September Community Outreach
Dear Friends of Project Write Now:
This summer, our students have been unleashing their imaginations and discovering the joy of creative expression in our various summer programs! 🌞
From spinning tales of adventure to exploring the depths of their unique voices, these young writers have been having a blast. 🚀
It’s been a season full of laughter and literary magic! 😎
Some of our summer programs include:
- Monmouth Stars, a four-week, full-day summer program at Red Bank Middle School in collaboration with STEAMpark and the Monmouth County Vocational School District
- A 10-session creative writing program at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Asbury Park
- An internship program that trains teens to: 1. assist teaching in our summer camps 2. create content for PWN Teen marketing and 3. interview and write stories for select individuals
- A one-day art and journaling workshop with the rising 9th graders at Summer Slam at Red Bank Regional High School
- A four-session journaling workshop with teens at Family Based Services Association of New Jersey (an organization that provides peer support, educates, and advocates on behalf of Monmouth County parents and families of children and youth with emotional, behavioral, mental health, developmental disabilities and substance use)
We still have plenty of programs running in August, including: Teen Writing Space (ages 14-18), Wednesdays, August 7 to 28, 4 to 5:30 p.m., Songwriting Studio (ages 11-13), August 13 to 15, 1 to 4 p.m., What Would Taylor Do? (ages 10-15), August 13 to 15, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., and Spinning Stories (ages 9-11), August 19 to 22, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
We would not be able to provide these life-changing programs without YOU!
Whether you’ve taken a class, signed your child up for a class, participated in one of our events, or given a generous gift, YOU help us provide meaningful writing experiences that foster authenticity, connection, and empathy.
With love & gratitude,
Here’s what else we’ve been up to this month. If you are interested in bringing a program to your school or organization, email executive director Jennifer Chauhan at jennifer@projectwritenow.org.
Firefly: Stories Out Loud
We have so much love for everyone who showed up and shared their “light” with us at Firefly: Stories Out Loud at Basie Center Cinemas. We’re still riding high on the vibes from our time together. We truly appreciate everyone’s energy and presence in the space. Thanks to all who made it possible, from the vulnerable and powerful shares of our storytellers … to the engaged and empathetic reactions from the audience … to the warm welcome from the Basie Center Cinemas crew … to the thoughtful scoring of our guest judges … to the hands-on support of our staffers and volunteers … to the professional eye of our videographer … It was an absolutely amazing communal experience and we are so grateful for all of you! And congratulations to Pamela Major for scoring highest and winning a spot in our Writer’s Showcase in December! Join us for our next Firefly: Stories Out Loud on Tuesday, October 15!
Let It Flow
We are so grateful to The Wellness Hub at Nourish Coaches for hosting our Let It Flow: Yoga & Journaling workshop, co-facilitated by Jennifer Chauhan and Meredith Avakian. The theme of the workshop was Beginner’s Mind and we began by selecting a stone with a word that spoke to us to start off our journaling. Jennifer then guided us in some gentle movement and mediation, which was followed by more journaling, led by Meredith. We were in awe of the bonds that were formed through our shared experiences of creatively flowing through movement and writing.
Lunchtime Write-In
On Fridays, we host a one-hour writing workshop on Zoom during which we write in response to themed prompts. This month, we explored the themes: “Day,” “Night,” and “Promise.” Though writers never have to share, we always enjoy hearing one another’s pieces and have formed an incredible, supportive community. We even met for lunch once IN PERSON this month for those that live locally! Join us for our next Lunchtime Write-In to see what our upcoming themes will be!
Long Branch Rotary Club
Our executive director, Jennifer Chauhan, was invited to speak to the Long Branch Rotary Club during their weekly meeting at Rooney’s in Long Branch. In addition to sharing the community outreach work PWN does, Jennifer led a writing workshop on gratitude. Participants shared about being grateful for family, loved ones, and the simple joys of everyday life. We are grateful to be invited into the community to share the impact of our programs, especially on our youth. Thank you, Long Branch Rotary Club!
Monmouth Stars
We are thrilled to partner with STEAMpark, the Monmouth County Vocational School District, and the Red Bank Borough Public Schools to provide a dynamic full-day, four-week summer camp at Red Bank Middle School. Each day more than 60 campers experience writing/reading, math, engineering/coding, and performing and visual arts! For writing/reading, we’ve been using the theme of the Jersey Shore to inspire our writing, with a focus on sensory details. We are so grateful to be a part of this incredible program.
