WE HAVE KIDS IN SURGERY RIGHT NOW! THROUGH THESE STORIES WE'RE INVITING YOU TO BE A PART OF THE NEXT LIFESAVING SOLUTION. GET TO KNOW THESE KIDS & PLEASE GIVE WHAT YOU CAN FOR THE NEXT GROUP!

“Iraq – A New Face” at the Green House Gallery

April 16, 2009 by Scott · Leave a Comment

Some of our good friends, Ian (of Wales) and Ben (of England), are helping PLC to launch our global tour of the works of ten Iraqi artists (painters and photographers). They came to visit in February to help make sure that all of the art would be selected and handled professionally.

The Luton Duo shot quite a bit of their own arresting photography while they were here and they’ve currently got it on exhibit as “Iraq – A New Face” at Luton’s Green House Gallery through May 17th.

For more information on this installation, grab this flyer or visit A Thin Place international artists collective.

Scott Bertrand is the Turkey Director for the Preemptive Love Coalition and gives strategic and logistical oversight to all of our operations in Istanbul, Turkey. When not fully-employed in PLC operations, Scott can usually be found buried in a book or enjoying a good card game with friends. Scott is married to PLC's Hospitality Coordinator, Abby Bertrand.

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PLC is Tax-Exempt!

April 13, 2009 by Scott · Leave a Comment

Just in time for tax season, the IRS has certified the Preemptive Love Coalition as a tax-exempt public charity!

That means that anything you give to PLC (i.e., not merchandise purchases) is fully tax-deductible! (This even applies retroactively to anything you’ve given all the way back to February 15, 2008.)

It’s cool to be a 501(c)(3)!

Filed under: News

Happy Easter from the Preemptive Love Coalition!

April 12, 2009 by Scott · Leave a Comment

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Kurdistan Save the Children Comes through in the Clutch!

February 11, 2009 by Scott · Leave a Comment

We’ve been getting ready to send a group of Iraqi kids to life-saving heart surgeries in Turkey next week. After crunching the numbers, we thought that we could stretch and send six kids this month. But we had eight who desperately needed urgent surgeries.

Enter our local partner, Kurdistan Save the Children.

Normally, KSC helps contribute to the funding of a couple of kids each month. But they really stepped up to the plate and quadrupled their commitment for February.

Instead of helping two kids this month, they’re helping eight, contributing $2,500 towards each of their surgeries!

That’s $20,000 (or doo defter, as we like to say here in Sulaymaniyah)!

That means that instead of sending just six kids, we can now send eight over the next week, probably saving two extra lives in the process.

It also means that we’re seeing our vision of local solutions to local problems become a reality.

We know that the only hope for sustainable development is when people are empowered and encouraged to tackle the challenges they face together. That’s why we ask for a child’s extended family to contribute something to the cost of their surgery: we don’t want our generosity to rob them of their dignity or their responsibility. Instead, we want to strengthen families as a constructive element of civil society here in Iraq.

And it’s why we’re increasingly looking to form partnerships with Iraqi NGOs and businesses to support their efforts to care for the lives of their own people.

This month, we’re seeing it happen. Local contributions will cover almost half the cost of these eight surgeries. We’ve still got a long way to go, but it’s great to see how far we’ve come.

Filed under: Amazed, Giving Away Money, Heart Surgery, Partnerships