Getting going
The women writing this blog got their beginning in February 2020 and is ending June 2023. This group had been meeting weekly at the Edward A. Myerberg Center in Baltimore. However, due to circumstances the group was forced to move over to Zoom. The Myerberg Center is a part of CHAI (Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc.) and the Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore.
This blog was originally made possible by a generous grant from the Jewish Women’s Giving Foundation. We are eternally grateful to them for giving us this opportunity.
From our beginning
Women are the storytellers of the family. From our beginning, the idea behind the blog was to create a group of women who will share their stories to women all over the world.
While they create the interesting and engaging content of this blog, they are also learning about technology which is continuously changing. Students are gaining insights about writing for a blog versus other types of media.
This process can be quite frustrating to people who are more adept at using a pen and paper or basic word processing to tell their stories. Learning their way around smart phones, tablets, laptops, the internet, the cloud, social media, Zoom and WordPress is a process with stumbling blocks. Unexpected speed bumps can slow them down, but the determination of the group keeps them moving in the right direction.
Another goal of the grant is to help with social isolation in the over 55 female demographic. The women of the group instantly began bonding even before the first class. During our Open House a few women expressed how they felt alone. Other members of the group showed empathy and in at least one case, traded phone numbers to keep in touch.
More evidence of the caring of these women is in how they treat each other in the classroom. The more technologically savvy students are eager to assist the more challenged – exactly what the grant givers had in mind.
Goals
As we moved forward with this blog, we hoped to entertain, amaze and engage with our audience. The stories are categorized so finding an interesting topic is easy.
After only a couple weeks of meeting in person, COVID tried to stop us in our tracks. It didn’t work. While some students did drop out, we kept going despite the hurdle of not being able to meet in person.
At that point there were no stories on the blog at all. We had just begun.
We moved to Zoom and were there for the duration of the class. With at least one member of the class living outside of Baltimore, where we are based, being on Zoom allowed us to continue working.
The Stories from the Soul bloggers are grateful for this opportunity and hope you enjoy the blog.