Wrap-up for DC 2009

We had quite an adventure and thanks for sharing in our most amazing journey of the year!

To wrap up our efforts, Hoa Quach from San Diego News Network, generously offered her time ad services to help chronicle our story.  She posted a blog on our behalf upon returning from DC, and here is a final reflection on the events of our trip.  Following the blog post is an addendum to the blog which clarifies the Peter and Michael Almendarez Spirit Award.

Thanks to all who supported us!

http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-29/news/local-county-news/downtown-hillcrest-mission/zoe-randall-local-students-are-back-from-dc

Here is a message from Warren Hegg about the award:

“The Peter and Michael Almendarez Memorial Spirit Award is presented to the individual or group who most exemplify the character and courage of the two brothers who helped launch the original Stories of Service program back in 1998.

Peter and Michael both suffered from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a hereditary disease of the muscles characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness and the death of muscle cells and tissue.  Symptoms usually appears in young boys 2 to 6 years of age, who typically require a wheelchair by the at of 10 to 12, and die in their late teens or early 20’s.

The Almendarez brothers were in the room the night in June 1998, when we announced the project to a group of more than 80 WWII veterans and their families, and it was Peter who persuaded Jack Thatcher that night that he should tell his story to honor those who did not return.

Peter and MIchael worked diligently with several of the first vets during that summer, until we were able to recruit new people to assist them.

You can catch a glimpse of Peter and Michael in the 1998 CNN news clip about the program, working at their computers with Howard Bjerke in the foreground and Daniel Hegg standing at their side (Daniel, Ryan’s younger brother, was later to become a veteran himself, serving as an Army Ranger in both Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfVOIbFmQeI&feature=channel_page

When Peter died in 2001, Jack Thatcher produced a digital story in honor of his friend and mentor, which was shown every Memorial Day in Silicon Valley, along with Jack’s.   When Jack died of cancer a few years later, his memorial was held on Peter’s birthday.  Michael Almendarez passed away the following year.

So, as you see, the Spirit Award is a tribute to those who have given their all to the program, and have helped inspire others to follow their example of preserving the stories that educate and inspire us all.

It is our hope that you and your students will always remember how special you are, by having stepped up to do your best to sustain and grow the program that these two young heroes so deeply loved.

Please share this story, and know that both Peter and Michael are watching with pride as together we make San Diego a national model of what Stories of Service can be.”

Memorial Day in D.C.

Memorial Day Weekend Photos

This Memorial Day Weekend, Stories of Service hosted four different school and organizations for their annual Memorial Day National Call to Service events! This was the first year that HTMMA students could participate in the digital bootcamp, wreath laying, banquet, and parade march led by the Stories of Service organization! It was a fun-filled, memorable experience of honoring our veterans of all wars. The fanfare and the D.C. welcome assured us that our place in serving our country was truly recognized! We had many adventures, but mostly, sharing the stories of our veterans and our own journey to represent them made the weekend full of emotion and celebration! This slideshow chronicles our trip in Washington, D.C.

NBC News Covers HTMMA Stories of Service

Stories of Service kids get the spotlight on the 4 o'clock news

Reporter Jeanne Rawdin came to HTMMA to spotlight the Stories of SErvice kids in their first television news interview!

Stories of Service Making Headlines

Just wanted to share what joy we have in making the work of students at our school go the extra mile and make waves in public media!

Thanks to Political Editor, Hoa Quach, at the San Diego News Network, our kids get to talk on camera and share their experiences with San Diegans!

Here’s a link to our story:

http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-12/news/local-students-to-walk-annual-memorial-day-parade

2 Weeks to DC!

Local 8th Graders Produce Documentaries About Veterans for Largest Memorial Day Parade in Nation’s Capitol
Youngest invitees in the Nation and only reps from San Diego to attend Stories of Service Call to Service National Rally

SAN DIEGO, CA-May 6, 2009

This Memorial Day, when you turn on the television to watch the National Parade held in our nation’s Capitol, you might want to look closely for eight marching 8th grade students from High Tech Middle Media Arts, a public charter school in Point Loma’s Liberty Station, holding the large-format portraits of veterans they interviewed and produced documentaries about for a national service learning project called, Stories of Service.  They are the youngest kids invited to Washington, D.C. to participate in a digital filmmaking bootcamp and to have the honor to answer personally the President’s National Call to Service.

Five months ago, the students who signed up to participate had no idea of the enormity of the experience they would have by getting involved with Stories of Service, a service learning project that brings together students and veterans to document the life and wartime experiences of the men and women who served our country using the power of digital technology.   The program started in California’s Silicon Valley in 1998 by the Digital Clubhouse Network, a nonprofit created by NASA, that was one of the founding partners of the Veterans Oral History Project of the Library of Congress, and which has received three medals from the Smithsonian for its “visionary use of information technology to improve society.”  Warren Hegg, founder of the Stories of Service organization, relates that from the veteran’s perspective, “they don’t die, they just go digital.”  Five months later, Stories of Service is inviting the youngest participants in the nation to answer the call to service, and they will be flying out of San Diego on Memorial Day weekend to share the pride they have in the opportunity to represent a war hero at this year’s festivities.

