Hello, all !

I am reaching out to you today on behalf of a friend. Chances are you already know Helen Prejean. She wrote the book "Dead Man Walking", followed by a screenplay written by Tim Robbins, in which Susan Sarandon won the Academy Award as best actress for her portrayal of Sister Helen.

This lovely woman has linked her life to mine these past few months, and what a journey I've been on! About to launch her next book, she's reached out to me to ask for my assistance with broadening a discourse through the internet. Having shared the manuscript with me, I'm deeply compelled to do whatever I can to support her in this next challenge, as are both Tim and Susan again.

Today I'm inviting you to consider your own possibilities, as Tim Robbins and Sister Helen are about to launch a new play in schools across America. Through Helen's inspiration Tim has been working with students this past year, allowing them to shape the script that's now about to be released.

At Sister Helen's request, I'm sharing part of a letter from her with you now. In it she asks you to consider your own potential as a catalyst to this wonderful project with Tim:

November 7, 2004

New Orleans

Dear Friends,

I’m looking for patrons/foundations to fund the Dead Man Walking School Play Project.

After twenty years of traveling and giving talks about the death penalty, I am absolutely convinced of one thing: people usually don’t think much about the death penalty – it’s not a moral issue that affects them personally; but once they are informed about the issue and brought close to its awful reality, people’s support for it drops radically.

Using drama to stir discourse on an important moral issue of our day is an exciting way of enlivening college education and a vital opportunity to invite students to get actively involved in political change. When you think that only one in 10 young people age 18-25 voted in this past election, the need is clear.

Tim Robbins, the playwright, wants to see the play performed on college campuses across the US, and he’s asking me to take charge of the administration of the three-year project, from fall 2005 through may 2008. I need your help to get this exciting project up and running.

If this speaks to you in the same way that this amazing woman has touched me, I invite you to read Helen's letter to you in it's entirety here:

http://www.omidyar.net/group/deathpenalty/ws/letter_from_sister_helen/

Sister Helen has also shared a more detailed invitation here:

http://www.omidyar.net/group/deathpenalty/ws/background_on_the_play_project/

Please call on me to chat about this at any time, or to arrange a time to speak with Helen personally. Feel free to share this personal note with colleagues who might be called by it too. Few people have affected me as profoundly as this lady has. I hope you'll be lucky enough to be touched this way too.

As my friend Tom Munnecke would say, may good things come --

Sue.