The Black Belt African American Genealogical and Historical Society is asking members of their organization and anyone with roots in Alabama’s Black Belt region to set aside an hour to interview a friend or loved one for the 2011 National Day of Listening.

For National Day of Listening, students in UAB’s Media Studies StoryCorps class are learning oral history techniques and are actively collecting local stories related to Birmingham’s history and culture. Students will also be collecting stories that document the stories of individuals who were affected by the deadly tornadoes that swept through Alabama earlier this summer. As part of the process, students are transcribing and formatting their recorded interviews to UAB’s Sterne Library archives.

At The Hear To Talk Project you will find members of a very special community of tremendous listeners and talkers, within the world of the deaf and hard of hearing. Some are parents of children with hearing aids or cochlear implants, and some struggle with hearing loss themselves. All of the Hear To Talk stories acknowledge both the challenges of living with hearing loss, as well the triumph that often results in navigating this world with the aid of assistive hearing devices so that we may all Hear To Talk!

Mt. San Antonio Gardens’ Wellness Center hopes to provide an opportunity for their residents to reflect on personal experiences touching on social, emotional, functional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual well-being—the six dimensions of wellness. Mt. San Antonio Gardens will also provide an opportunity for residents to share stories with each other, as well as a chance to share stories intergenerationally.

Based in Denver, the American Indian College Fund will focus their 2011 National Day of Listening project on interviewing seven American Indian college students about their lives- their struggle with poverty, and how they overcame obstacles in their search for a better life through education. These remarkable students are from various tribes and geographic regions: London, Ontario, Canada; Oregon; South Dakota; Arizona; North Dakota; and Nebraska, to name a few.

The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian is helping to make the 2011 National Day of Listening a true national holiday. Several tribes throughout the country will be participating, including the Cheyenne River Reservation, Menominee-Potawatomi tribes, Meskwaki Tribe, Pamunkey Tribe, Aztec heritage in Texas, and the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

Partnering with Arts Radio Network, the Palm Beach Cultural Council plans to take part in the 2011 National Day of Listening by demonstrating the importance of the arts in Palm Beach County. 2Watts Productions will produce six interviews between leaders in Palm Beach County’s arts and cultural community, along with people whose lives have been touched by various disciplines of the arts.

In celebration of both the National Day of Listening and National Arts and Health Month, Shands Arts in Medicine program (AIM) will record interviews with patients and staff that explore how art plays an important role in the healing process.

Eighth grade English students from Druid Hills Middle School attended a workshop hosted by StoryCorps Atlanta to learn how to facilitate their own recordings. During their Thanksgiving vacation, they will each record a conversation with a loved one for the 2011 National Day of Listening.

Ninth grade classes in the Communications and Journalism Academy at Grady High School will be interviewing family members on the day after Thanksgiving. After the Thanksgiving break, the students will be working with Grady High School seniors to edit the recordings into short, two-minute pieces. Students will learn valuable interviewing skills and hone the technical skills required to produce high quality audio recordings.

The Wren’s Nest, which preserves the legacy of Joel Chandler Harris and the heritage of African American folklore through storytelling, is partnering with StoryCorps Atlanta to host a National Day of Listening Workshop on Wednesday, November 16 at 6:30pm. Participants will learn how to conduct their own StoryCorps-style conversation in preparation for the National Day of Listening.

Each month, The Atlanta History Center hosts a day of educational programming for home school students. The November Home School Day will focus on themes of Thanksgiving traditions, harvests and homecomings. Attendees will be encouraged to start a new family tradition by celebrating the National Day of Listening. StoryCorps Atlanta staff will host two workshops on how to record a conversation with a loved one.

The staff at Hull-House Museum will host an all-day event that will comprise of an hour-long workshop dedicated to recording techniques, followed by recording sessions staffed by volunteers from various public radio stations in the Chicago area. The Hull House Museum will also give museum members, family, and friends the opportunity to prepare for their own National Day of Listening interviews.

Monticello-Union Township Public Library will invite members of the community to visit the library to record their stories. The library will provide a study room, complete with a tape recorder and interview questions based on StoryCorps’ Do-It-Yourself guide. Monticello-Union Township Public Library hopes the Monticello community will cherish these interviews as a means to document local history and to celebrate the lives and accomplishments of all individuals.

The 8th grade American History students of Harmony Middle School in Overland, Kansas have set their sights on interviewing a family member, friend, or teacher about a twentieth century historical experience—one that the interviewee has lived through. These interviews will take place over the Thanksgiving holiday, and students will post about their interview experience on StoryCorps’ Wall of Listening.

Freeport Community Services plans to interview Freeport area residents about a variety of different subjects, and will give participants a copy of the interview to start their own personal archive. Freeport will also share copies of the interviews with several archival organizations throughout Maine.