After two successful screenings to more than 200 guests at the Veteran’s Museum in Balboa Park, where 12 videos were screened since March in honor of veterans from WWII to present-day Iraq, the students are on their way to gain more training to tell the stories of these fascinating and decorated men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country.
Seeing veterans walk through the doors of HTMMA to record a voiceover, or have a filmed interview has become part of the community vibe, as kids buzz for instance about the Pearl Harbor Survivor walking down their hallways.  Their multimedia teacher, Zoe Randall, has seen a great leap in the interest students have in history as a result of their meetings with soldiers and sailors from WWII.  “In today’s world, it’s not about teaching from textbooks, but about gaining a connection to the past through personal relationships and first-person accounts.  To see a young girl learn about the Battle of Iwo Jima from a man who lived through those terrible days brought more meaning than any textbook lesson or dramatization in a movie.  If we can bring history into the classroom through  a real world connection, students will be more engaged and veterans also will feel like their service meant something to our younger generations. It’s the perfect model for a multimedia project that bridges history, technology, and today.”

As they get ready to leave for Washington, D.C. to make history and San Diego proud, these 8th grade students realize the great weight of their responsibility.  Having been through the weeks it takes to produce quality storytelling, they too have served their time to make the memories of their veterans everlasting gifts for their families and friends.  The students have shown their commitment to serve and give back to their community, but also know that these experiences and encounters can be life-changing.  As one student remarked after telling the story of her neighbor who served during WWII, “At first Bill was just my neighbor down the street, but now he’s Bill, a hero from WWII.  He’s my hero.”

We’ll be bringing back many more stories once we return from Washington, D.C., but I hope that this inspires many of you become a part of the story by making your own at the Stories of Service website , and make history come alive in your own community!  And, help HTMMA keep the legacy of service going by contributing to make sure that our story shows others what is possible!

Also, please get in contact with Zoe Randall if you’d like to help or get involved!

The Other Side of The Line Documentary Films Screening

SDSU Screening Invitation

For more on this project, please visit: http://delotroladodelalinea.wordpress.com/

Stories of Service Second Screening A Hit!

8th Grade High Tech Students Invited to Nation’s Capitol

This Memorial Day, 8th grade students from High Tech Middle Media Arts will represent San Diego in the nation’s largest Memorial Day Parade as invited guests of the Stories of Service service-learning project. The students answered the President’s Call to Service at the West Coast Rally held at the USS Midway on January 19th and will complete their journey in Washington, D.C. this May. They are the youngest people in the nation to attend the Stories of Service digital filmmaking bootcamp and wreath laying ceremonies, and will have a chance to share the stories of our veterans community of San Diego as they walk with their veteran’s image in the national parade.

Stories of Service is a non-profit organization who’s mission is to mobilize youth to connect with veterans and to learn about history by capturing their stories of sacrifice and service in student-produced videos. Normally a project pursued by high schools around the nation, High Tech Middle Media Arts 8th grade students rose to the challenge with the help of their multimedia teacher, Zoe Randall to tell these stories of the people who fought for our country, especially those from the World War II generation which are fading at a rate of one every 90 seconds. Warren Hegg, founder of Stories of Service and their umbrella organization, Digital Clubhouse Network, phrased the importance of this project as a way of “saving these people’s lives forever.” He references a veteran who proclaimed, “they don’t die, they just go digital.”

When teacher, Zoe Randall, heard about this project from a colleague, she figured she’d pursue it and find more information about how to offer it at High Tech Middle Media Arts, a charter school in Point Loma which specializes in project-based learning. Two months later, the 8th grade students produced their first digital stories about local heroes and hosted a screening in their honor at the Veteran’s Museum in Balboa Park to an audience of more than 100 people. The Veteran’s Museum has now hosted two screenings and has been a pivotal partner in helping students find veterans stories.

As a teacher, she’s seen dramatic growth in her students and a joy in them to learn more about history. When a group of girls found a veteran from WWII, they met with him at school and conducted interviews to learn about his life and service in the Pacific and European theaters, which made them engaged in a subject that before their meeting was not very interesting to them. “Seeing the kids learn about their country’s history through the personal stories of the people who lived before them opens their eyes to the past, when in today’s world they live so technologically-focused on the future. The connections they make on both ends is one of the most valuable educational experiences I’ve witnessed, for it relates the generations and gives way to a safe venue for these people to share their most haunting, intimate stories that are in some cases the first time they’ve ever been able to tell them. As a media teacher, this project not only teaches kids how to produce quality videos but shows them how media can be used to change lives and make a difference.”

In a tough economy, the students are furiously trying to fundraise so they can pay their fare in Washington, D.C. throught bake sales and raffles, and are looking for support from the community in their efforts to give back. If anyone can help them get to this historic event and be there for San Diego, please make your donations to: HTMMA and send them to 2230 Truxtun Rd, San Diego, CA 92106.

In a time when news headlines are bleak and negative, it’s reassuring to have a bright hope in the students of today, our leaders of tomorrow. Thank you for reading our story of service!

Stories of Service-Screening

Veteran's Museum, Balboa Park 3.20.09

The very first screening of the HTMMA Stories of Service Project was held at the Veteran’s Museum, in Balboa Park, March 20th. The students projected their documentaries about local war veterans from WWII to present day Iraq. They spent two months working on these stories which included interviews with the veterans at school and on location. After recording voice-overs and scanning original images from their veterans they edited a lifetime of history into a five-minute feature of their lives.

Our first reception at the Veteran’s museum was a hit! We welcomed an audience of amazing guests, including Edith Shain. The Stories of Service organization founders and volunteers came to support us, as well as family and friends.

Our next screening is tomorrow night, at the Veteran Museum from 6:30pm-7:30pm. We’re very fortunate to all of our supporters and look forward to telling more stories soon!

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