It’s back! Click here to RSVP to our second Storybox event.
Storybox #1 at the TCB Oakley community.
Beautiful sunshine, energetic kids, great music, and lots of paint made the first Storybox Project a rousing success!
In October, the residents of the TCB Oakley apartments on Chicago’s Near West Side welcomed Storycatchers into their Hope Garden to write stories and build these stories a permanent home. With power tools and writing prompts in hand, the day started loud and exciting and full of life–no one had ever built a Storybox before and everyone was down for the experiment.
While the box was being assembled on one side of the garden with the help of some young residents, our teaching staff led games to get the creative juices flowing on the other side. Stories of nonfiction and fantasy started to fill the journals, and by the end of the day, nearly every journal had at least one story in it. These journals were then placed inside of the Storybox, so that residents can read a story one of their neighbors has written and add their own story on the next page.
The Storybox reminds us that storytelling is an important aspect of creating and maintaining a community. And that stories are told in many ways, like dancing, writing, eating together, and getting covered in paint.
May the orange and blue box in the Hope Garden continue to be fed.
Our first Storybox Project image gallery.
TCB Oakley Community Apartments
This stylish and tranquil community offers newly renovated apartments and true community living at an affordable price. It’s a development by The Community Builders – a national non-profit dedicated to equitable housing and raising the quality of life for residents in underserved areas.
Learn more about this success story from their partnership with the Chicago Community Trust.