Project Description

"Yarns" is a project that will create an opportunity for the elderly to share their stories, and what's important in their lives, with the world. In sharing the human experience with others, a space opens up for making a meaningful contribution to, and impacting, other people's lives.

In every yarn there is something we can appreciate about our own situation. The elderly literally have a lifetime of wisdom.

For this project, a group of volunteers will be collecting stories shared by the elderly about their lives, but also what really matters to them in their lives now.

The results of this project will be:

- A gallery event to share the stories that have been collected, open to the family and friends of the contributors, but also to the wider community. This will celebrate the achievements of those involved, and also the spirit of sharing human experience.
- The collected stories will be compiled into a book to be presented to the participants of the project and also (eventually) be published to reach a wider audience.
- A short documentary film based on the stories shared and the experiences of the project team.

"Yarns" provides opportunities for volunteers and storytellers to take part in shaping the outcomes described above. This enables meaningful contributions from all involved, and results that can be shared in the real world.

The contributors we have collected stories from so far, as well as the volunteers taking on the project, have expressed much enthusiasm and fulfillment from their involvement so far. The only setback is that we need money to pay for printing the book!

Our goal is $1500.

This money will go towards paying the printing costs of 100 copies of the book, which will be used as gifts for the storytellers and volunteers and to distribute to the local community.

However, if we were able to raise more, it would aid with equipment required for filming (e.g. memory cards), catering the gallery event and printing more copies of the book for wider distribution.

This is an opportunity for us to pursue interests in writing, editing, publishing, film production, music, event management and community involvement. By engaging in areas we are passionate about, we really feel that we can provide a unique opportunity for the storytellers to share their life experiences with the world and to leave a legacy to share with their loved ones.

Also, after all the hard work the volunteers have put in, we would love to see the book in print!