Last fall, Sam Pressler had the dream to bring the Veterans Writing Project – a free program for military members to learn how to tell their stories in a safe and healing environment – to the College of William & Mary.
Pressler brought the DC-based program founder Ron Capps to campus in December for a seminar attended by about 25 veterans. He did not stop there – another seminar was held in February, as past participants joined in an ongoing workshop group and the project moved online with a blog for sharing their work.
Now members will have the platform to share with more members of the community at an event Monday evening on campus.
They will share the stage with William & Mary students in a program called “Movements,” presented in conjunction with the school’s co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. It is also a component of “I am W&M Week,” which celebrates the diversity of the campus community.
With music, stand-up comedy and original readings, Rachel Denneny said the evening is a way to celebrate personal stories. Denneny is the public relations director for the Veterans Writing Project at William & Mary who got involved after interviewing Pressler for the student newspaper.
“We thought it would be very much a natural extension to include veterans from our past writing seminars here,” she said of the evening’s program.
Denneny reached out to participants and offered them the chance to join the event. Four or five are scheduled to speak Monday.
She said the response was positive, and hopes the chance for veterans to share their work with the community will become a regular event.
“Movements” starts at 9 p.m. in the Little Theater, in the basement of the Campus Center on Jamestown Road.
The program is free but any donations will support future veterans writing seminars and projects.
