5 storytellers take the stage June 15
On neighbors and their relationships
Neighbors can be those who live next door or across town, those who you wave hello to or who become your caregiver when your family needs a helping hand.
The Columbus Dispatch will explore this word, and the relationships between neighbors, on June 15 at the Columbus Storytellers Project event, where five central Ohioans will tell their stories of a time when they encountered neighbors.
The event will be held at 7 p.m. at the Columbus Athenaeum, 32 N. 4th St., in Downtown Columbus.
Tickets, ranging in price from $8 to $12, can be purchased at dispatch.com/attendstorytellers, where more information about the show can be found. Anyone needing assistance can contact Danae King, local project leader, at dking@dispatch.com.
The Columbus Storytellers Project is dedicated to the idea that oral storytelling and journalism can come together to serve and reflect a community while fostering empathy. Every Storytellers event blends the authenticity of storytelling with the truthfulness, community building and empowerment at the heart of great journalism.
The storytellers have been coached by Dispatch staff members.
Neighbors can be those who live next door or across town, those who you wave hello to or who become your caregiver when your family needs a helping hand.
Meet our June 15 tellers: Felicia Derosa
Felicia Derosa is an artist, educator and activist and is known for being a “loud voice” in the transgender community of Columbus. Derosa, 48, hopes her story will inspire others and also wishes to uplift the voices of transgender people and Romani people in hopes of dismantling stereotypes.
What do you hope listeners take away from your story?
Identity is complicated. Also, resilience and hope. I want to inspire others to embrace their truth.
Who or what inspired you to tell this story?
Honestly, I’m a storyteller. It’s what I do. But as a transwoman and especially as a Roma, I am fighting erasure.
Sophia Fifner
Sophia Fifner is known for her work in advocacy and philanthropy, especially for women and girls. She won Mrs. Ohio in 2019 and is a mother and #Metoo survivor.
What do you hope listeners take away from your story?
I hope listeners leave with the following
key messages:
We have a personal responsibility to build a world we all can believe in, and this starts with loving our neighbors.
We must build bridges of understanding by talking to our neighbors about issues that matter with civility and decency.
We should listen to all voices with compassion because our diverse perspectives and experiences strengthen us.
We have much more in common than that which divides us.
Who or what inspired you to tell this story?
For better or worse, most would agree that our country experienced a sea of change in 2016. Our collective movement toward hyper-partisanship inspired me to see if there was an opportunity to build common ground and do good that matters.
Sheridan Hendrix
Sheridan Hendrix is the higher education reporter at The Columbus Dispatch and realized during the pandemic how much she had come to rely on her neighbors. She hopes that, after two years of “chaos” during the pandemic, people will reflect on what got them through the dark times and what good they can carry with them into the future.
What do you hope listeners take away from your story?
We all need community, even in the
smallest sense, to survive.
It is OK to recognize that you need people in your life, and to be open to the people who are in front of you who want to be there.
Who or what inspired you to tell this story?
Giving a shoutout to our neighbors. They rock!
Cody F. Miller
Cody F. Miller is known as a local mixed-media artist who constantly explores the word grace and uses pieces of string in his art to represent those who have played major roles in his life.
What do you hope listeners take away from your story?
A tangible hope that is not dictated by circumstances or chance. We’re not alone; it’s so important to remember all those who love and have loved us and worked towards our good.
Who or what inspired you to tell this story?
Bob and Jan (his grandparents’ neighbors who helped his struggling, ill mother raise him, for seemingly no reason other than kindness)
Sara Abou Rashed
Sara Abou Rashed is known as a poet and performer behind the one-woman show “A Map of Myself.” She said she feels most herself when on stage and in front of an audience.
What do you hope listeners take away from your story?
That food brings people together in extraordinary ways, and it only takes a simple gesture to make a new friend. And that one doesn’t need to change to belong in a country, only to get to know at least a single neighbor and to be willing to share traditions with that neighbor so a friendship may grow out of shared experiences.
Who or what inspired you to tell this story?
My mother, who is the best cookie maker and giver out there . ... She becomes fond of people very quickly and easily, she immediately starts giving them sweets and food, which is all anyone needs to make others smile. She’s most proud of being told that “she cooks with love.” She also has preserved a cultural Palestinian recipe of special Eid cookies that has truly been the basis of many relationships in our lives. It’s truly a treasure I hope to pass on to generations to come. dking@dispatch.com @Danaeking