Green Card Voices is a Minneapolis based, nationally growing non profit that connects immigrants and their communities through multimedia storytelling. We record the first person narratives of immigrants, and publish them in books, online and in traveling exhibits. So far we have recorded the stories of over 500 immigrants and refugees who are originally from over 140 countries and who now reside in Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, California, North Dakota, Georgia and Wisconsin.
Green Card Voices was born from the idea that the broad narrative of current immigrants should be communicated in a way true to each immigrant’s story. Green Card Voices seeks to be a new lens for those in the immigration dialogue. Our programming is designed to empower educational institutions, community groups, and individuals alike to acquire first person perspectives about immigrants’ lives, to foster empathy and build appreciation for the immigrant experience in America. Over a million and a half people have experienced our content so far.
Green Card Voices co-created Story Stitch with their diverse Twin Cities community in 2018. Story Stitch encourages conversations between community members as they discuss their backgrounds and stories—from where they consider home, to their family histories and personal journeys. Green Card Voices believes that everyone has a story, and Story Stitch allows players to share theirs and connect with one another in a moderated environment. Story Stitch will further the conversation between immigrants and non-immigrants as communities learn more about their different and shared stories. The conversational card game is perfect for use in classrooms, diversity trainings, workshops, workplaces, leadership and fellow retreats, conferences, and senior homes—just to name a few.
To date, we’ve published 8 books, with our next publication in progress. Our youth storyteller series includes 5 books based in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Fargo, Atlanta, Madison/Milwaukee, and the upcoming Upstate New York youth book. Our adult book series (Green Card Entrepreneur Voices and Green Card STEM Voices) is based in Minnesota. Our storytellers are first generation immigrants who have moved to the United States with a minimum residency of two years. All immigrants that chose to share their story with GCV are asked six open-ended questions. In addition, they are asked to share personal photos of their life in their birth country and in the United States. Each book includes a picture of the storyteller and their personal narrative as well as a link and QR code to their video narrative.
To date we’ve recorded over 500 life stories of immigrants coming from over 150 different countries. Our storytellers are first generation immigrants who have moved to the US during their life time and have lived in the US a minimum of 2 years. All immigrants that decided to share their story with GCV are asked six open-ended questions. In addition, they are asked to share personal photos of their life in the country of birth and in the US. The video narratives are edited down to 5 minute videos filled with personal photographs, intro, outro, captions, logo and background music. We share these video stories on our website and Green Card Voices YouTube Channel.
Green Card Voices, the Podcast features first-person narratives of immigrants and refugees: stories of their upbringing, stories of coming to the United States, and stories of adjusting and thriving in their new home. Produced to foster empathy for immigrant experiences and to counter xenophobic rhetoric, our mission is to bring these authentic and diverse stories to a broader audience of listeners. Simply, we hope to introduce immigrants and their neighbors.
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