The Building the Civic Net (BCN) philanthropic initiative today announced that it has awarded a $2,000 grant to the Rochester Oral History Archive (ROHA). Sponsored in part by the Village of Rochester Hills, Building the Civic Net supports local social media initiatives that strengthen the community’s civic culture. The announcement was made by Dr. G. Scott Aikens, Vice President of Leasing for the Village of Rochester Hills and Building the Civic 'Net founder.Funding for ROHA will be supplemented by a matching grant from Oakland University’s Meadow Brook Writing Project (MBWP). MBWP is a local site for the National Writing Project.
The Rochester Oral History (ROHA) Project will begin collecting oral histories of Rochester residents ages 55 and older for archival on a public access website in early 2010. Residents are invited to participate in the project by sharing memories connected to local historical sites, events and communities. Oral history collection dates will be scheduled at numerous locations throughout April 2010.
Patrons will be guided through a series of prompts to capture their stories using digital media tools. Researchers will upload materials to the ROHA website. The project mission includes making technology accessible to seniors while building a resource for citizens of all ages involved in local history projects.
Visit the ROHA Web page hosted by Oakland University. Get involved in the project by joining the ROHA facebook group.
The ROHA project is administered by Cornelia Pokrzywa, Special Lecturer in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at Oakland University. Pokrzywa, who specializes in teaching first-year, technology-intensive writing courses, is a long-time Oakland Township resident, graduate of Rochester Adams High School and Oakland University alum.
“The greater Rochester area is home to many long-standing traditions and institutions, which act as settings for countless personal stories and memories,” said Pokrzywa. “The ROHA project will create a lasting archive of oral histories tied to people, places and groups.”
Dr. Aikens says of the grant, “We're hopeful that ROHA will create community content online that deepens community understanding. By embedding this content in new social media tools such as Facebook, we also hope to spark a lively conversation in the community about personal memories, community memory, and local history.”
Meadow Brook Writing Project leader, Marshall Kitchens added, "The MBWP is committed to supporting and promoting community projects
such as this that preserve the personal narratives of local residents
and make them available to a broader audience through digital
technologies and social networks. We are pleased to partner with
Building the Civic 'Net to make this possible."



