Our smallest challenge on record yielded four GREAT entries! Thank you, Toni, LeRoy, Trond, and Kevin, for giving us your takes on the theme "TREES!" They are all very well done and well-worth watching.

With so few entries we're only going to name the top vote-getter. But you are all winners just for completing, and we hope you will be back next year!

The WINNER of the 2012 Charity Challenge and $420 for his favorite charity is:

KEVIN RAILSBACK with "The Standing People"

The Standing People on Vimeo

Congratulations, Kevin!!! You took us along on your journey of changing weather and changing plans, and then you produced an intricate and interesting take on our relationship to trees. Well done! We'll let you tell about your chosen charity!!

THANK YOU to those of you who so kindly donated to the charity! And as always, "thank you!" to Chris Hurd for giving us this space to play every year for the charity challenge.

See you next year!

Holy crap! My eyes have literally welled up with tears!
People at work are going to wonder what the heck is wrong with me!

My charity is Last Hope Animal Rescue near my home. They're a non-profit all donation funded rescue that takes in owner surrender dogs as well as dogs that are scheduled to be killed at our local shelters.

These people do so much for the animals they rescue that otherwise would end up in a plastic garbage bag in the landfill. They are all volunteers and they've given up their lives in order to save as many dogs as they can.

Just in dog food alone they go through 150-200lbs a week. If they run out of donated dog food, they have to use money that would go towards medicines and surgical procedures earmarked for other animals.

I volunteer there as often as I can and I shoot videos of the dogs up for adoption in hopes that someone will fall in love with them and give them a new forever home.

Just last week they rescued a mother dog and two puppies that were left in an abandoned house for three weeks. They are very emaciated. The puppies have round worm so they need to be totally separate from all the other dogs.

I'll put up a link to one of the videos I've done for some of the pups.

I wasn't sure if I would be ableto finish the challenge but I knew I couldn't look at the dogs in their kennels and know I let them down by not finishing. If I didn't win, at least I knew I gave it my best shot.
Huge thank you to everyone that donated for this challenge! It will be put to very good use!

Congratulations Kevin, a job well done!

Congratulations, Kevin, both on winning and on choosing such a deserving charity. I’m still awaiting the opportunity to view any of the entries, but UPS promises to deliver a new sound card today. It has taken some real restraint to refrain from watching any “silent” versions.

Congratulations, Kevin!

Well done and well deserved!

Toni

Congrats, Kevin -- well done!

Nice job to all finishers, and great job Kevin !

Congratulations, Kevin!

Well done Kevin - your beautiful work is always inspiring!

Hope you won't leave it too long before doing another UWOL Challenge.

Marj

Congratulations, Kevin - well done!

This is a picture of one of the dogs that Last Hope has helped.
Her name is Bella.
She was an owner surrender along with another dog. They were taken to the shelter because they were the woman's mothers dogs. Her kids were constantly beating on them and the other dog would take it out on Bella.

The shelter ending up putting down the other dog. One staff person said it was the most evil dog they had ever seen.

That left Bella, five years old and alone.

When I first met her she would not put that ball down. It was her security. Even when offered treats, she would struggle if she should put the ball down or not. Eventually she would take the treat and then pick up the ball right away.

I started working with Bella but she would never go anywhere without that ball.

Because of the life she had, she could not be with other dogs. She was so scared of them hurting her that she would lash out at them before they could have a chance to hurt her even if they had no intention of hurting her.

The weeks turned into months and finally a man and his son adopted Bella. On the way home they stopped by the mans ex-wife's house to show her Bella. Well of course, the worst happened. Even after being told she wasn't supposed to be around dogs, the opened the door, she jumped out and went after the ex-wife's dog. They brought her back and the shelter promised that they would kill her.

A staff member tipped me off and I started calling all over the country to find somewhere she could go. Its almost impossible to find a place that will take a dog aggressive dog. I plastered my plea all over the internet, I did everything I could.

Well, the shelter found out about it and I was in big trouble because they don't want people to know that they kill dogs because they feel it will hurt donations. They printed out my posts on Facebook, instructed the staff not to talk to me and called me in for a meeting.

They said that I was killing other dogs by saying they were going to kill Bella because donations would decrease and they would not have the money to help other dogs.

