Catherine Carter Media

Hello, friends, and welcome to The Neighborhood Project!

In early January, I started working on a photography project with some of our neighbors called for now, The Neighborhood Project. This initial idea has grown into something really special to me and, hopefully, will become equally as special to you too.

My Initial Idea

I began this journey with a question: How can I use my photography skills to show how "70 is the new 50"? Initially, I thought I would photograph our neighbors and do an interview about their lives.

As I visited with our neighbors and heard these amazing stories, I added audio interviews and historical footage to my photographs. You can read about my first steps here : https://catherinecarter.media/The-Neighborhood).

As the number of interviewees grew from a few to more than 20, I realized this endeavor could benefit more people than just our close Mirehaven family.

The Project Is Growing

I approached Wildfire Media, a nonprofit dedicated to documentary storytelling, to see if we could expand this storytelling series to a larger audience. I am donating this work to Wildfire and these first videos will soon head off to a Wildfire producer. They will create a fundraising campaign with our videos so The Neighborhood Project can be expanded for even more seniors around our city and state.

We will be approaching individual donors and companies to help us make more videos and connect more communities. As this project grows and gains support, we know more and more seniors will have the chance to learn about their neighbors, grow with each other's experiences, and welcome new residents to their community.

The Sneak Peak Series

Starting this week, I will begin releasing my personal productions of these videos on my website. These videos will change when they are re-edited with Wildfire's expert teams and will eventually live on its website. However, I wanted you all to have the first look at how this project has evolved and share in the joy of these first videos we built together!

Altogether, there are 24 videos, including three made with our governmental representatives. I will release 2 videos each Monday and Thursday for the next six weeks. When you sign up below, I will email you with the URL to view each video and provide information when the next phase of this journey with Wildfire is completed.

Sign Up to See the Videos

If you would like to receive an email when each new video is released, please subscribe here: https://momentagroup.typeform.com/to/Oim5xS.

Finally, I want to say thank you!

Without all of you bravely telling me your stories, hunting through your archives of images, and dealing with my many questions and requests, I wouldn't have been able to make this dream a reality. There are so many ways this project with Wildfire can help people, but it started with you helping me!

Mirehaven is a very special community to me and so are each and every one of you. In this time of isolation, it is my hope these videos will be a bright spot in your week and a way for us to maintain, and even increase, our close connections.

Your Neighbor,

Cathy Carter