyes and tissues available to save and heal lives through transplantation while developing a culture where donation is embraced as a fundamental human responsibility. Bradshaw proposed that the dwp and dla partner on the release of the song through their social media platforms and websites, and share any donations raised from downloads of the song. The two organizations partnered and also did a call out for people connected to organ donation (as recipients or families of donors) to send photos of themselves and loved ones for inclusion in the music video for this beautiful life. We received 100s of photos and included as many as possible in the video. The song and message shared the common goal of people who are involved in either side of organ donation. Not everyone survives, but organ donation gives families a change to try and go on to live a don't wait life. After the initial release of this beautiful life and its music video on the dwp and dla websites, bradshaw submitted it to streaming options, including spotify, itunes, amazon music and iheart radio, and the song remains a fundraiser for both the dwp and dla.”