But because I made such a stink, they would spare Bella until the new shelter director came in and they would decide her fate.

Well, when the new director came in, it didn't look good. With the help of a staffer, we kept Bella hid from the new director. Taking her out back doors, switching her kennels while I tried to find a place for her.

Eventually the director found out about her and we were out of time.

That's where Last Hope stepped in. They took her in and looked for a home for her.

Including her time at the shelter and the time with Last Hope, I spent over a year almost every day visiting her, taking her out to the nature center to experience different things.

On my days of vacation, I would take my dogs to daycare and Bella would spend the day with me, loving life.

Another potential adoption failed and I was worried that Bella would never find a home.

But Last Hope found an elderly couple that fell in love with her. No other dogs and they wanted to take her home.

Last I heard, she has a great life. Sleeps in bed with them, goes everywhere they go and even gets along decently with other dogs as long as they have a fence between them just to be safe.

I had taken her to a dog aggression class and we had taken her to the point where we had her off leash, without a muzzle and she didn't go after the other dog. But we knew that we could never really trust her so we would take no chances.

WIthout Last Hope, Bella would be in a plastic bag in the landfill just like so many other dogs have ended up that came to the shelter.

Last Hope is truly many dogs last hope.

Look at this picture of Bella and I'll dig up one right before she was adopted and post it in another post and tell me how could I not pick Last Hope as my charity for this challenge?

Bella after I worked with her for several months. And Bella chilling with me on the couch at home while I was on vacation and my dogs were at daycare.

Nice film Kevin, I like the diary'esk narrative and the shots are as pretty as always!

Glad those dogs will get a few extra treats!!!

Great film Kevin! Congratulations on the win. Well deserved.
Bryce

Without Last Hope and YOU, Bella wouldn't have made it! That's the beauty of the smaller rescue organizations--they welcome good-hearted people like you to give one-on-one attention to a dog (for a year--wow!) and keep their spirits up while they wait for that perfect match to come along. Well done, Kevin, and yeah...I see why you chose this great group to receive the donations!

Congrats, Kevin.

Your choice of charity kind of choked me up a bit. I adopted a dog from our local shelter 7 weeks ago, he's napping right behind me up against my gun safe right now. I thought I was getting just a "mutt" but darned if he doesn't seem to be a "soft coat" Wheaten Terrier. Smart as a whip, sweet natured, not at all agressive, and barks at plastic sheep around town.

And two days ago I had to have the vet put my yellow orange tabby to sleep. She was a stray that "moved in" with me. Her second bout with cancer left us no treatment options.

I very much respect your choice of charity and your battle for Bella. My hat is off to you!

Photos: Tabby asleep on my leg, all I had to do was put the footrest up and she settled in. And Sandy, the rescue dog (loves to ride in my vehicle.

Bruce, I am so sorry you had to say goodbye to your orange kitty. She was beautiful. The consolation you have is knowing you gave her a great life. That photo is pure contentment.

Congrats on your new little feller. He pretty cute and looks like lots of fun.

Bruce,

So sorry to hear your kitty has crossed the rainbow bridge. They bring such joy and even if you don't even see them, they somehow fill your home and make it complete.

She knew she would be safe and loved when she chose to come live with you.

Your rescue pup is precious!! I really think they know they are getting another chance and they try to make the most of it.

Last Hope just took in three dogs, a momma and her two pups that were locked in an abandoned home for what they think is about three weeks. They are skin and bones. The money from the charity challenge is so desperately needed.
ANy of the four os us that submitted a film can tell you that the charity they were trying to win the donation for is always running on a shoestring budget.

I hope we see your new fur baby in some future films!!

Thank you so much for rescuing a life!!! I know your little tabby would give her paw of approval!

Congrats Kevin, and nice choice of charity!

They have just received a $420 donation in your name. If I get a confirmation letter from them, I'll post it back up here.

Cheers!

Dylan

Awesome!

I was just out at the local nature center when I ran into a woman who adopted another Last Hope dog that I worked with.
Was so nice to see her and see how great she's doing.

She spent her entire life chained up outside. Now she sleeps in a warm bed and goes for walks every day.

I know they'll put the money to good use!!

A little late but still:
Congrats to you "Fantastic Four" for delivering great charity videos.