Are you ready to rock out for Second Story?

Want to be a rock star for a night for a great cause? Who doesn't? On Saturday, Oct. 10, you'll have a chance to hit the stage in a band that includes at least one coworker to compete with other teams in a fun battle of the bands at the rockingest club in Indianapolis. We can supply "ringers" to help fill out your band if needed. It costs $500 per band and $200 for each ringer. But 75 percent of the proceeds go to Second Story, a 501c3 nonprofit educational and cultural organization that helps kids develop a love for writing and improve at it in the process. The other 25 percent go to the winning team's charity of choice in the name of their company. The winning band also gets an opening slot at this year's Tonic Ball. Download more details and rules here.

Celebrate with us on Sept. 2

Second Story and Y-Press will join the community in celebrating the success of the summer project on the Near Eastside on Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. at the East Washington Branch Library. In this 10-day journalism project, children from the Near Eastside, mostly in fourth and fifth grades, worked with high-school students from the Y-Press to create a series of audio slideshows telling the stories of life in the neighborhood. The young people will present their projects and talk about their experiences at this free event.

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.