june community outreach

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.

Cat Tales

We had such a great time writing in our Cat Tales workshop at Catsbury Park, located in Asbury Park! We read three poems and used each one as inspiration for our own creative writing—“The Naming of Cats” by T. S. Eliot, “Leaf Cutter” by Elizabeth McMunn-Tetangco, and  “Road Hazard” by Bradley Paul. Of course, we were also greatly inspired by the CATS! We loved when the cats joined us up on our writing table, nudging their noses into our pens and encouraging our creativity. One cat was so excited about our storytelling that he jumped to the top of the door and a staff member had to help him back down! We’re so grateful to all who came out and wrote and shared with us. Thank you for supporting BOTH nonprofits!

embrella

We are so grateful to embrella for inviting our executive director, Jennifer Chauhan, to be a speaker at their P.E.A.C.E. (Power to End Adverse Childhood Experiences) Summit. It was such an incredible experience to not only write with the attendees but also share how to start or deepen a journaling practice. If you’d like Jennifer to come speak to your group, email info@projectwritenow.org for more information.

Family Based Services Association of NJ

It was a beautiful morning with the staff of FBSANJ as we relaxed and connected over breakfast and journaling activities. Each participant selected a journal and decorated it with stickers that spoke to them. To warm up, we wrote in response to poetry, using “Purple” by Kwame Dawes as inspiration. Then we brought out our Wheel of Writing and spun it to get a few prompts to choose from, including “an obsession,” “a misunderstanding,” and “the food, fashion, music from a decade or age.” We are so grateful for our partnership with FBSANJ and look forward to our annual summer writing program with their youth.

Jersey Pride Parade (Asbury Park)

We had such a blast marching in the Jersey Pride Parade for our second year in a row! We handed out over 600 pencils and felt the magic of all of the stories around us. Every story matters! We were so happy to be immersed in all that love and color.

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: “Citizen of the World” through student Allan Bass’ photos, “Dog,” and “Sun.” Though writers never have to share, we always enjoy hearing one another’s pieces and have formed an incredible, supportive community. Join us for our next Lunchtime Write-In to see what our upcoming themes will be!

Monmouth Cares Provider Fair

It was a pleasure connecting with case managers, other providers, and a number of community members representing a variety of local organizations and businesses at Monmouth Cares’ June Provider Fair at their offices in Long Branch. This was an informative, engaging opportunity to share and learn more about available services and resources.

North To Shore Festival at Asbury Book Cooperative

We had a blast at the North To Shore festival, and we are so grateful to the Asbury Book Cooperative for giving us a space to participate. It was incredible to be a part of such a big event. We invited guests to decorate their own notebooks with unique stickers. We gave out rainbow pencils. And we connected with so many great writers in our community. We also premiered our new “Rainbow Ink” issue of Bridge Ink for the first time. Check it out today! Every story matters at PWN!

“Oriana” Book Talk

We are so grateful to River Road Books for hosting another lovely author event. We had a great time learning about the legendary Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci and Stacy Rubis’ quest to tell her story! Stay tuned: River Road Books and PWN are committed to bringing you more author talks in the future!

Pride in the Park (Red Bank)

We had an incredible time at Red Bank’s Pride in the Park event. We invited guests to design their own notebooks, picking colors and stickers that best represented themselves and their words. We met so many fabulous writers and artists. We can’t wait to come back again next year!

PWN India (adults)

On Friday mornings in the US and evenings in India, we journal with a small group from India. For June, we welcomed the US summer solstice, using Mary Oliver’s “The Summer Day” to reflect on what we planned to do with “our one wild and precious” day, weekend, month, or season. Somehow we got into a conversation about cooking and spent time talking about how when we cook we pour love into the food we serve our loved ones. It’s so wonderful that we are able to transcend oceans and time zones to write and reflect together.

PWN Teen Interns 

• Editorial Assistants
  We are thrilled to kick off the summer with our new 2024 teen Editorial Assistants! Be on the lookout for new articles in our Real Voices Write Now magazine, teen takeovers on our PWN Teen Instagram story, engaging reels, and more. The summer has just begun!

• Teaching Assistants
  Our TAs will assist our summer instructors in our PWN programs as well as Monmouth Stars and other outreach partner programs. We are so excited to share their enthusiasm and talent with our young writers!

• The Interview Project
  Interns participating in The Interview Project will be out interviewing notable citizens in their communities over the next couple of months. We can’t wait to share their finished stories in an upcoming feature issue of Bridge Ink. Stay tuned!

Rainbow Ink (Bridge Ink)

We are THRILLED to announce the release of our latest feature Bridge Ink issue … RAINBOW INK: LOUDER! Our teen literary journal, Bridge Ink, has partnered with Let’s Say Gay literary journal for our second year in a row for another very special Pride-themed issue. (Let’s Say Gay is a queer youth literary journal designed to create space for the LGBTQ+ community.) This special issue was open to queer artists between the ages of 13 and 18. We are so grateful to all who submitted! Be sure to check it out today, and stay tuned for a special print edition coming soon from LSG!

Red Bank Middle School 7th & 8th Grade AVID (in-school)

We concluded our yearlong program with the 7th and 8th grade AVID students at Red Bank Middle School with a two-day Writers Celebration. We printed their words into an anthology and each writer took their book to the podium and proudly shared their writing. We’ve been working with RBMS for NINE years now! That means NINE years of giving students supportive spaces to explore who they are and what’s important to them through expressive writing. None of this would be possible without the incredible relationship we have built with the Red Bank Borough Public Schools. We are grateful for the ongoing support of the administration, staff, and students who have embraced Project Write Now and our philosophy of teaching writing. We believe that, now more than ever, youth voices need to be heard and celebrated. Our students need not only to write authentically but also to share their stories with one another, generating deeper empathy, respect, and acceptance. We are so grateful to the students who have opened up and shared what’s in their hearts and on their minds with us this year. We can’t wait to see the incredible ways these students will continue to change our world for the better.

Shore House (Long Branch)

June brought collaborative opportunities to our writers at Shore House! First, we worked with powerful words, identifying a word that feels powerful to use, and then, taking time to turn and chat/interview the person on our right, and then on our left, about their powerful word and what it means to them. We studied a text called “I Am Enough,” which reads like a poem and highlights more of these powerful words. This led to some fascinating word gathering and storytelling about experiences with these affirmations. During our second session, we took inspiration from three sunshine-themed pieces, “I’ll Tell You How The Sun Rose” by Emily Dickinson, “The Sun’s Ballet” by an anonymous author, and “Sunshine: A Haiku” by Asma Bahrainwala. We mimicked the themes and styles of these works by writing our own haikus and musings on light and darkness, movement, cyclical patterns, and the symbolism of the sun.

Thrive Arts

The Thrive Arts Conference was such a vibe! It was an honor and pleasure to represent Project Write Now in Princeton. There was a beautiful mix of artists, executives, and a whole variety of creative professionals who support the arts. Kudos to all of the speakers, award recipients, and conference planners! It was an inspiring, empowering and encouraging day of community, connection, and commitment to creativity.

Write Out Loud

We celebrated Pride at Write Out Loud this month at the Asbury Book Cooperative! We read Chen Chen’s poem “I love you to the moon &” and then wrote either about a memorable place or finished the line “I love you to the moon &” in our own words. After sharing what we just wrote, we opened the floor to anyone who brought in outside work to share as well. Be sure to join us for the next Write Out Loud on July 9!

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 2023, we have already provided 28 seats totaling $8,715.50. For information about our scholarship program or to become a valuable donor providing these seats, please email Jennifer Chauhan at jennifer@projectwritenow.org.