GET INVOLVED

One of the most essential pieces of The Listening is the community that we've been able to develop and contribute to over the years. Each thing we do is managed by willing community members like you who are willing to use your time to impact our community. Whether its helping make our events feel like a safe space or helping our programs serve the next generation of dope artists, there are many ways to get involved with The Listening. Choose your adventure and check our the options below!

Since mid-March 2020, we have invited over 40 community members to join us on our platform and read some of their favorite books to our community of Freedom School scholars and families! While much of life has changed, we wanted to keep the spirit of our Freedom School Harambee alive with literature and community!

(Videos will be available until May 31, 2020)

Opera on the James is partnering with The Listening, Inc, to select a group of nationally and internationally acclaimed composers to create a song cycle base on these powerful poems with the support of WordWorks!. The songs will be performed by opera singers from around the country (accompanied on the piano or on other solo instruments).

We partnered with the Junior League of Lynchburg in the Spring of 2020 to provide goodie bags for each of the 48 Freedom School students which includes one book from Givens Books Little Dickens, a journal, a pen, a snack, a candy bar, and a personalized note from a Freedom School teacher. We also provided a #JLLynchburg bookmark for each student!

Our goal was to give these students something positive, creative, and educational to do during this time when school is out and social distancing is expected, and to remind students that The Listening: Freedom School is still supporting its scholars in a time of need!

Developed and facilitated by Board Member and VA Cooperative Extension employee Nakesha Moore, in partnership with the Bridges to Progress, this event was designed to give a voice those who often go unheard. Attendees were invited to navigate situations that those in poverty face on a daily basis. Performers like Sara Edwards, Jiggy M, and Shaquawna Shawnte took the stage, using various forms of art to share stories of how poverty has impacted our lives.

Attendees were also given free fruits and vegetables to take home, provided by Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

The Listening and Vector Space partnered in this public art project in 2018, like many of the others launched around the world, as a part of the global “Before I Die” movement. Started by artist Candy Chang, the “Before I Die” project has challenged communities all over the world to consider how we approach our own death and mortality, and the meaning we attach to it. Developed in conjunction with our open mic session of the same name, this installation exists in Downtown Lynchburg, on the Court St. garage door of Vector Space.

CLOSER LOOK: Freedom Bags

CLOSER LOOK: Poverty Speaks, Lynchburg Listens