We interviewed critically acclaimed author Joanna Ruth Meyer as part of Fifty Years of Excellence: From the Archives. Illustration by Madeline Clark appeared alongside Joanna’s short story “The Hummingbird” in the May/June 1998 issue of Stone Soup. A note from Sage Millen Hi everybody! As you probably know, this year is Stone Soup’s 50th anniversary. Because Stone Soup has been such an important part of my life over the past five years (I was a frequent contributor and am now an intern), I wanted to do my part to ensure this wonderful organization has the resources to keep going for another fifty years. So, in about November of 2022, I started brainstorming fundraising ideas with my mom. We settled on a silent auction. My family had held two successful auctions in the past to raise money for Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. Not only did the events raise money, they were also really fun. To start, I picked a date several months away so I would have time to plan everything. Then, I sent out an email to almost everyone my parents and I know, explaining my initiative and asking for donations of handmade items we could sell at the auction. I also made several items to contribute, such as some cards with my photos on them, a loom-knitted toque, and some jewelry. I was very lucky to have such an artistic and generous circle of friends, because I received over fifty items! The next step was to create auction sheets; these include a photo and description of each item as well as the person who donated it, and space for bidders to fill in their bid amount and contact information. Before the event, I shared this document with everyone we had invited so those who couldn’t attend in person still had a chance to bid. The night before the auction, I closed access to the document; the online bidding was over. Then, I helped prepare our house for the auction by cleaning and setting up the items on tables and mantelpieces—even the piano. My mom and my nana made a variety of treats and snacks for guests to enjoy. Finally, people started arriving. I walked them around the house, showing them the various items, including knitted caps, weavings, paintings, baked goods, books, and even services such as gardening and pet photoshoots. We also set up a stand of Stone Soup issues by the door so people could see what their money was going towards. Soon, our house began to fill with people chatting and making bids, while my dad played soft music in the background. After an hour and a half, we ended the auction. People gave us the bidding sheets for the items they’d won along with payment and we gave them their item. Overall, we raised $1,748 CAD! That’s a much higher sum than what I was hoping for, so I’m very proud of the result. I also had multiple people tell me what a fun event it was, and how they were excited to learn about Stone Soup and would be introducing it to the young people in their lives. I had a great time hosting the auction, and I would recommend a similar project to anyone who wants to raise money for Stone Soup, or any other cause in your life in a fun way. However, it does take a lot of work—I was very lucky that my parents (especially my mom) helped me a lot with the process. Luckily, there are many other ways to raise money that also require less planning—there’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned lemonade stand! I wish you the best of luck in your future philanthropic endeavors. Donate to Stone Soup today! A note from Emma Wood On behalf of the whole Stone Soup team, thank you, Sage! We are grateful for the work you put into this auction and the money you raised for Stone Soup, but also incredibly proud of you. This is what Stone Soup is about: empowering youth to act now. To all the young people reading this, know that you can do things that matter now. You don’t have to wait until you’re out of college to publish your writing, to write a book, to have an exhibit for your artwork, to raise money for causes you believe in, to start organizations or a literary magazine; you can do that all now. We believe in you, and we are here to support you. On that note, I am really excited to share a project that my colleagues and I have been working on since January. We have been tracking down and interviewing historical contributors to the magazine—contributors who are now grown up. Until a few years ago, submissions were received via snail mail, and no emails were collected. And, for much of Stone Soup’s now-fifty-year history, personal email didn’t even exist! In the intervening years, many of these former contributors have married and changed their names, moved cities or states, and pursued professions outside of the arts. So you can imagine this was quite a challenging project. It is still ongoing. However, we have been able to connect with a number of former contributors, whom I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing about what Stone Soup meant to them and about what they’re up to now. These interviews have confirmed that Stone Soup has truly been succeeding in its mission to instill confidence and authority in young people, and that a Stone Soup publication is something many carry with them throughout their lives—in many cases literally as well as figuratively. I spoke with one former contributor from the 1970s who still had her original issues of Stone Soup! My colleague Tayleigh is publishing the interviews on Instagram and Facebook—they are truly inspiring, and I encourage you to check them out, and to follow us on social media so you can continue to see these inspiring interviews as we post them. I encourage you to also be sure to read
Newsletter
Saturday Newsletter: May 6, 2023
