H&S Talks: Storytelling for Engagement that Counts!

Orton Family Foundation

Learn how Orton's Community Heart & Soul™ approach incorporates personal story to illuminate a community's history, priorities, and aspirations, and how those stories can enable residents to drive local decision-making. Orton's Director of Programs Alece Montez-Griego is joined by Elaine Brett, project co-coordinator for the Community Heart & Soul project in the North Fork Valley, which includes the towns of Paonia, Hotchkiss and Crawford, Colorado. Brett worked closely with an innovative program called "Pass the Mic" in which youth interviewed residents to learn more about local industry and report on the Valley's values. Also on the call is Holli Andrews, executive director, Framingham Downtown Renaissance and former intern with Biddeford, Maine's Heart & Soul project where she helped develop a storytelling-based tour of downtown Biddeford that invited residents to record their stories at "HeartSpots" at key locations.