The Internal Revenue Service has determined that OurStoryBridge Inc., originally released September 29, 2020 as a program of the Keene Valley (NY) Library, has met the requirements for 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit status. OurStoryBridge Inc. at www.ourstorybridge.org is a free tool kit for producing crowdsourced oral history projects collecting and sharing a community’s unique history online.

OurStoryBridge supports the creation of three- to five-minute, locally created audio stories with related photographs, as well as their online accessibility, by posting them on individual websites that
appeal to both young and old and can be produced at low cost.

Jery Y. Huntley, MLS, Founder of OurStoryBridge and Adirondack Community and President of OurStoryBridge Inc., said, “The support of the Keene Valley Library has been essential. With over 500 OurStoryBridge User Guides downloaded, presentation participants from 46 states, six oral history projects released across the country, and more in the Adirondacks and from Vermont to Alaska expected just this year, we felt that the time was right to communicate from a national platform.”

Released today is the 2nd Edition of the OurStoryBridge User Guide which offers not just the benefit of 18 months of experience initiating story projects across the country, it presents updates
inspired by the questions and comments from communities who read the initial User Guide, made their decisions to move forward, and created their unique story projects. Download it for free in the Tool Kit at www.ourstorybridge.org. One-on-one assistance to communities continues to be available as they start their story projects.

Carolyn Peterson, President of the Keene Valley Library Association Board of Directors, said, “We were thrilled to incubate OurStoryBridge, and are even more excited that it has grown to a
national organization with story projects across the country. Interest in OurStoryBridge has inspired over 6,200 unique users to visit our local (pop. 1,100) oral history project, Adirondack Community, the model for OurStoryBridge, at www.myadirondackstory.org, to listen to stories.”

The mission of OurStoryBridge Inc. is to be a resource and tool kit for OurStoryBridge projects that preserve and circulate local audio stories past and present through accessible online media; to promote, build, and assist with the deployment of these resources in communities across geographic, cultural, socioeconomic, racial, and organizational strata; and to help strengthen these communities through sharing of their stories, including encouraging younger generations to become engaged community members.

The generosity of the Cloudsplitter Foundation, Adirondack Foundation’s Lake Placid Education Foundation, Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, J.M. McDonald Foundation, and community support have made OurStoryBridge (www.ourstorybridge.org) possible. For more information on OurStoryBridge, email createyourstoryproject@gmail.com.

Photo at top: Pictured left to right: Olivia Dwyer, Jery Y. Huntley, and Bethany Garretson at the Keene Valley Library. Photo and logo provided by Jery Y. Huntley, MLS, President, OurStoryBridge Inc.