You may have seen the news last week during Giving Tuesday, but we’re delighted to announce that after three years as an organization The Facing Project has officially become a 501c3 nonprofit. This status will allow us to expand our mission of connecting people through stories to strengthen communities in three exciting new ways:
- Provide funds for communities to publish Facing Project books to help further spread their stories;
- Support spin-off initiatives created by completed Facing Projects, such as a sleeping bag program for the homeless following a Facing Homelessness project or funds to help support a touring art exhibit and performance after a Facing Sex Trafficking project; and
- Offer scholarships to support continuing education (courses, conferences, travel) of writers, artists, and performers who have participated in Facing Projects.
This new chapter of our story will spread the power of face-to-face conversations, and stories, in Facing Project communities and communities around the world.
As we head into 2016, we want to welcome back three campuses that will lead new iterations of their Facing Projects with book launches in the spring:
- Ball State University – Muncie, Indiana: Facing Cancer
- UCLA – Los Angeles, California: Facing Depression
- Union College – Knox County, Kentucky: Facing Addiction, Phase II
And we want to give a warm welcome to the La Lumiere School, a K-12 partner in La Porte, Indiana. La Lumiere will lead a Facing Project as part of their senior capstone experience.
More details about these projects will be released in the coming weeks.
Last, many of you are regular watchers of the Facing Stories video series we share on our You Tube channel and in each newsletter. We took a break this past fall from recording new Facing Stories, but we will return in January under a new format – the Facing Stories Podcast. Similar to the Facing Stories video series, the podcast will bring you conversations with past Facing Project participants, researchers in the field, and celebrities to discuss understanding across difference, empathy, and the overall power of storytelling. Facing Stories will be available on iTunes and iHeartRadio.
From our community to yours, we wish you Happy Holidays!