Shannon is the Founder and Client Success Officer of Dream Local Digital, a digital marketing agency that works with thousands of small businesses all over the country to help them develop social media strategies, design and manage their social media sites, and to create and develop content for blogs. From her 15 years' experience in the sales and marketing industry, Shannon offered valuable tips for using social media in the nonprofit realm. She says that having a professionally designed page is key. Stimulating conversation on your site is also very important. You can do that by creating ways for people to provide comments and feedback. She says, "Remember these pages are like the telephone - you need to answer!"

The Telling Room is a nonprofit writing center in Portland that works with 2,200 students each year, all of whom become published writers! They offer a variety of afterschool programs for children to get involved with creative endeavors, such as drop-in writing workshops, field trips, and competitive writing programs. Every year there is an overarching theme that guides the projects the students are involved with. This year's theme is Bodies of Water, with past themes such as Food, Wilderness, and Neighborhood. 

"Whether it's using puppetry 

to build self-confidence and 

problem-solving skills; poetry 

and prose to realize their full 

potential; or creative drama to 

learn about history and 

geography, the arts are a 

powerful tool that can help 

kids feel connected to the world 

around them and be 

successful learners." 

- Heather Davis, Executive Director

The Telling Room has a unique way of approaching language arts. They use Arts Integration and Project Based Learning methods. As defined by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Arts Integration is "an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in another creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both". Project Based Learning is a "teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, problem, or challenge" (The Telling Room).

Sometimes kids have challenges becoming engaged in the writing process - they may not think they have a story to tell, or they may think that adults don't want to hear their story. To help kids get started with the writing process, the Telling Room often uses other creative methods, such as photography or drawing, as a jumping off points. Heather showed the workshop participants how effective this approach is by having them do a creative activity during the workshop. Participants were asked to draw a map of their childhood home or their favorite home, and then spend about ten minutes creating a written description with lots of imagery. It was amazing how easily the words fell onto the page!  Heather invited participants to share their writing aloud, and everyone had some wonderful short stories to tell. Participants discovered that this is also an excellent way for people to get acquainted!

One of the special programs at the Telling Room is the Young Writers and Leaders program. It was started 5 years ago and designed for immigrants and refugees, or anyone who is an "international language learner". It is a 200 hour program that provides one-on-one mentorship, college preparation assistance, job skills and leadership training, and culminates with a community presentation of their work. It is a competitive program that accepts only 30 students per year. Teachers nominate the students, and it requires an application an interview process. Last year's program resulted in a 45 minute film called "The Whole World Waiting". In this film, each student presented a piece of their writing about their beliefs and conceptions of the United States before they moved here (watch the video here). The Telling Room is proud to say that they have a 0% drop out rate from this program, and 100% of seniors in this program have gone on to college!

The Telling Room is entirely grant funded with a few individual donors. They have many community partnerships that help them achieve their mission. Currently they are working to obtain more funding to try to eliminate the waiting list for certain programs. Heather said that their partnerships with teachers are extremely valuable, because they help to identify students that may benefit from their programs. The success of their programs is made possible by their strong base of volunteers who have a passion for working with children and teens.

Tips for Working with Children and Teens:

• Provide a structure, theme, and activity but give kids a choice if they are reluctant to participate or excited about their own, different idea
• Use high quality materials so kids know you are serious about investing in them, and set up everything in advance
• Use guest teachers and outside expertise if you want to try an art form or project that you don't have much experience with
• Don't limit yourself to visual art: try games, writing, theater, movement    
• Keep a low adult to student ratio so kids having trouble get the help they need
• Be aware of mandatory reporting requirements; if kids bring up anything that indicates they are in harm's way at home or at school, authorities have to be contacted