State of the Re:Union The One Thing

Hi Everyone,
I would love to have your support in the below initiative. Please read all carefully and let me know if you have any questions or you can contact Erika directly at her contact information below.

Happy writing!


Dear Carol, 
  
I’m working on a grassroots-type project about rural America with the NPR show State of the Re:Union (SOTRU). I would love for Iowa residents to participate, and I'm reaching out to organizations that might want to be involved.
 
More Americans are leaving rural areas for cities, but behind that movement, there’s a whole collection of individual experiences. We want to gather those stories: of people who left their hometowns, but also of people who have stayed or returned.
 
To do this, we’re inviting people across the country to share their stories through writing, images, or sound--or all three.
 
SOTRU is partnering with Cowbird and the interactive documentary
Hollow. We'll collect individual stories on Cowbird’s website. Cowbird is designed for anyone to join and participate: it’s easy to upload images, text, and sound. For those who don’t have access to online platforms, we have other options for submitting stories.
 
This isn't a big commitment. Written stories are just 50-250 words. Participants could find their town featured in SOTRU’s 2014 season. More info here: http://stateofthereunion.com/the-one-thing/
 
This project is officially launching in October. But before then, we’re reaching out to people in every state to have their stories at the opening. I wonder if you'd be willing to spread the word in your writing workshops or in a newsletter. Or perhaps you know of people or other organizations I should contact. 
 
"The One Thing" is a unique way to join a conversation with rural communities across the country. We're looking to gather great stories in the next week or two to feature in the project's official launch. Unfortunately, we cannot pay participants. Participants must be at least 13 years old. 

The prompt: What's THE ONE THING about your town... that made you stay? That made you leave? That made you... return? Through the diverse stories of people in America’s hollers, backwoods, and ranches, we hope to paint a larger picture. 
 
To submit a story, people can either: 

1) Join Cowbird (which is free) and upload text, sound, or photos. Detailed instructions are at http://stateofthereunion.com/the-one-thing/. or... 

2) Instead of uploading, simply email me story submissions and a photo, and I'll upload to Cowbird (erika@stateofthereunion.com). or... 

3) Arrange to mail me a hard copy of the materials, which I'll scan and upload.


The idea is to get a range of people involved, including the elderly or
people who aren't tech-savvy. You can direct anyone interested my way-- I'm happy to talk people through the uploading process or to talk about the project in more depth. Please call or email me to discuss it more, too. 

Erika 

(952) 380-7241 
erika@stateofthereunion.com

#stateofthereunion  #theonething  #NPR