KotaPress Mission Statement

The mission of this organization is to provide grief support to bereaved parents and those who care for them after the death of a child.

Please note: We are not affiliated with any company or website that discriminates against bereaved families by recognizing only "children who lived after birth" or some other kind of line in the sand. We provide support to any family regardless of the cause of the child's death: miscarriage, stillbirth, neo natal, SIDS, SADS, accident, suicide, homicide, disease, etc. If you have been hurt by a company that has discriminated against your child because they "did not live long enough" or some such fake "qualification," then please be assured, you have found a safe space with us! We will not ask that your children "qualify" for anything before their lives and deaths are honored.

KotaPress Means to an End...

KotaPress offers many commercial arts services and products which generate revenue to fund our more "non-profit-making" expressive arts Mission stated above. Our commercial "for-profit" works include services such as book sales and teaching for hire through the Press iteself; photography, web, and other graphic services through KotaGraph.com; and henna arts through HennaHealing.com.

If we lived in a world that valued decent health care and long term support for bereaved families, we might be able to go straight non-profit and make a go of it. But we don't live in that world. So for now, we make the ends meet by doing commercial work. It is the means to an end of the systematic erasure of bereaved parents that happens in our society every single stinking day!

KotaPress Objectives

The goals for our mission are:

• To bring the Mrs. Duck Project to full fruition as a 3D animated short film; with educational component including documentary of the bereaved parent experience along with an expanded version of the Mrs. Duck book
• To increase education and awareness in hospitals, birthing centers, nursing schools, and families about Thanatology (study of death and dying with an emphasis on the ethics of grief) and the uses of Expressive Arts for Healing
• To provide publishing services, advice, publicity, financial aid and sponsorship to artists wishing to publish works of writing, art, or music for and about the grieving and healing process

In support of our mission, our objective is to offer a home for works created while on a healing path. While we are a for-profit business, we are proud to tell you that a portion of our profits are put toward the Mrs. Duck Project in the hopes of continuing to bring comfort to bereaved parents around the world. Any work you do with us will directly benefit the Mrs. Duck Project.

We offer both print and electronic media for the display and sale of artworks.
These media include our print outreach such as:

• The Mrs. Duck Project providing free copies of the grief support book Mrs. Duck and The Woman to bereaved families around the world
• The quarterly 'zine A Different Kind of Parenting: For Parents Whose Children Have Died
• A wide variety of books with a focus on grief and healing

Our electronic outreach is available the www.KotaPress.com, a monthly website offering:

• A Loss Journal for bereavement support and any issues secondary to the death of a child
• A Vashon Journal for the islanders and island-interested reading audience
• An eStore for the sale of books, art, classes, and music.

We offer one-on-one sessions to individuals seeking healing and creative empowerment. Session topics offered are:

• Expressive arts therapy through Poetry & Bookmaking
• Writing classes based on BodyWrites! course work
• Learning the business of your art through Expanding Poetry
• "How-to" class, Self-Publishing Made Easy

We offer other services for hire such as:

• Henna Arts
• Photography
• Custom Web Design
• Custom Graphic Design (book covers, business cards, logos, etc.)

These diverse products and services work together to support bereaved parents by offering free grief support through the Mrs. Duck Project.