Information for Howard County Athletics and Activities Managers
Dear Manager,
Americans All (AA) has developed a unique, multi-purpose storytelling tool that benefits three separate, but interconnected, groups: students (create virtual yearbooks for clubs and teams, and access discounts; schools (a turnkey revenue generator), and local businesses/ professional service providers (additional exposure). Our web-based app is free, easy to install, access and update, and the multi-media story can be published in multiple languages.
We have received a positive response from the county’s Economic Development Authority, and we are also in contact with other entities in the county for their support. Moreover, our Heritage Honor Roll already contains a story on the Howard County Historical Society, and that story is linked to its Legacy Partner landing page.
Our mission is to house one of the most comprehensive and non-political databases of individual and group stories, past and present, about the Peopling of America. Our storytelling tool is an ideal vehicle to help focus on our population's commonalities rather than the differences. By sharing stories, we can all recognize the contributions of every citizen, while reinforcing the values of diversity and respect, and promoting tolerance, acceptance, empathy and understanding.
Storytelling helps families pass on knowledge and experiences to current and future generations. Research by the National Library of Medicine has shown that patterns of memory sharing begin early in one’s life, informing relationships, one’s history, and one’s sense of cultural belonging. Intergenerational knowledge of one’s family history is associated with positive mental health and well-being. Life stories are central to one’s sense of self and the social world that they inhabit. Indeed, considerable research indicates that storytelling is fundamental to human development, cultural frameworks, and the cultivation of relationships.
Students can use this free tool to enhance their non-curriculum activities by creating a story about themselves. Importantly, they can repurpose and augment an existing story if they have one. In addition, the stories can be added to multiple Legacy Partner (LP) landing pages, created by their school, on our website. Each landing page has a short summary about the team or club, an image and the stories written by its members that appear on our Heritage Honor Roll. Students post their stories directly to these pages, and these pages can serve as annual “virtual yearbooks” for each sports team, academic, social or special interest group they participate in. Each story can be hyperlinked to any other story or additional language on our site. This can help keep students updated on their current classmate’s future activities. For control, the Legacy Partner can easily remove (or reinstate) any story they feel does not belong on their page.
What makes us unique is we include historical information to provide context for these stories and the experiences, observations and accomplishments reflected in them. In addition, our community-outreach program supports local businesses and helps build connections between them and the schools in their communities, and they provide revenue to the schools.
Years ago, we were one of the nation’s first education organizations to provide schools with diversity-based, supplemental social studies classroom resources as well as activities for English-Language Arts programs. However, because of our nation’s political polarization and our desire to create a program that will be accepted by as many schools and students as possible, we focus on two of the major components of Americans All—our Heritage Honor Roll and Legacy Partner landing pages. Using our templates and tutorials, individuals and groups can create and publish stories on our Heritage Honor Roll that can be easily stored, updated and permanently accessed. Stories can contain up to 2,000 words, images, hyperlinks, photographs, audio-video and music links and be published in multiple languages. After registration, an individual becomes a lifetime member of Americans All. When they begin creating their story, members need to fill out only a few required fields and select the "Save" button in the "Publish My Story" or "Save My Work." It is the last field on the story template. Students can complete their story at their own pace.
Our Legacy Partner landing pages enable viewers to see all the individual stories published on the Heritage Honor Roll that are associated with a school, team or club. Schools and their clubs and teams can create as many landing pages as desired. For example, landing pages could be created, on an annual basis, for each sports team, academic, social, community service or special interest clubs. Each landing page has a short story about the team or club, an image and the stories written by its members. Students post their stories directly to these pages, but the Legacy Partner administrator can easily remove (or reinstate) any story they feel does not belong on their page.
Students also need to complete a community service project to earn a high school diploma. By helping others create legacy stories, students can satisfy this obligation.
Our program is free for individuals, education organizations and nonprofits. Businesses and service providers pay a nominal fee to create their stories and join our Social Legacy Network. This enables them to offer discounts on goods and services to our members, who receive a free one-year trial in that optional Network after they have started their story. To continue to receive the discounts, members can subscribe to the optional Network for a nominal fee of just $4/month. Importantly, we gift 80 percent of gross revenue generated by optional individual member subscriptions and business fees to schools and communities that support our program.
I look forward to hearing back from you or an appropriate staff assistant to go over the details on how this program can benefit your students and your school.
Best regards and stay safe,
Allan Kullen, President, Americans All
301-520-8242 [email protected]
Click here to view our complete proposal to Howard County.
Click here to view a "Suggested implementation plan for a school."