What are the stories of your community?
In 2006, StoryCorps launched New York City Outreach. This program partners with community groups, institutions, and organizations to bring groups of new participants to record their stories.
We have worked with over a hundred groups, including Voices of Women Organizing Project, LGBT Community Center, and Our Time Theatre Company.
We focus particularly on communities that might have barriers to access and communities from diverse backgrounds. A partnership with StoryCorps New York City Outreach can benefit your community by:
- Collecting stories around a particular shared memory, historical event, or anniversary
- Preserving stories that highlight the personal stories of the people who make up your community
- Possessing an effective communication tool to put up your website as past partners like Freedom Train Productions and Street Vendor Project have done
- More benefits
While we do not focus on organizational oral histories, the StoryCorps model for oral history does focus on the personal stories, memories, and legacies of individuals. We find that this model for storytelling paints a full and deep oral mosaic of the people who make up the communities with which we partner.
Listen to one of the stories we’ve collected as part of the New York City Outreach program, and see more stories below.
“I felt alone and tried to hide it…”
Taro Alexander talks about growing up with a stutter.
Recorded in New York, NY, in partnership with Our Time Theater Company.
Schedule a StoryCorps New York City interview today
Because of StoryCorps’ commitment to community outreach in New York City, our program has interview slots not listed in the public reservation system. To schedule a New York City Outreach interview or to learn more about the New York City Outreach community partnerships:
- Call 646-723-7020 extensions 13 or 47
- Email nyc_outreach@storycorps.net
Visit the What to Expect in the Interview page, as well as our Question Generator to prepare for your interview! To learn more about StoryCorps as an organization, please visit the the StoryCorps FAQ page.
Email nyc_outreach@storycorps.net to sign up for the New York City Community Outreach Newsletter.
More stories from the New York City Outreach Initiative
“A friend of ours wanted us to be together in a scene…”
Miriam Cruz-Colon and her husband Oscar Colon remember meeting as acting students in 1959.
Recorded in New York, NY, in partnership with the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA).
“Who is important in your life right now?”
LeKeisha Williams (L) interviews her best friend, Tia Williams.
Recorded in New York, NY, in partnership with ACORN Community High School.
“Is there anything you wanted to know about me?”
Hasiyna Price, right, tells her cousin Danette Banks about being a teenager with scoliosis.
Recorded in New York, NY, in partnership with ACORN Community High School.
