I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Mary Judd, the Executive Director of Song Writing With Soldiers. She is pictured on the right in the photo displaying one of their books featuring veterans with songs.

Song Writing With Soldier’s mission www.SongwritingWithSoldiers.Org is to transform lives by using collaborative songwriting to expand creativity, connections, and strengths.

They use songwriting as a catalyst for positive change and offer the participants a unique way to tell their stories, rebuild trust, release pain, and forge new bonds. In SW:S retreat and workshop settings, service members are paired with professional songwriters to craft songs about their experiences, often about combat and the return home. Through their songs, participants rediscover their creativity and reconnect with family, friends, and communities. The songs are recorded and shared through CDs, concerts, and social media in order to bridge the divide between military and civilian communities, and build awareness of the challenges faced by our returning service members.

SW:S includes additional “Creative Composition” workshops and weekend retreats to inspire creative pursuits in areas such as film, food, meditation, journaling, and more. They foster continued connections among participants by offering creativity coaching online after events to keep the fires burning, and train SW:S alumni as peer support for future events.

They are hosting a retreat in October in Rensselaerville. See their website for more info.
The impact of this amazing program ripples far and wide.
~ Jenny La Sala
www.JennyLasala.com

VETERAN TRIBUTE PAGE: www.facebook.com/ComesASoldiersWhisper