We got a lot of response from yesterday's piece about an after-school music program for disadvantaged youth in Grand Rapids.
But here's a little secret: That story came to us pretty much 'as is' - meaning Casey Stratton reported and produced the whole audio piece and sent it in to us. We tweaked it a bit here and there to fit our style, and voila! Stratton and company made their radio debut.
You, too, can share your story! We're all about community-generated content here at State of Opportunity. And we've now got several easy ways you can share your story with us.
State of Opportunity's Sarah Alvarez created a mobile storytelling booth, so listeners across the state can record their experiences. Here's how Sarah describes the booth:
"Nothing too fancy, but it will let us record lots of people who want to share an experience, reflect on something going on in their community, or who want to document an important event. It can even be used for groups of people to interview on another. Each time the booth goes out we'll help craft questions or prompts to help people tell their stories."
Another way to share your story with us is to use your smart phone or laptop and record it to Soundcloud. Once again, Sarah Alvarez put together a handy post on how to use Soundcloud and the types of stories we're looking for:
- We want stories about the best the state has to offer, and where it falls short.
- We’d like to hear how parents and teachers and schools cope and change lives.
- What hopes do young people have for their own futures, and what do they think they’ll need to get there?
- We want to know what social service workers would like to see done differently.
- And, we want to hear from families about resilience, resourcefulness, triumphs, and the obstacles to success.
Here are some easy to follow instructions on how to use Soundcloud.
And lastly, you can always get in touch with us via email, posting a comment here on our website, or fill out our Public Insight Network form to share your story.
Hope to hear from you soon!
