From Indigenous Child Farmworker to Stanford Grad: Shining A Light on Gianna Nino

From Indigenous Child Farmworker to Stanford Grad: Shining A Light on Gianna Nino

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From Indigenous Child Farmworker to Stanford Grad: Shining A Light on Gianna Nino

 

Gianna Nino is a first-generation Mexican-American college student currently attending Stanford Medical School. In this interview, Gianna shines a light on her experiences as an Indigenous child farmworker and her journey to Stanford. Check it out:

 

 

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The CARE Act Will Provide Equal Protection for Children Working in Agriculture

The CARE Act Will Provide Equal Protection for Children Working in Agriculture

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The CARE Act Will Provide Equal Protection for Children Working in Agriculture

Zulema Lopez, featured in the Shine Global documentary The Harvest (La Cosecha), picking strawberries in Kaleva, MI in 2009. She started to help her mother pick strawberries when she was 7 years old. (Photo by U Roberto Romano).

Zulema Lopez, featured in the Shine Global documentary The Harvest (La Cosecha), picking strawberries in Kaleva, MI in 2009. She started to help her mother pick strawberries when she was 7 years old. (Photo by U Roberto Romano).

Rep. Roybal-Allard, 24 Cosponsors Reintroduce CARE Act to Strengthen Protections for Child Farmworkers

Separate and unequal. That describes the estimated 500,000 American children who work in agriculture are under the current Fair Labor Standards Act. Children as young as 12 work in fields, picking the fruits and vegetables we all eat with almost no restrictions. In other industries, they are protected and only allowed to work a limited amount of time and only outside of school hours. And in other industries, hazardous work is reserved only for adults – but not in agriculture. Children as young as 16 can perform hazardous labor. And with the majority of work-related fatalities in the agriculture sector, it is imperative that we take action to protect these children.

And that is what Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) and 24 co-sponsors are doing with the reintroduction of the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety (CARE) Act.  The legislation would raise standards and protections for children working in agriculture to be at the same level as that for children in all other jobs.   The congresswoman announced the CARE Act’s reintroduction at a press event in the U.S. Capitol on June 20th alongside advocates including Mónica Ramírez, the president of Justice for Migrant Women; Norma López, the chair of the Domestic Issues Committee for the Child Labor Coalition; and Brenda Alvarez-Lagunas, a former child farmworker who recently made national news for her valedictorian speech at her high school graduation.

“America is morally obligated to protect the rights, safety, and future of every child in our nation,”said Congresswoman Roybal-Allard.  “Sadly, our child agricultural workers do not enjoy these protections.  They currently face a double standard that lets them work at younger ages, for longer hours, and in more hazardous conditions than child workers in any other industry.  If we value our youth, if we support fair and decent treatment for all children, then we must pass the CARE Act and finally ensure fundamental protections for America’s child farmworkers.”

“Shine Global stood with Representative Roybal-Allard when she attempted to pass the CARE Act in 2010 by screening our film The Harvest (La Cosecha) for both members of Congress and the Department of Labor. The film’s executive producer, Eva Longoria, made an impassioned plea on behalf of these children to legislators. It is heartbreaking that our government has not yet seen fit to protect its own children,” says Shine Global executive director, Susan MacLaury. “We applaud Congresswoman Roybal-Allard and her colleagues who refuse to give up on American children and urge everyone to stand in support of our children.”

Key provisions of the CARE bill:

While retaining current exemptions for family farms and educational programs like 4-H and Future Farmers of America, the CARE Act:

  • Brings age and work hour standards for children in agriculture up to the standards for children working in all other industries:
  Existing Law for Agricultural Employment Existing Law for Non-Agricultural Employment CARE Act provisions
Non-Hazardous Job, Age 12-13 Can work outside of school hours with parental consent. Prohibited. Prohibited.
Non-Hazardous Job, Age 14-15 Can work outside of school hours without any restrictions on number of hours per day or per week. Can work outside of school hours.  Cannot work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. or for more than 3 hours on a school day or more than 18 in a school week. Imposes the same hour restrictions in place for non-agricultural workers on agricultural workers.
Hazardous, Age 16-17 Minimum age is 16 for hazardous jobs. Prohibited until age 18. Prohibited until age 18.
  • Establishes a minimum penalty for child labor violations;
  • Increases the maximum civil monetary penalties and maximum criminal penalties for child labor violations;
  • Provides children with greater protections against pesticide exposure in agriculture by raising the labor protections to EPA standards.
  • Includes reporting requirements on work-related injuries and serious illness.

