Irvine, CA (PRWEB) December 10, 2010
The website is enabling regular users to donate a bedtime story to its Be There Bright Stars Network, an in-house charitable program that distributes free stories each month to military families and families with young children in long term care in the hospital. Users can donate a story at the time of checkout, along with their own story recording, or they can make a story donation direct to the Bright Stars Network, without any other purchase.
The website works in three steps: 1) users select from over one hundred titles available in the online bookstore, 2) then read the story in front of a webcam as it displays on the computer screen, 3) the child then receives an email with the link to view the e-book on the website with video of the storyteller positioned on each page. The stories are priced at $11.99 for unlimited children, unlimited viewings. Be There Bedtime Stories is discounting the price of a story donation to $5.99 and matching all donations for the month of December.
"I love the idea of donating a book to a military person who seldom gets to see their own children." Debbie Schwartz, a Be There Bedtime Stories grandmother from Arizona explains. "Most people know how much they are sacrificing and would do anything that helps them in some way.”
Creator and CEO Alison Sansone explains the intention behind the service, "There is a value distinct from the live, real-time chat experience from a service such as Skype in that a recording of a bedtime story provides developmental benefits and can be watched multiple times by multiple family members." Sansone expects grandparents and military parents, especially, to recognize the value of preserving family memories through storytelling recordings for future generations, as well.
The beta website went live in September of this year with nearly two hundred titles in production with the interface, from five different publishers so far, including ten original works to be published by Be There Bedtime Stories. Additional licensed works from other publishers is expected to be added to the bookstore in an ongoing basis.
Also see:
http://www.betherebedtimestories.com
Guardian Angel Publishing, Sylvan Dell Publishing, Illumination Arts Publishing and Lobster Press are the initial four publishers to license works for sale in the Be There Bedtime Stories online bookstore.
Also see:
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com
http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com
http://www.illumin.com
http://www.lobsterpress.com
ABOUT:
Alison Sansone, Creator and CEO, started her career in the hospitality industry. After a decade of working in diverse leadership roles Sansone decided to pursue a focus in marketing and business development as her true passion. In 2005, she combined her training in videography with her marketing acumen to start her own company, producing web-based media tools for small businesses and non-profit organizations.
The idea for Be There Bedtime Stories came from a personal frustration during that point in her career. The youngest of 6 children with just 2 grandchildren out of the bunch, she was frustrated living so far from her only 2 nieces, who lived in Chicago. Her experience with video media inspired the solution of connecting families across miles through the simple activity of a bedtime story.
She began building the business plan in early 2007, but the idea ended up on hold for two years, after the unexpected death of her husband that summer. Beginning in October 2009, she decided to commit full attention to the business plan, dedicating her own personal time and resources to the launch of Be There Bedtime Stories, based in Orange County, CA. The Beta site went live in September 2010.
###
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/12/prweb4885594.htm