A meaningful activity for matches (and everyone else)!

Dear Chronicle Readers,

 

For the past several years, my sister Nancy and I have been working with the Library of Congress to improve the Veteran’s History Project of the American Folklife Center, which collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American War  Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.  How we got involved is a long story, but suffice it to say that we grew frustrated with the outmoded process—which required printing out forms, recording 30 minute interviews and then re-watching to tag notable moments, burning the interview onto a DVD and then mailing everything to DC. So we worked tirelessly to create a great app that meets all VHP requirements and delivers the interviews directly into the Library’s permanent archive.

We are planning to donate the VHP app to the Library of Congress, which is piloting it this summer with 50 members of Congress. But the more interviews that are successfully collected and uploaded this summer, the better the odds that the pilot will succeed. So please encourage your staff, mentors, and friends to download the VHP app from the iTunes store and interview at least one veteran. We have been really moved by the stories we have heard and hope you will be too.
  • To download the VHP app click here
  • To view veteran stories and learn more, click here

If you have enjoyed reading the Chronicle, this would be a deeply meaningful way to show your appreciation. It would mean the world to us to see one of your interviews on the website.

Respectfully,

Jean Rhodes


What is the Veteran’s History Project?

The goal of the VHP is to encourage civilians to connect with our nation’s veterans and to archive the first person narratives of veterans’ experiences. The goal of the VHP App is to make this process easy!

Why An App?

The Veteran’s History Project was launched nearly 20 years ago, long before the widespread use of smartphones and other digital media. These new technologies have eliminated many of the barriers to involvement, including printing forms, burning CD’s, manual tagging and notation, and mailing. Now users can complete and and submit their interviews to the Library of Congress through their smartphones.

Who Are We?

The VHP app was created by sisters Dr. Jean Rhodes and Nancy McNamara. Jean is the Frank L. Boyden Professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a leading scholar in the fields of youth mentoring and trauma. Nancy is a computer engineer and President of Academic Web Pages, the nation’s leading provider of websites for academic institutions. Through their own contributions of time and funding, and years of collaboration with VHP staff at the Library of Congress, Rhodes and McNamara have developed the VHP App, an easy-to-use app that meets all of the requirements specified by the Veterans History Project.