 

Innovation in Outreach Grant Award from Chicago Media Project for Virtually Free

Innovation in Outreach Grant Award from Chicago Media Project for Virtually Free

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Innovation in Outreach Grant Award from Chicago Media Project for Virtually Free

 

Shine Global is the recipient of the Innovation in Outreach Grant Award from The Chicago Media Project for Virtually Free.  The grant supports innovative approaches to impact and outreach campaigns.

Every year about 300,000 kids are confined in juvenile detention in the US. This in itself is a horrifying thought, thinking of kids spending any amount of their lives in jail.  But when you learn that incarcerating kids doesn’t actually stop crime, and in fact sets kids up to continue in the system, spending their lives incarcerated as adults as well, we knew this was something we had to help change. 

Shine Global makes films to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change and Virtually Free, directed by André Robert Lee, is Shine’s upcoming documentary about unlikely allies in Richmond, VA who partner to transform the juvenile justice system and stop mass incarceration.  With this filmthe focus of Shine’s outreach efforts will be on reaching audiences beyond traditional film distribution such as police departments, underserved communities, community arts programs, and legal justice advocates.  We’ll be working with our partners to create the tools and experiences to go along with the film.  Our ultimate goal for the impact campaign is support the movement to stop incarcerating kids and for communities to instead create alternatives to incarceration.

 

Innovation in Outreach Grant Award from Chicago Media Project for Virtually Free

Successful Kickstarter for Virtually Free

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Successful Kickstarter for Virtually Free

 

Thanks to 218 backers – Shine Global has successfully completed the Kickstarter campaign to help finish our film Virtually Free raising $51,617. We are so grateful for everyone’s generosity, concern about juvenile justice, and their belief in Shine Global and our team to tell this important story.

Virtually Free will become an important element in a national outreach effort to create meaningful alternatives to detention that provide vulnerable teens opportunities to complete their education, discover their own voices and talents, and become adults living productive and meaningful lives.

On behalf of our filmmaker, André Robert Lee, fellow producer, Alexandra Blaney, and Shine Global’s board of directors – thank you.

Susan MacLaury
Producer, Virtually Free
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Shine Global

 

View the Kickstarter campaign video featuring Director André Robert Lee:

Shine Global Mourns the Loss of Don Melnick

Shine Global Mourns the Loss of Don Melnick

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Shine Global Mourns the Loss of Don Melnick

Shine Global mourns the loss of our longtime Board member and former Chair, Don Melnick. His service to humanity was reflected in many ways, including his leadership and commitment to using the power of film to tell the stories of children and families facing life’s greatest challenges. His unique vision will be deeply missed.

From the obituary in the New York Times:

MELNICK–Dr. Don J., the Thomas Hunt Morgan Professor of Conservation Biology at Columbia University, was an extraordinary man whose passing is a great loss to his family, friends, colleagues and students. A groundbreaking scientist, educator and leader in conservation biology and evolutionary genetics, Don was also a deeply loved and loving husband and father, delighted grandfather, devoted sibling, friend and teacher. His deep humanity and love of the natural world touched all who had the good fortune to know him. He loved nothing more than time with family, a long trek in a deep forest and to walk with his dog on the beach in Cape Cod. Don is survived by his wife, Mary C. Pearl, his son Seth Melnick, his daughter Meredith Melnick, son-in-law James Breitinger and grandson Ezra Breitinger; his brothers Michael, Ralph, and William Melnick, sister Barbara Melnick White and their spouses along with many nieces and nephews. His family will receive visitors on April 21-23, 2019 from 2pm to 7pm at their home. A memorial service will be held on May 8, 2019 at 2:30pm at the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York City. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Macaulay Honors College, CUNY and to Shine Global.

