September Community Outreach

Dear Friends of Project Write Now:

The heart of our mission is being engaged in our community—creating supportive spaces to write and share our stories. Each voice, each story deepens the connections between us, helping generate greater empathy, compassion, and hope.

As we celebrate 10 years, we want to express our gratitude to our incredible community partners who have been an integral part of our journey. We would not be who we are and where we are today without the power of these connections and collaborations.

We are therefore thrilled to announce our 10th Anniversary Community Celebration, which will take place on Wednesday, November 20, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the Two River Theater in Red Bank.

Please SAVE THE DATE for this special evening! From an opening reception with live music, to a commemorative show including writer performances and an awards presentation, to a celebratory toast, it will be a night to remember!

And thank you to all who came out to kick off our 10-year anniversary celebrations at our Ripples of Hope party! We would like to give a shout out to Shore Casino (Atlantic Highlands) for opening their doors as we had to quickly change venues from sea to land. We appreciate how everyone went with the flow, which again was a reminder of how wonderful and supportive our community is!

With love & gratitude,
The Project Write Now Team

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.

Family Based Services Association of New Jersey

The first Tuesday of September was our last day working with the young writers at Family Based Services this session. We read “How to Write a Poem” by Laura Hershey and then continued working on our art projects. We then used our finished art pieces as inspiration for new original writing, noting what we saw and felt when looking at the art. We talked about how art is subjective and can be found anywhere when seeking inspiration. We also chatted about our deep thoughts. We had a wonderful time together!

Labyrinth Theatre

We were thrilled to host our first Labyrinth Theatre Micro-Short Screenplay Contest in collaboration with Bread & Roses Film Festival at Basie Center Cinemas. Our registered participants brought in original short scripts (3-5 pages) and assigned roles so the stories could be read out loud on stage. All of the scripts were smart, funny, and unique in their own ways. Congratulations to Jillian Donadio, who was awarded the prize for Best Script of the evening. And thank you to all of our participants and audience members for your support. Bread & Roses is a female-centric film festival that runs between October 18-20 in Asbury Park. Tickets are on sale now.

Long Branch High School

We wrapped up our series of professional development sessions on “How to Engage Students in Authentic Writing” with the ELA team at Long Branch High School. We spent some time sharing our wins and “glimmers” so far this year. Then we did some brainstorming of lists of 10s (colors, ideas, smells, places, people, sounds, emotions). After we looked for connections, we did some freewriting. We ended the session by making plans to incorporate more expressive writing in our curriculum. We are so grateful to the teachers and look forward to continuing to work together.

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: “September” and “Fade.” 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!

PWN India (Adults)

One of our favorite things about our PWN India adult journaling club is how each time we meet we learn from each other. We began our most recent session sharing how our countries experience the seasons and then used Emily Jungmin Yoon’s “Between Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice” to inspire our writing. We did a marathon freewrite to the prompts “Today I am …” “Today I think …” “Today I wear …” and “Today my heart …” We love feeling so connected over time and space with these incredible writers.

Red Bank Public Library

Artist Domenica Donna Como joined us for our Ekphrastic Writing workshop at the Red Bank Public Library where we used Domenica’s art as inspiration for our words. We were a small but mighty group—each writer allowing their unedited artist selves to emerge and play on the page. Here are just a few lines shared from the night … 

“I was whisked away under the sunset amidst the symmetry of the flatiron building while hearing the drops of the rain storm crack against the pavement.“ … 

“Memories enter, and the Grieving Angel appears as the carved concrete and steel tears give way to the Mother and Child, precisely melting the stone with each planned brushstroke.” … 

“We never met but I know his brush strokes and I know how his hand held the city and we must share an affinity for space because I see it in the way he has become it.” 

We love using art as writing fuel, and having the artist with us made the evening extra special!

Shore House

September felt like a slowing … like an intentional opportunity to tune into the proverbial gardening that has been the inspiration for our soon-to-be-published writing pieces. Earlier in the month, we played with poetry, haiku, and other creative writing prompts that centered on nature and the planting of seeds. Additionally, we took inspiration from a piece of artwork by PWN’s very own Lisa Hartsgrove titled “Upside Down.” This really helped us play with practicing “seeing” more than first meets the eye in relation to the ways we approach writing prompts. Later in the month, we enjoyed working alongside a poem titled “If –” by Rudyard Kipling. This work reads, in part, like loving reminders on how we can choose to intentionally approach life AND like an acknowledgement of how much work it can feel like to create the life of our dreams. It felt inspiring and like a warm hug. Stay tuned for a link, later this fall, to our published work, but for now, we leave you with a collaborative poem inspired by Rupi Kaur. (“You do not just wake up and become the butterfly. Growth is a process.”)

You do not just wake up and become independent. Growth is a process.

You do not just wake up and find all of the effort you need. Growth is a process.

You do not just wake up and become wise. Growth is a process. 

You do not just wake up and become proud. Growth is a process.

Teacher Writing Collaborative

We’ve revamped our Teacher Writing Collaborative, moving the day and time to Wednesday evenings once a month. For our first session, we read the poem “Between Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice” by Emily Jungmin Yoon and then did a marathon freewrite to the prompts: “Today I am …” “Today I think …” “Today I wear …” and “Today my heart …” We shared that we all needed this freewrite together and left with warmed hearts. Our next Teacher Writing Collaborative is Wednesday, October 23, from 7 to 8 p.m. All teachers are welcome to join any time!

Write Out Loud

There were so many magical synchronicities in this month’s Write Out Loud workshop at the Asbury Book Cooperative! We opened with a reading of “Switch Plate” by Al Ortolani. Then we gave three prompt options—1. Write about something cool that you have done, or that you thought you have done, like the kids with the motion detector in the poem! 2. Write about your experience of back-to-school season. 3. Do you remember the 21st night of September? Write about the September month and what it brings up for you. We also always give the option to reject our prompts if there’s something else our participants would rather write about instead. Three writers shared stories about their experiences of 9/11. There was a thread of longing in almost every piece, and another common theme of rocket ships and space. We are so grateful to all who came out and made this night so meaningful. Join us for our next Write Out Loud on October 8!

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 47 seats totaling $11,165. For information about our scholarship program or to become a valuable donor providing these seats, please email Jennifer Chauhan at jennifer@projectwritenow.org.