The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation has partnered with the Gifford Historical Museum and Cultural Center to help teens learn the process of interviewing members of the community and documenting their stories. Teens Listen: An Oral History Project is a project that engages students in our community in an experience that will develop skills of interviewing and listening by recording the significant views adults have about living in this community.

We have enlisted teacher mentors in each high school to help us recruit, train, and schedule our young student interviewers. We’ll take students through the process of learning how to interview, how to document those interviews and how to reflect on what they learn in the process.

Students will produce a video of their recorded interview, which will be built into a local documentary film that shares the stories we collect, as well as written reflections, which will be published together in a physical book.

In addition to continue to interview Gifford Pioneers and women in the C-suite, we plan to add veterans, “river folk,” and others to our growing list of storytellers.

To be eligible, students must:

  • Be in 9-12th grade
  • Reside in or attend school in Indian River County

Would you like to be a part of Teens Listen?

The "From Our Own" gallery, a small display inside the foundation's writing office.

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The logo for the Day of Caring event. The event begins October 21st, 2023, at 8am in the Jackie Robinson Training Complex. The flyer reads "This one-day volunteer event is unlike any other in Indian River County! Each you, countless volunteers roll up their sleeves and work together to make a difference in our community. Whether you're a community organization with a project that needs doing or a volunteer ready to get to work, Day of Caring is for you!"

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A poster advertising the foundation's Teen Writer's Worshop and its latest Halloween event; Suspense in Short Story Writing. The poster advertised the event for October 14th, 2023.

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2023-2024 Teen Writing Workshop Kick-Off

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The summer season office hours for the LRJF's writing center. The center is open Monday through Thursday, 10am to 3pm, during summertime.

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