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    Dr. Joanne Martin December 1, 2010

    Dear Friend,

    I want to extend a heartfelt "thank you" to all of you who supported our Pepsi Refresh project, "More Than A Museum-Sustaining A Community, Transforming Lives, Preserving A Dream."

    Because of your willingness to vote for us during the entire month of September 2010, we were able to move up in the ranking (after a rocky start) and end at #180 out of over 1100 projects overall and 400 entries in the $250,000 Neighborhoods Category.

    I was awestruck and deeply moved by the outpouring of appreciation and warmth expressed by so many of you whose messages were flagged for the Comment Board. Statements such as "My whole family and I are incorporating a tradition to visit this historical museum every February" brought tears to my eyes. Those statements help reassure all of us-the Board, Staff and Volunteers- that The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum is staying focused on and true to the philosophy of our visionary Founder, the late Dr. Elmer P. Martin.

    My husband Elmer preached that "community development and cultural development, go hand-in-hand". He said that "If we are going to demand that our children have an appreciation of the struggle, we need to give them historical yardsticks by which to measure the struggle". He told our youth that one of the messages from the ancestors is "We did not die by the millions for you to kill one another by the thousands". And he firmly believed that "A museum can be a catalyst for bringing a challenged community back to life."

    With his words and deeds in mind, I am pleased to announce that Pepsi Refresh has invited us back in. That's Right: We are still in it to win it! We can do so, however, only if you support our efforts to rank in the top 2. Only then can we win the $250,000 we are striving for.

    WE STILL NEED YOU TO VOTE EVERY DAY IN DECEMBER


    Vote today, vote often.
    A $250,000 Pepsi Refresh grant, in the neighborhood category, will allow us to achieve our dream of changing:



    Vote!

  • Vote to transform the rear yards and alleyways from an unappealing space to an inviting focal point.

    Vote!

  • Vote to implement a project whose outcome will be landscaping of shared museum-community spaces including residential yards, sidewalks, frontwalks, and curb cuts.

    Vote!

  • Vote to develop resources for eliminating physical conditions that put the community at risk such as poor lighting, poor sight lines, and use and misuse of neighborhood public spaces.




    • Join us in our dream of being the Museum igniting the spark that helps bring cultural, economic and social health to a deserving community.

    Thank you for sharing our vision.

    Sincerely,
    Dr. Joanne M. Martin
    President & CEO
    The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum, Inc