Sharer’s Story Application

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lives in so many different ways. We’ve undergone behavioral changes with social distancing and mask wearing. Many of us lost loved ones, friends, and family to this disease. We are living through lost wages, food insecurity, the stress of uncertainty, and so many other circumstances never faced before. Our social world is so very different now as we are enduring this pandemic. Our houses of worship closed and opened us up to a new forum of worship, virtually. We can no longer go to movies, attend concerts, gatherings, or just visit with one another as before. Some people have found new levels of creativity while others are devasted by isolation and loneliness. Tell your story!  

The purpose of telling your story is to help listeners learn and understand new things. Please be mindful to not share in-depth details you are not comfortable sharing or that might make your audience so uncomfortable that they are unable to receive. Here are some guidelines to help you develop what you want to say:

The Beginning:

· Greeting the audience, introduce yourself; Share briefly your background including the hard times and the pain  of your experience with COVID-19

The Middle:

· Talk about what happened and helped along the way (both big things and little things)

· Share turning points that gave you a sense of hope, strength, insights, best help received

· Name people/connections (friend, family, nurse, doctor) who were influences in your COVID-19 journey

The End:

· Where you are now? How did you get from where you were to where you are today?

· The one most important thing you learned and dreams of the future.

The practical work of telling your story is very important:

· Your audience.  What do you want them to take away from your story?  Be sure to highlight or emphasize the important aspects of your story.

· Remember how much time you have to tell your story.

· Write your story so you can read it. Know it really well by practicing, it will help you when it is time to share.

· Develop a system to keep organized during the presentation (note cards, outline). You can include something that is important to you (a painting you did, poem, picture, song etc.)

· Practice telling your story, first by yourself and then with someone you trust.  Consider this person’s feedback.

· After telling your story to your audience, take pride in your efforts and reflect on this amazing experience of helping listeners understand your COVID-19 journey.

Project HOPE welcomes the story of your COVID-19 experience. We’ve created this platform for you to share your story with a community of listeners who are praying for you and praying for our world as we walk through this worldwide pandemic experience together. If you want to share your story on our Zoom platform, please fill in and submit the Sharer’s Application below. Your story must remain within a 2,000-word limit, double spaced. You will be contacted by one of our facilitators. We look forward to hearing your story.