march community outreach

Core to Project Write Now’s mission is building community. Never has this been more important than right now, in the midst of these challenging, unprecedented times.

During the past few weeks, we have found that continuing to write and share stories has been vital to our students, providing comfort and hope. We are grateful to our incredible team who moved our studio classes to virtual platforms and our students for embracing this change.

We’ve witnessed in all of our programs how writing reduces anxiety, generates empathy, enhances resilience, and increases coping skills. We’re committed to continuing to provide meaningful writing experiences through our studio classes and outreach programs online.

One outreach partner we’ve already been writing with on Zoom is Shore House, a community resource in Long Branch. Isolation is devastating for people living with mental illness, and we are grateful we can continue to provide a way for members to share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. We are also grateful to the Monmouth Park Charity Fund and New Jersey Natural Gas for selecting our partnership with Shore House for its “Accomplish More Together” grant. If you’d like a dose of inspiration, listen to a recording of our most recent class with Shore House. Our instructor led members to write and share gratitude lists.

We will keep you updated on our plans with our other community outreach partners. If you know of an organization that could benefit from our programming, even a one-time workshop, please email me at jennifer@projectwritenow.org.

Here are some other ways we are strengthening community:

• Teacher Ambassador weekly classes, to share strategies for online teaching as well as write together
• Weekly Friday Lunchtime Write-In for adults on Zoom
• Weekly Write-In for teens (coming soon!)
• #ViewFromHere 100-Word Story Project (see below)
• Poem-a-Day from Bridge Ink, our online young adult literary magazine, on social media for National Poetry Month. We just launched our most recent issue that you can read here.

From all of us at Project Write Now, thank you for your trust, patience, and flexibility as we continue our mission of transforming lives through writing.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or suggestions. I am grateful to be part of such a wonderful, supportive community.

And we hope you and your loved ones remain safe and healthy!

With gratitude,

Jennifer Chauhan
Executive Director

Cover art by Velda W., age 17

A collaborative poem written by 7th Grade Red Bank Middle School AVID Students (2019/20)

I come from realizing that when days go back,

there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.

From trying our best just to get on the leader-board.

I come from the light.

From traveling from town to town,

country to country.

It has its perks.

How does it make you feel?

Good and safe.

I am from my friend’s jokes–

the laughs and wheezes and tears and giggling.

I am from a school of laughter:

a type of school where you can catch a laugh

or giggle at any time.

I am from a group of friends.

I am from a lazy world with a nice, comfy blanket in my room.

I am from playing Xbox and sleeping on a couch.

I am from my computer–

the feeling of me pressing my keys

over and over again,

my mouse moving around and around.

I am from getting excited and scared at the same time.

This world has love, happiness, and other feelings, too.

I am from the tickle monster that attacks my siblings.

I am from the books I read to my brother

even though he probably doesn’t even know what I’m saying.

I am from the beautiful waterfront view,

the big luscious green grass yard.

From my family

looking out the window

to see when my best friend, my grandpa, comes home.

I am from dog’s fluff,

the dog that looks like a cow.

I am from the beaches that my state is known for.

I am from the food that my parents make from their culture.

The world is great

and life is love.

Red Bank, New Jersey

 

Read more works from young writers around the United States published in Bridge Ink, Vol. 4.2, here.

 

#ViewFromHere: 100-Word Story Project

#ViewFromHere 100-Word Story Project

Yes, we are social distancing. Yes, we are sheltering in place. But that doesn’t mean we can’t stay connected through sharing stories of our experiences, documenting in real time what is happening during this unprecedented event. We want to hear from you! What does the view look like from where you are right now? Tell us in exactly 100 words (no more, no less) and then email your video to lisah@projectwritenow.org for a chance to appear on our social media channels.

In this debut video, Karen Harris explains why she loves writing 100-word stories, which was inspired by her memoir class, and then gives us her #ViewFromHere.