Members of the The Carroll County History Project are encouraging volunteers to record a video tribute with a loved one about their memories of Carroll County, Maryland. They are looking to preserve the memories of Carroll County’s current and past residents, as well as create their own community archive for future generations.

Worcester Women’s Oral History Project plans to interview at least five women from the Worcester, MA community about their lives, exploring topics that include education, work, health, politics, and community involvement.

Located in Dearborn, Michigan, The The Arab American National Museum will use the 2011 National Day of Listening to continue their long-standing commitment to collecting and preserving the stories of Arab Americans in their community.

The Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trail will celebrate their 100th anniversary. For the 2011 National Day of Listening, they will be interviewing a range of volunteers—elementary to high school girls, leaders of troops, and alumnae. They are hoping to show what it means to be a Girl Scout, and how it has shaped the lives of so many women.

The Girl Scouts of Greater New York plan to incorporate the 2011 National Day of Listening with their “It’s Your Story, Tell It” curriculum. This curriculum offers a fun and creative approach to building the Scouts’ leadership skills and self-esteem through storytelling and creative expression. The troops will also continue to develop their critical thinking skills related to media, and its portrayal of girls and women.

Morningside Retirement and Health Services, Inc. will bring together several different generations for the 2011 National Day of Listening. Original tenants of Morningside Gardens from the 1960s will be interviewed by current high school students, who also reside in the Gardens. Their goal is to record the dynamic early history of Morningside Gardens, and to introduce their younger tenants to their older neighbors through the rich history of their surroundings.

The Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum will host an event to encourage visitors to record interviews with their family members. It’s called “Family Day” and participants will focus on researching and documenting family histories, and also have the opportunity to record an interview for the 2011 National Day of Listening.

Wrightsville Beach Museum of History is asking 4 graduate students from the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Public History Program and local radio stations to record oral histories for the 2011 National Day of Listening.

United Way of the Greater Triangle plans to interview five long-time United Way volunteers about their rewarding volunteer experiences with the organization, as well as interview five recipients of United Way services through United Way’s partner agencies. Questions will focus on how the kindness of others have helped change the lives of many individuals.

Oberlin College’s student group Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA), an organization that honors and celebrates Caribbean ancestry, plans to interview 5 members of their organization . They will explore what it means to have a space like SOCA on their campus and thoughts on their Caribbean identity in higher education in relation to Black identity.

The High Desert Museum will host informational sessions about StoryCorps and conduct 2011 National Day of Listening interviews with both visitors and museum staff.

Oregon Health and Science University – Doernbecher Children’s Hospital will interview 8-10 children and young adults diagnosed with cancer, as well as the parents of children who have or have had cancer. Doernbecher Children’s Hospital will focus a variety of questions on how they have lived with illness and how it has changed their lives.

The Social Voice Project specializes in creating audio recordings for social, cultural, historical, and educational purposes as a public benefit and for a greater social awareness. For this year’s National Day of Listening, they are encouraging citizens to speak about themselves, their occupations and experiences, and their communities.

National Alliance for Women Veterans will be hosting a special two-hour BlogTalk Radio program with five women veterans who will share their experiences of active military duty, as well as of post-military issues including military sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Philadelphia Corporation for Aging will be interviewing a wide range of individuals, including employees and retired individuals from their Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). Philadelphia Corporation for Aging is excited to share the diverse stories of their RSVP members.

Students from Creative Writing courses and a Creative Writing organization entitled “Love of Writing, Arts and Creativity” (LOWAC) will be conducting interviews in Spanish as part of their Creative Writing curriculum. The students will use StoryCorps’ Do-It-Yourself-Guide, as well as advanced methods of story-based interviewing practices.

Lowcountry Africana, an African American genealogical organization dedicated to preserving African American history, is hosting a national event inviting readers from across the country to record an interview and blog about the importance of preserving oral history.

Stop Six Sunrise Edition Neighborhood Association Inc., based in Fort Worth, Texas, will interview African American women within their community for the 2011 National Day of Listening. The interviews will focus on the continued goal of historic preservation and genealogy projects throughout Fort Worth’s African American community.

The Wireless History Foundation chronicles the growth of markets and technology. For the 2011 National Day of Listening, members of the foundation will discuss the leap from radio to wireless handheld devices and the impact that these devices have had on our lives. Featuring interviewees from Austin and other areas, The Wireless History Foundation plans to interview at least five members of the wireless industry about how they have seen this industry evolve, the successes and obstacles they have encountered, and how they have played a role in shaping how we communicate today.

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. To celebrate this, and the 2011 National Day of Listening, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization will be asking their network of caregivers to record and preserve the memories of their loved ones, given this year’s theme “We Listen, We Care.”