East 10th Street Camp a Success!

Today, we just finished a great camp in partnership with the Y-Press at the John H. Boner Community Center on 10th Street on the Near Eastside. We worked with nine fourth and fifth graders from the neighborhood to do creative writing, journalism and make audio slideshows stories (coming soon) about people and places in their area.

Our two interns this summer, Henok and Meghan, and Second Story director Jim Walker teamed up with seven high school kids from the Y-Press and three staff members in an excellent collaboration between our nonprofit organizations with similar missions. We formed a really good relationship with several people on East 10th Street and really helped a lot of kids enjoy writing and learn a some new technology as they worked to tell stories through audio and photos too. It was a great time and we look forward to working with the Y-Press and the kids on the Near Eastside again soon.

Our next camp is at Garfield Park July 14-17 from 1:30 to 5 p.m. each day. We'll be working with kids between 8-12 years old.

See below for information about signing up. There's still time to get your kids involved!

Eastside Camp Gets Started

Second Story's first summer day camp, a partnership with Y-Press, started June 17 at the John H. Boner Center on East 10th Street on the city's Near Eastside.

The 10-day camp brings a group of high-school age writers and editors from the Y-press together to mentor teams of elementary students from the Near Eastside as they create stories about people in their neighborhood. The final product will be audio slide shows with pictures and recorded interviews. The elementary students will create the recordings and take the pictures.

Second Story has two more creative writing camps planned for the summer in partnership with Indy Parks at Garfield Park. Details can be found in a previous post below.

Summer Day Camps from Second Story

Creative Writing Camp at the Garfield Park Art Center

This week-long creative writing camp for ages 8-12 is led by teachers from Second Story writing program and focuses on poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and connections with nature and Garfield Park. At the end of this week of having fun with words, the group will share with family and friends a reading of an original book created during the camp. The camps will start each day at the Art Center (2432 Conservatory Drive) with the kids spending time throughout the park.

Registration going on now, call 327-PARK to sign up.

July 14 - 17 (T - F)
1:30 - 5 p.m.
$70 for 4 classes

Aug. 3 - 7 (M - F)
1 - 4 p.m.
$75 for 5 classes

Visit Indy Parks or email Jim Walker at jim@secondstoryindy.org for more info.

Second Story connects with Butler on a new course

Second Story has developed a new course in conjunction with Butler University where undergraduate and graduate students work with young people on creative writing in IPS schools. The new course, taught by Managing Director Jim Walker, starts this fall. Read the full story on Butler's website here.

Second Story makes an Extreme-ly cool connection

Second Story has stepped up as the first organization in Indianapolis to offer program support at Pack House 2000, the new community education center built as part of the new home for Bernard McFarland in the the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood last week.

The television program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition chose McFarland's family and local developer Estridge built the home and mentoring facility. The program chronicling the experience airs May 17 on WRTV.

Ken Honeywell, founder and board president, presented McFarland with copies of Second Story's book, Hot Baked Cheetos, for the facility's library and made the offer of programming support at a press conference on April 5. Honeywell and Scott Woolgar, another of Second Story's founders, donated time and marketing support to the Extreme Makeover project through their company, Well Done Marketing.

Honeywell also presented McFarland a letter from Second Story offering its services. "I want to congratulate you for being an inspiration to a whole city—and, soon, to a whole nation. I also want to tell you deeply meaningful this has been for me, personally," Honeywell wrote. "If you plan to use your new resource center to help kids, we’d like to help you. Second Story would love to come in once a week after school and offer a creative writing for kids, free of charge. For now, though, welcome home, Bernard. Here’s to whatever’s ahead for you in your life."