GEMS Story Project
We all have a story to tell.
What’s yours?
~ GEMS ~
Generational Experiences,Meaningful Stories
We are all walking history books-- living, breathing embodiments of the moments in time and space that we occupy and co-create.
Each story inside us is like a jewel, a gem that is precious, unique, and irreplaceable.
They are multi-faceted, with a different heft and hue. They might be rough or polished, worn where everyone can see it, or tucked away for safe-keeping.
Just like a recipe, a ring, or a homemade quilt that gets passed down through the family,
we all have a wealth of stories to offer to our loved ones.
The GEMS Story Project celebrates and honors the cultural riches we all have,
shared around campfires and kitchen tables alike.
We know too well the sadness that comes when people pass away, and that is often when stories about someone’s life are shared in collective celebration.
But too often, stories go untold, and the younger generation never gets to hear the incredible, riveting, hilarious and heartbreaking stories. They often have only a vague idea of what their elders were up to, and of the historical eras, moments and movements they were part of.
The GEMS Story Project is here to close that generational gap.
We help train young people to be curious, ask questions, and record the stories of their elders.
We also help parents, grandparents, and community elders record their own stories.
We make it easy and fun, and do it differently than so many who hand their parents a book of questions and hope they will fill it out.
We also help people connect to generations long past, through genealogical and historical research. Too many have no idea what struggles, triumphs and accomplishments their ancestors experienced, and many feel disconnected from the countries and cultures they are from.
We help people uncover the past and connect with people and places that shaped them.
We help gather these gems, the stories of our lives, and share them so that people can appreciate their power and beauty.
We help empower people to tell their stories and record them in a way that is easy and shareable, and we help younger generations listen to and record their elders’ stories.
We teach people ways to pass these gems down from generation to generation through books, documents and videos that are beautiful and easy to share.
Using modern media tools and technology, we preserve stories, and share them in a way that everyone can benefit from their wit and wisdom.
Research Family History
Genealogical + Historical Research
Build a Family Tree and Uncover Ancestral Stories!
Do you want to know more about your family’s history?
Would you like to have a family tree that goes back generations?
Would you like to understand the larger historical, cultural and political trends that your family’s history was shaped by?
Learn the research tools and techniques for unlocking the past and bringing it to life.
Discover the hidden gems tucked away in the attic and online.
Take a class or consult with Kym and learn how to do it yourself.
Or hire her to conduct the research for you!
Tell Your Story
Do you have a beloved elder in your family who has amazing stories to tell about their lives?
Do you have your own stories that you want to preserve and pass on to the next generation?
Learn how to capture these stories in an easy, accessible way, and turn them into multimedia documents—
videos, books, slideshows, and more—
so that you can share your stories with loved ones.
Create a treasure chest full of precious gems that your family and friends will love!
Take a class from Kym and learn how to do it yourself.
Or hire her to conduct the interviews and create beautiful books or videos.
Kym can conduct research + interviews for you,
or she can teach you how to do it yourself.‍ ‍
Services
Family history
Through meticulous research,
we will compile a family tree and documents
that tell your family’s story,
going back several generations,
including historical and cultural context.
Life stories
Using interviews, research, photos and memorabilia,
we help you tell your story
or that of a beloved family member.
We create beautiful books and multimedia documents
that you can share with family and friends
Classes
You can learn to do all of these things yourself!
We offer classes for youth, adults, elders, and families
Tune into Gemstones, the GEMS Story Project podcast
coming soon!
Listen in as Kym interviews people from around the world, across the generations and walks of life.
They share some gems and drop some knowledge gleaned from a life well-lived.
Come join the conversation as we crowd-source cultural history!
Culture, politics, history, spirituality, healing, and the stories and struggles of everyday life.
Changemakers and rule-breakers—rebels with a cause.
Culture creators— writers, artists, and thought leaders.
Veterans, immigrants, and expats.
Spiritual leaders and practitioners from various traditions.
Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials alike.
Check out the Gemstones blog!
Kym weaves many interests together in her writing: cultural history, politics, anthropology, archaeology, psychology, health and wellness, the arts, and the spiritual journey. Ancestral healing, anti-oppression work, and poetry.
Questions for the curious mind:
How does each of us carry within us more than our individual life story?
How is our lived history a microcosm of the larger context of the time and place we live in?
How is our life woven into the larger tapestry of time, with cultural, political, economic, familial, ancestral, and spiritual threads adding their own colors and patterns to the mix?
How do we shape and how are we shaped by the larger place and time we are living in?
How do we each experience and respond to the circumstances life lands us in?
How do we participate in and help build cultural and sociopolitical movements?
How do we find meaning, love, inspiration, redemption, resilience, healing, and joy in the face of challenges, loss and suffering?
How do we fit in and make sense of the larger context of our generation, our culture, our family, and society?
In the spirit of historians like Howard Zinn and Ronald Takaki, who knew that the larger story of history needs to include ALL of our stories, everyone is invited to participate in this patchwork quilt of crowdsourced cultural history.