DVP 2016: Donate, Swag Shop, and More!
January 1, 2016
Whew—it’s already 2016! This summer will mark the 2-year anniversary of the Disability Visibility Project (DVP) and I’m delighted to share some major updates and news.
- Extension of the community partnership with StoryCorps: people will have the option of recording their story at StoryCorps for the DVP until further notice
- New description, images, and hashtag for the DVP
- New online Swag Shop and Donate page
- New non-audio ways to participate in the DVP
- Brief hiatus January-March 2015
Currently we have +100 oral histories that are part of the DVP collection and I will have access to the entire archive in the near future. The DVP will be focused on the gradual posting of short audio clips with text transcript for each oral history on our website in 2016-17 depending on funding.
StoryCorps Extension
Previously I announced that our partnership with StoryCorps would end December 2015 mostly because I was concerned about being overwhelmed with the number of stories recorded for our project. Initially, I envisioned the DVP to last one year but the response from the disability community has been resounding. There is a real hunger for a project that allows people to tell their stories on their own terms. Leaving the option open is the right thing to do—the partnership with StoryCorps provides such a valuable opportunity to have these oral histories archived for posterity.
DVP Description, Images, Hashtag
The DVP has become more than an oral history project—it is its own distinct community facilitated social media, a key to our success and outreach. In our About page, the DVP is now described as, “an online community dedicated to recording, amplifying, and sharing disability stories and culture.” From our Twitter chats, oral histories, guest blog posts, and discussions on social media, storytelling happens everywhere.
To kick off the New Year, I created new images for the Disability Visibility Project with our new hashtag #TheFutureIsDisabled. The new images are on at the top of this post, below this section, and on the right-side panel of the DVP website—feel free to use and share.
Swag Shop
You might wonder, “What the hell is The Future Is Disabled?” Does it sound ominous? Hopeful? Inevitable? What does it mean? What does your future look like?
The DVP will explore this idea throughout 2016. As part of the DVP’s fund-raising efforts, we’re using this slogan to sell some sweet, sweet swag for you to show off your disability pride and culture. We have baby onesies! We have buttons! We have t-shirts and mugs! Check our Zazzle online store for the entire collection and our website for the story behind “The Future Is Disabled.”
Donate
I feel uncomfortable asking for donations, but it’s time to humbly ask for your financial support. For the first year and a half, I have been the sole person running and financing the Disability Visibility Project. It truly is a labor of love and one that I would like to continue, develop, and broaden. Check out our Donate page for specific examples of how donations will support our activities and advocacy. No obligation, of course.
How to Participate: Guest Blog Posts and Online Gallery
In addition to recording your story in person at StoryCorps or using the StoryCorps app, there are two additional options to provide accessible and diverse options to people with disabilities: guest blog posts and 365 Days with Disability, an exciting new Instagram-based project thanks to our new partnership with Two Thirds of the Planet.
Personal Note
I will be working on a radio project as part of my Community Storytelling Fellowship with Making Contact Radio from January-March 2016. This may result in fewer posts on the DVP website and social media. I’m excited and nervous to try something new and will hopefully bring some new skills to the DVP later this year.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me:
DisabilityVisibilityProject@gmail.com
THANK YOU and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Alice Wong, Founder and Project Founder
Disability Visibility Project: 2015 Highlights
- Over 100 oral histories recorded and counting!
- DVP stories featured in NPR’s Morning Edition on January 16, 2015 and in local public radio stations WBEZ 91.5 FM Chicago and KALW 91.7 FM San Francisco.
- 94 Media Partners, disability organizations and individuals who assist our project with outreach.
- Presentations at various conferences on the ADA, disability media, and storytelling.
- Listening event hosted by StoryCorps Chicago with the disability community
- Invitation to the White House for a event celebrating ADA25.
- Twitter chats on salient issues such as emergency preparedness, employment for youth with disabilities, end of life issues, pop culture, storytelling, and media representation of disability.
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