New Jersey Courts
Our executive director, Jennifer Chauhan, presented her third journaling workshop to the New Jersey Courts as part of the New Jersey Judiciary Institute for Staff and Attorneys (JISA) Lunch and Learn Program. More than 300 attendees joined Zoom to learn about the benefits of journaling and engage in some writing themselves. Jennifer shared the poem “Night at the Roller Palace,” by January Gill O’Neil, and participants wrote about times when they felt joy or what their “me” time looks like. In the more than 60 pieces shared on Zoom, so many were about spending time in nature or with family. We are inspired!
OLMC (Asbury Park)
We had another great summer camp experience at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Asbury Park! We played word games, created hand-made greeting cards, journaled, shared, colored and crafted. We are so grateful to have spent these creative camp sessions with OLMC students and wish everyone at the school a great rest of their summer!
PWN India
Our adult journaling group had fun playing with these “16 Heartwarming Words That Don’t Have an English Equivalent.” We each chose the one that was resonating the most and then wrote off of it. So many of the words encourage living a simpler, more grateful life, and we pledged to continue incorporating these words into our daily practices.
Shore House (Long Branch)
The Shore House writers took inspiration from the idea of “parts.” Prior to studying a poem titled, “Summers Melody,” by Edel Copeland, we extracted some key words (silver, blue, joyful, sands) and spent time writing to each, brainstorming with whatever memories, thoughts, or ideas arrived. We used these brainstorms as topics of discussion, getting to know each other in deeper ways. The word “silver” brought memories shared about tinsel on a fireplace in a childhood home, while the word “sands” sparked a conversation about sand castles and whether or not any of us liked getting dirty while playing outside as children. It was beautiful to see how much connection could occur with time to ponder just four words. While July was spent flexing brainstorming muscles, August is devoted to beginning work on our first longer writing pieces of the year!
Summer Slam (Red Bank Regional)
We embraced our creativity at Summer Slam! We decorated notebooks to reflect our outer selves (with a variety of stickers to choose from) and then filled them with our inner stories. We read “The Moving Truck Poem,” by Andru Defeye, and then used lines and ideas from the poem as writing prompts—When the door shuts … When the truck leaves … With every turn … Things we’ve held onto … Things we’ve let go. Sharing was not required, but we were thrilled that many students still volunteered to read their words aloud. We each identified our favorite lines from the day and wrote them onto a giant piece of paper. By the end of the day, the paper was full of words, creating a giant community poem. Shout out to our interns, Kshirin & Lilly, for all their help, and RBR for welcoming us year after year!
The Write Time (for teachers)
We are thrilled to have landed on the perfect time to host our summer teacher writing group. Every Tuesday morning, we meet (with cups of coffee/tea and in PJs) for one hour of quiet journaling. We kicked off playing around with these “16 Heartwarming Words That Don’t Have an English Equivalent.” The following week we used Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Valentine for Ernest Mann” to write about the stories that surround us. We’ve had teachers join us from Texas and Maryland and love the connection that’s already being formed.
Write Out Loud
We tuned into the July vibes at Write Out Loud at the Asbury Book Cooperative with the theme of “Fireworks, Fireflies, and Freedom.” After some dialogue, we came up with lists of words that remind us of this time of year. Then we each wrote our favorite word from our respective lists on a Post-It note and placed it in a bag. Everyone randomly drew a word out of the bag and was encouraged to incorporate it as a writing prompt. There was lovely group sharing, including lots of participation in the open mic at the end. Thanks to this beautiful community of writers for showing up and sharing your words! Be sure to join us for the next Write Out Loud on August 13!
Scholarship Seats
Through our mission as a nonprofit organization, we remove barriers to participating in our fee-based classes by providing full and partial scholarship seats as well as payment plans. Since 2020, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the need for financial assistance and therefore have met that need by offering more scholarship seats. For 2023, we awarded 48 seats totaling $17,205. For 2024, we have already provided 44 seats totaling $10,503. For information about our scholarship program or to become a valuable donor providing these seats, please email Jennifer Chauhan at jennifer@projectwritenow.org.
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