City Stories Party

Second Story at Pecha Kucha

Board members and founders Ken Honeywell and Matt Mays recently made a great presentation about Second Story at a Pecha Kucha Indy event at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The crowd loved it. Here’s the video:

Please support Second Story

Happy Holidays!
Second Story has enjoyed a great 2009. We appreciate your support in helping us continue to succeed. This year, with many excellent volunteers joining our team, we’ve helped lots of kids in Indianapolis find joy in writing and improve their literacy skills.

Here’s how:

- with summer programs on East 10th Street (in partnership with Y-Press) on the Near Eastside and in Garfield Park (in partnership with Indy Parks);

- with in-school programs at IPS School 15 (4th graders) and IPS School 2 (7th graders in partnership with Butler University and Central Library);

- with after-school programs at the Wheeler Arts Community in Fountain Square, Kaleidoscope Youth Center and MLK Center.

Now, we’re looking forward to 2010 with plans to continue our after-school and in-school efforts while also working with high school kids for the first time as we team up with University of Indianapolis to help students at Manual High School bring back their yearbook and newspaper publications.

In late 2008 and in 2009, we received some great support from the Indianapolis Foundation, State Farm and from individuals like you. But times are tight and foundation and corporate support has been very slim - especially for a newer organization like ours.

So we need your help. The more we are able to raise, the more we can expand our programs to reach more children in 2010. It’s easy to donate through our Donate/PayPal button above or by sending us a check to 1014 Prospect St. Indianapolis, IN 46203.

Thanks for your help!

November Second Story News

On Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m. Second Story is hosting a reading of essays appearing in the Spirit & Place Festival magazine. Second Story board member Kevin McKelvey is coordinating this free event happening in conjunction with a Big Car community art show featured as part of Spirit & Place. It’s at the Wheeler Arts Community in Fountain Square (1035 Sanders St. behind Bud’s Supermarket)

Eight local writers and community leaders who contributed to this year’s Spirit & Place Festival magazine will read about inspiring places. These essayists include: Maurice Broaddus, Gloria Gaither, Edgar Huang, Meghan McCormick, McKelvey, Vop Osili, Bryan Payne, Rob Smith, Joyce A. Sommers and Aaron Spiegel. They’ll share the essay they contributed for the magazine and, after the reading, answer questions from the audience. Also during an intermission and after the reading, attendees can enjoy music by the local band Tonas Triad.

On Wednesday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m. Booth Magazine, the new Butler University online literary magazine will be holding a reading and music event at the Harrison Center for the Arts in the Underground. This will feature Chicago prose poet Jason Bredle (he’s really great—view some of his work here), fiction writer Emily Doak, and Second Story managing director Jim Walker (reading a short piece with dueling saw players Kipp Normand and Ben Bernthal). Second Story will benefit from beer sales (Upland is donating). Also music by the local band Nightjar.

Corporate Rock Off was a huge success!

Thanks to everyone for who helped make Corporate Rock Off a big hit. WIth six sponsored teams participating and rocking the house at Radio Radio, and with a very nice donation from our title sponsor, Well Done Marketing — as well as very generous support from others — we were able to raise $6,000 to help us with our important programs for kids. Thanks to all who donated, volunteered and attended the first Corporate Rock Off. Now we can start planning for next year!

Corporate Rock Off ready to roll

What: Corporate Rock Off
When: 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct.10
Where: Radio Radio, 1119 E. Prospect St.
Cost: $10, $5 with college ID. 21 and over.
Check out the event on Facebook

Six bands featuring co-workers from Indianapolis companies and organizations will compete on Oct. 10 to see who has the most mojo in Corporate Rock Off, a fundraising event for Second Story — a local nonprofit organization offering free writing workshops and tutoring for inner-city kids.

The bands in the event presented by Well Done Marketing include Vibe Dial, sponsored by rippleFX; The Raidiators sponsored by Raidious Digital Content Services; Rusty Sluts sponsored by Bradley and Montgomery; Sea Krowns, sponsored by Big Car; Accordions, sponsored by Nogginwerk; and Indianapolis Monthly’s team, Misprintz, winners of this year’s local battle of the media bands.

Each band will play a 20-minute set in a one-round battle. Winners will be chosen through a combination of audience vote and selections by expert judges. The winning team will be announced that night and will conclude the event with an encore set. Teams or their sponsors chipped in $500 as a donation to Second Story, and 75 percent of ticket sales also go to the organization. As a prize, 25 percent of those proceeds 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.

This fall, Second Story — now in its second year as a nonprofit — is running after-school writing programs at the Wheeler Arts Community in Fountain Square and at Martin Luther King Center; and an in-school program at IPS School No. 2, Center for Inquiry in partnership with Butler University and the Indianapolis-Marion County Library.