Into the Woods (charcoal) by Ivory Vanover, 12; published in the May/June 2023 issue of Stone Soup A note from Laura Moran Greetings all, Happy spring and happy 50th anniversary of Stone Soup magazine! I hope you are all enjoying the May/June issue of Stone Soup as much as I am. As we approach spring and temperatures slowly climb in the Northeastern part of the United States, where I now live, I realize my seasonal preferences seem to have inexplicably shifted! Where I used to prefer summer, all vibrant colors, warm earth, and stepping outside without a coat, I now prefer the cooler months. Lately, I even favor the rainy, overcast days to the sunny ones. Perhaps it’s because my 14-year-old daughter tends to faint easily in warm weather and bright light, or perhaps it’s simply because I’m a homebody, and the rain affords a better excuse than any of the other weather events to curl up with a good book or the latest edition of Stone Soup! Or maybe it’s because, in the grips of climate change and alarming shifts in weather patterns, we didn’t have much of a winter this year. In any case, my daughter and I are reveling most in the spring rain. Sometimes we feel like we’re in a secret rainy-day club and need to conceal our preference for clouds. As she shared with me on a recent sunny day when the morning light streaked across her pillow to rouse her, “Everyone says it’s a beautiful day…well, I think it has a big nose!” Whatever your weather preference, you will be enchanted by Amber Zhao’s “Salt,” depicting Maroochydore and surrounding areas on Australia’s Sunshine Coast. Through strikingly vivid prose, Zhao renders the force and beauty of the natural world in its many incarnations. She writes: “That molten gold sun that traced a trail through the churning sea. The sea’s long, sorrowful moan threading into my sleep. The salt that crept into sandals, into sofas, into floorboards, into everything.” Read it, and the other gorgeously descriptive pieces in the latest issue of Stone Soup, and you will be transported. Speaking of being transported…another way to achieve this state, as Emma described in last week’s newsletter: visit the library! Please join us in honor of Stone Soup’s 50th anniversary in May and Library Week 2023, in our special fundraising drive to bring Stone Soup to more libraries across the world. In Refugee Project news, our current pen pal exchange with young people in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya is currently underway. Our batch of fourteen letters successfully reached London, from whence they were brought to Kakuma Camp by our partner organization, My Start Project. We now anxiously await our return letters. To read more about Refugee Project initiatives, and our aim to unite young refugee artists and writers with our broader Stone Soup readership, please check out our recent publication in Zocalo Public Square. Warmly, Share the gift of Stone Soup with your community. Donate a subscription to a library of your choice today! A gift from us to you: half off annual print subscriptions! We wouldn’t be celebrating fifty years of Stone Soup were it not for all of our wonderful supporters like you. Thank you! As a small token of our gratitude, we’re offering half off annual print subscriptions for the entire month of May. Use code happy50 at checkout and read the magazine 100% written and illustrated by kids since 1973. Subscribe to the magazine! Celebrate Stone Soup’s 50th Anniversary with us! Stone Soup turns fifty this May! Join us Saturday, May 20 at 11 a.m. Pacific time at our Open House and Giveaway for an update on the company from Editor in Chief and Executive Director, Emma Wood; brief readings from recent magazine contributors; and an open discussion about what Stone Soup has meant to you and your family or classroom. Winners of the giveaway—which includes an annual subscription to Stone Soup and a one-on-one writing consultation with Emma Wood among other great prizes—will be announced during the live event. Register for our Open House and Giveaway Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
Saturday Newsletter: April 22, 2023
Tree Library (watercolor) by Li Lingfei, 10; published in the July/August 2019 issue of Stone Soup A note from Emma Wood Hello, again! Growing up, the public library was my summer haven. I would spend hours alone in the cool, air-conditioned lower level, discovering new books and reading them. It felt like a magical place, where all the sounds and worries of everyday life receded. Now, my daughter and my son are beginning to experience this special library magic as well; every week, they go to a free story time at the same library I frequented every summer as a child. When I tell my daughter we’re going to the library, she yelps with joy—“The library! Hooray!” And in turn, I have a new appreciation for all that libraries have to offer the communities they serve. So, this spring, I am excited to announce that, in honor of both Library Week 2023 and Stone Soup’s 50th anniversary in May, we are running a special fundraising drive to bring Stone Soup to more libraries across the world. From April 23 to May 20, 2023, all donations will go toward gifting a year’s print subscription to Stone Soup to a school or public library (of your choice, or ours!). Please help us celebrate Stone Soup and libraries by making the magazine available to more children across the country—and the world! Warmly, Celebrate National Library Week! Donate a subscription to a library of your choice today! Get your book published by Stone Soup! Stone Soup is thrilled to announce that we are accepting submissions for our annual book contest. This year we once again plan to accept two books for publication: one novel or short story collection and one book of poems. Read the full contest details below and get ready to write! Learn more about our annual book contest. Celebrate Stone Soup’s 50th Anniversary with us! Stone Soup turns fifty this May! Join us Saturday, May 20 at 11 a.m. Pacific time at our Open House and Giveaway for an update on the company from Editor in Chief and Executive Director, Emma Wood; brief readings from recent magazine contributors; and an open discussion about what Stone Soup has meant to you and your family or classroom. Winners of the giveaway—which includes an annual subscription to Stone Soup and a one-on-one writing consultation with Emma Wood among other great prizes—will be announced during the live event. Register for our Open House and Giveaway Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
