April Showers! Oh Wait... I meant May Showers & June Showers...
May and June were very rainy up here in Vermont! A record amount of rain fell in this area & it even rained on our Photovoice opening!
May and June were mainly spent working on the Photovoice Bennington County exhibit, Way to Go initiative, wrapping up ACT and transition planning. ACT promoted the Way to Go initiative from May 13-17. Way to Go is an initiative put forth each year by the Vermont Agency of Transportation to encourage Vermonters to use alternative modes of transportation and cut down on carbon emissions. Throughout May we also worked on wrapping up the Youth Ambassador Program by supporting the Youth Ambassadors through their last health education project and coordinating a recognition event.
We received an enormous amount of community support for the Photovoice Bennington County project. We are very grateful for the sponsors and everyone who was able to attend the Exhibit Opening on June 7! I was blown away by the quality of the photographs the participants submitted for the exhibit. Over 50 youth participants from throughout the county participated in this collaborative art project. The exhibit featured work from: Arlington Memorial, Mount Anthony Union High School & Middle School, Teens for Change youth outreach group, and The Collaborative after-school group. The Photovoice method is a form of participatory action research that utilizes photography and is used globally as a means of empowering people to speak their truths about the world in which they live.
The goals of the project were to:
- Amplify the voices of youth in our communities
- Engage youth in the process of identifying what aspects of their communities enhance or hinder their ability to live vibrant, healthy lifestyles
- Empower youth to advocate for their health and the health of our communities.
We were able to have the exhibit up through July - every week we chose a different week day - and the last viewing was on Friday, August 2nd as part of the First Fridays in downtown Bennington.
It was wonderful to see the participants and their families enjoy their work being shown in a community space! I hope that each participant was proud to share their observations and their stories! :)
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