Remember when we set a goal of raising $2,025 in honor of our 10th Summit & Festival? Then, thanks to incredible support, we reached that milestone and stretched our goal to $2,525—our "double-25" challenge. By December 31, 2025, we had raised an impressive $2,332. But with additional donations intended for this campaign with one even received today, we soared to $3,153!

Your kindness and trust fuel our mission—to foster creative and compassionate communities through the art of storytelling. Because truly, can there ever be too much compassion?

Thanks to your generosity, we’ve expanded our 6-week program for low-income youth into a 10-week experience. We’ve launched an after-school storytelling club (more details below!), and we’re proudly entering our 4th year of working with older adults. We’re also getting closer to launching an all-Spanish version of Storytelling Basics in 8 Hours as a free, self-led online course. And in January 2025, we hosted our 88th house concert—on track to reach our 100th by 2026!

None of this would be possible without our dedicated team of over 60 story artists, thousands of youth, hundreds of educators and older adults—and you.

Let’s make 2025 a year to remember!

We’ve launched an after-school storytelling club! But what was the very first step? Giving the youth the power to name it. After a lively debate—including nominations like penguins and pandas—the winning name emerged: "Chillin' Guys" Storytelling Club.

These enthusiastic 4th and 5th graders, as one of our story facilitators put it, are "itchin’ to tell stories." Their journey began on January 22, 2025, and they’re already preparing for a special storytelling concert on April 2, 2025, where they’ll share their stories with family, friends, and the public.

One of their favorite activities? Storytelling games! In the picture below, they’re playing Carry On—a game where an imaginary object gets passed around, leading to hilarious results. So far, they’ve passed along things like an invisible kitten, the moon, and even a meme!

If you were in the circle, what would you pass along?

The "Growing Gab" issue is calling for submissions of stories, articles, or art—theme-related or not—due by February 15, 2025. Do you have a paragraph or more of how you "survived your art" through either an embarrassing or strange moment? Or any true, original, or folkloric stories that links to "Growing Gab"? We welcome your submissions.

Though this is a separate entity from Story Crossroads, we’re excited to see this free e-publication available globally. All details can be found at storybeast.org. Notably, the Story Crossroads Executive Director launched this initiative, collaborating with a fantastic team to bring it to life.

Registration Open!

Story Crossroads - 501(c)(3) - To foster creative and compassionate communities through the art of storytelling.