Building community in Baton Rouge, one garden at a time

Last month, StoryCorps Door-to-Door traveled to downtown Chicago, Illinois, to record the stories of chief service officers from city administrations across the nation. CSOs described the impact that different community development initiatives have had on their cities as part of Cities of Service, a coalition of mayors from metropolitan areas that represent nearly 20 million Americans in the United States.

Kia Bickham, the CSO for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, spoke about the Love Your Block Initiative, a program that distributes small grants to citizen committees for the greening and beautification of city blocks, work that is mainly carried out by community volunteers. Kia explained how the implementation of that initiative has changed the urban environments of many historically black Baton Rouge neighborhoods that have been affected by decades of urban decay. (more…)

HIV Prevention: A Network of Stories

At the end of June, StoryCorps Door-to-Door traveled to Washington, D.C., to record stories at the HIV Prevention Trials Network annual meeting. HPTN, as its name suggests, is a group of scientists, researchers, physicians, and community stakeholders who work to test HIV prevention methods. Last April, they made history with Trial 052, a study that followed couples in which one person was HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative, in 13 different countries. They found that HIV transmission was reduced by 96% when the HIV-positive partner took antiretroviral therapy. (more…)

Cities, you just got served!

StoryCorps Door-to-Door recently took a trip to Chicago for two days of interviews with chief service officers from Cities of Service, a non-profit program that establishes a coalition of volunteers in cities throughout the country to address the unique challenges within individual communities. Mayors from select cities hire chief service officers to organize programs and volunteers that will best meet the community’s needs. Rebecca Delphia of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Marcia Hope Goodwin of Orlando, Florida, were two CSOs who came to StoryCorps to tell the story of their cities’ progress during their two-year tenure. (more…)

StoryCorps San Francisco Celebrates Juneteenth

It was 147 years ago on June 19th, 1865 that Union troops descended on Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and announce and enforce the emancipation of its slaves. Juneteenth is the holiday commemorating that day and the abolition of slavery in the United States. The day is an opportunity for people to celebrate freedom and equal rights, and last month, StoryCorps San Francisco was honored to join the celebration at Marin City, California’s annual Juneteenth Street Festival. (more…)

A picture’s worth a thousand stories (and tags).

The heart of the StoryCorps experience is the opportunity to share an honest, uninterrupted conversation with a loved one, and all participants leave our recording locations with their interview on a CD, a time capsule of this special experience that’s hot off the presses! Some people listen to their CDs on the ride home, while others tuck them away in a drawer to share with future grandchildren.

But there’s another momento created at the end of every StoryCorps interview: the photo. After sharing stories, a few laughs, and sometimes a few tears, our participants’ conversations with their loved ones are visually captured. (more…)

Friendship and Mixtapes

Last month, StoryCorps Door-to-Door braved traffic on the I-95 corridor to visit Mount Holyoke College for its annual alumni reunion. At this women’s college, graduates ranging from the class of 1943 to the class of 2009 gathered to consider what it means to be a Mount Holyoke woman, how they’ve carried Mount Holyoke into the world, and what the college’s future might hold. (more…)

Reflections of Self

Thoreau (pronounced thu-ROO) Middle School boasts a brand new building, and when you walk in you’re welcomed in English, Spanish, and Navajo. Just as classes ended in late May, StoryCorps Facilitator Rose Gorman and I stopped by to record with the teachers and staff of TMS as part of StoryCorps’ National Teachers Initiative.

Our first participants of the day were middle school teacher Matthew Lanz and one of his graduating students, Israel Gonzales, who was recognized this year by teachers for being a hard working teen.

Israel and Matt spoke about living on a Navajo reservation, school life at TMS, and Israel’s goals for the upcoming school year. (more…)

A Piece of Peace in Indy’s West Side

This June, the MobileBooth is recording stories in Indianapolis, thanks to local radio station partner WFYI.

We will be recording voices and stories of various Indianapolis neighborhoods until June 30, 2012. You can make a reservation to record by clicking here and tune in to WFYI 90.1 FM during the summer to hear stories from the Indy community. (more…)