Student Body – A Community Project by Forrest Grump

When Joe was a kid, a Polaroid Land Camera he got from his grandparents changed his life. Now, more than 30 years later, he decided to give back to his community and started a school project using mobile photography and poetry as creative tools to empower students.

Hey everyone,

today we’re proud to introduce you to very special project we’ve come across. Grown up in a poor environment, Joe aka Forrest Grump got a Polaroid Land Camera from his grandparents back in 1977, which, in his own words, changed his life in more ways than one can imagine.

Now, more than 30 years later, Joe decided to give back to his local community and use mobile photography as a creative tool to empower students. Watch the video:

The project “Student Body” was held for the first time in June 2012 at the William Walker Elementary School in Beaverton, USA. A class of 5th grade students fromwas equipped with mobile phones and got the mission to take photos around the school.

Once the photos were taken, the groups wrote about what they captured using a 1-2-3-4-1 pattern cinquain poem. The finished slides were then shown in front of the classand each student came to the front of the class to read their poetry as their slide appeared.

Thank you for sharing this great project with us, Joe! If you feel inspired to use photography as a creative tool to empower students in your community, please feel free to contact Joe via email.