The Gulf disaster has been heavy on our hearts and minds this week. With James growing up on the Gulf shores of Alabama, it's been painful to watch the slow destruction of that eco-system, and we've been looking for ways to help. After Olivia wrote the above letter, we've had some discussion with the very kind people at the Audubon Society about different fundraising approaches using Olivia's illustrations; however we ultimately decided to keep it simple. Olivia has met her goal of 500 requests for original drawings and caught the attention of AOL in the process, who donated $25,000 to support her cause. Check out her artist's canvas on their site and her facebook page: Save the Gulf: Olivia's Bird Illustrations
The response to Olivia's project has been beyond any of our expectations. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity and want to share Olivia's birds with as many people as possible, so we have worked with AOL in sending out a limited edition of prints of Olivia's drawings. We hope they will be as beautiful and as treasured as James Audubon's.
SInce so many people were requesting Olivia's illustrations on a variety of products, we have also opened an online store, Olivia's Birds, with profits being donated to several organizations helping out in the Gulf.
24 comments:
What a wonderful daughter you are raising!
Thanks Olivia for your thoughtfulness and compassion. It truly warms my heart. From Lafayette, Louisiana
Excellent work by your very caring and talented daughter Olivia!
I came via the UK's Guardian online article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/may/26/us-schoolgirl-bp-bird-drawings
and have shared her story with my online team of animal lovers, EFA etsy for animals, on etsy.com
Truly a talented young lady who has great artistic talent and confidence in her work! and I wish her well in becoming a full time ornitholigist (I was one at 11)!
thank you Nadine and Olivia so much for caring!
kind regards, Annette
Thank you Olivia for what you are doing to help.
Wow - thank you Olivia. Your drawings are amazing & that you are using them to help this cause is even more amazing.
Olivia, thank you. You are quite a giving young lady and your parents must be as well. I live in Ponchatoula LA and just a few miles from a beautiful lake which could also be affected from the oil spill. Any day passing over the bridge you can see the fishermen, boats and beautiful birds. My heart is breaking and it is caring and wonderful people like you to help us reflect on what is still good in the world. My mom (she passed away in(2004)was a bird lover and bird watcher. Your art is lovely and I will be awaiting mine.
God Bless from Louisiana
Sharyn
wow! your drawings truely are beautiful and this is an amazing thing that you are doing. Even though you don't know me, I am so proud of you. You are an inspiration to everyone.
Jackson, Michigan
You, Olivia, are truly a wonderful young lady to do this to help the animals from this awful disaster. Wishing you all the luck in the world and you are an outstanding artist!!!
Greentown, Pennsylvania
Olivia, sweetheart, you are a very, very special little girl. To have the compassion that you do for the suffering animals at your young age is a true gift from God. Your mother and father, I know, must be so very proud of you. I know that in your life you are destined to remarkable.
Ask your momma to take a peek at our blog post today. I am sure that she will agree.
Thanks for the comments everyone-- and for keeping the momentum on this important issue-- Scout'nFreyja's entry shows why this situation can never happen again-- clean energy is our best path for the future.
Olivia, way to go girl. You inspire and with that create change and hope. Thank you for leading the way. We will support you as much as we can. You must visit the Cornell Ornitholigy Lab in Ithaca, New York...you will love it there. Well Nadine, I think your daughter is now much cooler than you are...sorry.
All our cheers and support for your amazing work. Bernadine, Greg, Hanna, Natalia, and Viktor...
God gave us children to remind the world of innocence, purity and honesty. My sincere compliments to this child for her courage to stand up and want to make a difference. To the adults of the world: you should take notice of this incredible little girl who wants to make a difference. Bravo!! Olivia.
People like your daughter make jaded people like myself think twice about the good in others. Thank you for the reality check and for being a beacon of hope for the future of this world.
Absolutely beautiful! What you are doing is so amazing and very inspiring. You have a great talent and it fills my heart with joy knowing that you are using your gift to help restore what the oil spill is destroying. It is people like you that truly make a difference in our world.
Excellent drawings, Olivia. I wish I had one. You have a great career path ahead of you, for sure.
Ed Giebel
icee
Great drawings, Olivia. Wish I had one. You have a great career in front of you.
Ed Giebel
icee
I've been having such a bad day, watching TV and reading internet about the sad state of our country. This has given me new hope, and put a smile on my face. God Bless you honey. You're a caring, compassionate and TALENTED young lady.
Would love to purchase a picture, but haven't figured out how yet. If someone can help me with this, please email Jabalchin@aol.com. Thank you.
They are beautiful. You have done such a wonder raising such an empathetic and aware young lady. Kudos to her and you.
Hello Olivia,
thank you for your wonderful paintings and your famous action from Germany.
We need more caring people like you to rule the world.
A.Jansing, M.D., Oldenburg NDS, Germany
I just saw your wonderful daughter on the Today show. It makes me teary eyed to see such a thoughtful, compassionate young one. I am an elementary school art teacher and would like to say that she is a very talented artist! What a great way to make a difference! The world needs more like you. Thanks for warming my heart today!
This is amazing! What an amazing daughter you're raising! How can I help? Please email me...happy to help spread the word, just let me know what is best to say.
melisa @ thelilbee
Good to see the next generation tackling the most challenging issues of our day. Go! Go! Go! Olivia!
http://www.youtube.com/10231898#p/u/1/63kGepjo-yU
would love it if you sold a good copy of the letter Olivia wrote to the Audubon. it is so touching and inspirational. i would definitely frame it in a place of prominence.
Wow, Charlie, I never thought of that-- I can certainly put it on cafe press, or if you want, email me and I can send you a high resolution pdf of it that you can print out on photo paper-- nadinebouler@hotmail.com.
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