Ep 37 Through the Neighbourhood & Across Differences: The Power of Stoop Stories

Welcome back everyone. I am so thankful you have chosen to listen. Listening to the stories of some of the good that is happening in the world, really helps us stay strong, while we try to deal with and process all the negative around us. You will find today’s episode really interesting and entertaining.

Today, I am bringing you a conversation with Marj Kleinman, the founder of NYC’s Stoop Stories. Marj is an award-winning filmmaker and visual storyteller, and she and her team connect NY neighbours, across generations and differences to celebrate, preserve and enliven Stoop Culture through documentary films, story-telling and community events.

Marj wrote for children’s television such as PBS kids and Sesame Workshop, for over 20 years, and she has a background in Theatre and an MA in Educational Psychology. Marj and her team have been featured in the NY Times, the Washington Post, the We Love NY Campaign and several other news outlets. Marj and I talk about how it all started, why she is driven to preserve this culture, why intergenerational work is so important, how they aim to reduce loneliness and increase joy and compassion through their films and activities, what play has to do with all of this, what happens if we don’t have a stoop, and so much more!

Enjoy this conversation and I hope you take a piece of what Stoop Stories is doing, and bring it into your own life!

Resources & Links:

https://www.stoopstories.com/

Award Winning Documentary Film: Stoop Chat with Jimmy and Shanaya

https://youtu.be/5OVo5xCL7Kc