Read a tribute to Don Melnick from Columbia University here and from the Wildlife Conservation Society here.

You can also read his op-ed published in the New York Times last year on wildfires and climate change here.

Lastly, Don himself wrote in 2017 about why he had joined the board of directors of Shine Global and how his expertise fit in with our work.

The Election Effect Nominated for A Webby – “The Oscars of the Internet”

The Election Effect Nominated for A Webby – “The Oscars of the Internet”

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Shine Global’s Digital Series “The Election Effect” Nominated For Best Public Service & Activism Video In the 23rd Annual Webby Awards

Shine Global’s Digital Series “The Election Effect” Nominated For Best Public Service & Activism Video In the 23rd Annual Webby Awards

Fans Can Vote Online to Help The Election Effect Win Internet’s Top Honor: wbby.co/vote-vid32

[NY, NY] — [April 4, 2019] – Shine Global announced today that it has been nominated for Best Public Service & Activism Video in the 23rd Annual Webby Awards. Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet.

The Election Effect is a five-part documentary series that showcases life for the next generation of voters. The series, produced by Oscar-winning production house Shine Global and Paramount Network, looks at seven students from an array of backgrounds and political beliefs across the nation — and documents the effect of political rhetoric on each of them. Shine Global enlisted the help of five award-winning directors as diverse as their subjects, to capture these conversations in thoughtful and thought-provoking ways.  

In addition to the documentaries, Shine Global created a free downloadable companion discussion guide for teachers, educators, parents, and student leaders to download. With “The Election Effect” and the accompanying Discussion Guides, Shine Global hopes to provide teachers, parents, and community leaders with the skills to promote civil discourse among students. These include listening respectfully to other opinions and trying to understand different points of view — crucial skills to function effectively in a democracy. The series is available for schools and libraries through Tugg Educational.

“Nominees like “The Election Effect” are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said Claire Graves, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 13,000 entries we received this year.”

“The kids who are coming of age now, in this moment, are activists,” says series Producer Albie Hecht. “They’re the most tuned-in, the most connected generation we’ve ever seen.  Considering they are our future, we felt it was important to give them a chance to speak to one another and to the nation. We think we can all learn from the empathetic approach they took in their dialogue.”

As a nominee, “The Election Effect” is also eligible to win a Webby People’s Voice Award, which is voted online by fans across the globe. From now until April 18th, Shine Global fans can cast their votes at vote.webbyawards.com.

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, and honored at a star-studded ceremony on Monday, May 13, 2019, at Cipriani on Wall Street in New York City.  There they will have an opportunity to deliver one of The Webby Awards’ famous 5-Word Speeches. Past 5-Word Speeches include: Steve Wilhite’s “It’s Pronounced “Jif” not ‘Gif’; Stephen Colbert’s “Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”; and Björk ‘s “A E I O U.”

About Shine Global:
Shine Global is an award-winning non-profit media company that gives voice to children and their families by sharing their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about at-risk children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on capitol hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change. Our films have won more than 60 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination for War/Dance.

About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, Video, Advertising, Media & PR, Apps, Mobile, and Voice, Social, Podcasts, and Games. Established in 1996, this year’s Webby Awards received nearly 13,000 entries from all 50 states and 70 countries worldwide this year. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: YouTube, WP Engine, EY, YouGov, Vitamin T, WNYC Studios, Fast Company, ESA, Product Hunt, and Social Media Week.

IADAS, which nominates and selects The Webby Award Winners, is comprised of Internet industry experts including Internet inventor Vint Cerf, Instagram’s Head of Fashion Partnerships Eva Chen, Director of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society Susan P. Crawford, actor and activist Jesse Williams, GE CMO Linda BoffPod Save the People host and activist DeRay McKesson, Google’s Head of Conversation Design Cathy Pearl, Fortnite Designer Eric Williamson, HBO Digital Chief Diane Tryneski, Los Angeles Laker Isaiah Thomas, and DDB Worldwide CEO Wendy Clark.