Interview with Julie Lemardy

I was recently contacted by Julie Lemardy with the request to do an interview to help make people aware of the charity she has started up. The charity is for Alzheimer's Disease and Heart Disease. She is collecting poems for an anthology called Poems with Heart.

I myself have never been affected by either of these diseases but know that they are something that can be very traumatic to family members. If you want to find out more information on both diseases you can visit the Alzheimer's Disease Association web page and American Heart Association web page by clicking on the names.

What made you want to start this charity?

"Heart problems run rampant in both my family and my husband’s family. My grandmother practically raised me. She had heart disease which caused a series of heart attacks and a pace maker needed to be implanted. Then I watched her deteriorate when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. 

Finally, when my husband’s brother, William Smith, died at age 42 I decided to do something more than a memorial. I wanted to bring awareness to heart disease and Alzheimer's disease through an informative blog. The poetry anthology will be released in February 2014 in celebration of American Heart Month with all proceeds to go to charity."

Will you be contributing any poems to Poems with Heart anthology?

"I am a freelance writer, poet, and member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group. More than likely I will pen a poem to contribute."

Where can people go to donate to your cause?

"Donations will be raised through purchasing the anthology when it’s released. I may setup donations via merchandise if I run into any expenses along the way. I have considered, for example, making up bookmarks, bumper stickers, and other memorabilia for donations. So far I’ve been tremendously lucky to have people donate their time and talents. Writers and graphic artists have kindly used their talents to support this undertaking."

What is the easiest way to submit a poem to be added to the anthology?

"I would urge anyone considering submitting to visit the Poems With Heart Charity Project page on the blog for submission guidelines."

Are you also taking cash donations?

"No."

Can anyone make a poem to be put in the anthology?

"Whether a poet is published or unpublished does not matter. Anyone can submit a poem for consideration following the submission guidelines."

What charities are the donations collected going to?

"The American Heart Association and the Alzheimer’s Association"

Can you list some of the authors that have already donated poems to the anthology?

"Jericho Brown, Helene Cardona, Terri Kirby Erikson, A.C. James, Judith Skillman, and Emanuel Xavier will be featured in the Poems With Heart anthology. I will be adding authors to the blog as I receive submissions. I’ve also been in contact with public figures regarding using their notoriety to sponsor this charitable cause. When I receive concrete information that I can share regarding this I will be posting it on the blog."

If you would like more information on Julie's charity you can visit her blog called Poems With Heart. There you will be able to find out more on Alzheimer's Disease and Heart Disease as well as different information on the anthology Poems with Heart. If you have a blog of your own it would be great if you could find a way to help support Julie's charity, its for a great cause.