Organizing 101: Storytelling for Advocacy

Community organizing is relational work, building power through connections. Storytelling is an effective tool used in community organizing to bring people together, strengthen movements, and create social change in a variety of contexts.

Organizing 101: Storytelling for Advocacy is a ninety-minute workshop for students as well as staff, faculty, and community members who are interested. During the workshop, participants will learn a brief overview of community organizing and how it differs from more familiar mobilization work, as well as different organizing styles and what makes someone a community organizer. The content will then turn to the idea of the individual vs. the collective and consider what kind of social change is possible for each participant. We will discuss the importance of who is telling your story, the importance of storytelling in advocacy work, and the different mediums storytelling can take.

Participants will break into small groups to work on sharing their own stories, choosing a topic and medium that makes sense to them. Ideally, participants will leave the workshop with a basic understanding of community organizing and storytelling and feel comfortable writing and sharing their stories for social change.

This event is free and open to the public. Pizza will be provided. The workshop facilitators are Rachel Hefner and Erin Trimmer at Virginia Organizing.