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humanities/social sciences Project C closes voting in February and then contacts the top four nonprofits to begin filming. Guglielmi said that reaching out to the nonprofits can be the hardest part, as Project C staff members must earn their trust “We had to show them that we weren’t just students who wanted to bring cameras in and tell a sad story,” Guglielmi said. “We want to tell uplifting stories about the community around us.” Instead of using the project to simply practice video and multimedia skills learned in the classroom, senior media management major and current Project C president Amanda Olszewski said that the goal is more heavily rooted in spreading awareness and community support. “The point of media and film is to inform,” she said. “Our goal is not to use these [stories] as portfolio pieces, or write these on our resumes, but to connect the community with the students.” In the past, Project C has covered local organizations such as the Gathering Place and Rural Action, as well as more widely recognized
nonprofits such as the OU student chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The profile created for Athens’ Good Works, Inc. was complete with a 12-minute documentary, a photo gallery, an article, and an interactive map that displayed the nonprofit’s presence in different areas of the community. Project C became an official OU student organization in 2013. When Olszewski became president, she applied for and received a PURF grant, which will be used for transportation and campus promotion, all with the community in mind. “We need to get ourselves out there so that we can get the nonprofits out there,” Olszewski said. Olszewski said she wanted to become involved with Project C to continue its legacy and because she felt like she owed something to the community she loves so much. “It’s an intimate way to do community service,” she said. Using her media management degree, Olszewski looks forward to serving as the middleman between nonprofits and Project C.
Project C’s work with Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action. Photos provided.