The Joy Truck Project
Our Purpose
This project launched because of a shared belief that social change can be joyous. Currently the big picture goal is to explore ways to make the Joy Truck’s programming more collaborative and ownership more collective. The original wellspring that sparked this project marked a belief that the arts and alternative means of connecting could create a space of care in spaces that are so often underserved and so often deserving of care. The idea for the Joy Truck encompasses these goals for individual neighbors and youth but also for organziations that may struggle with rural outreach by being a kind of bridge between. The Joy Truck Project philosophy is loose however the mission to meet people and entities where they are, is unchanging. A major goal of this work is community engagement and better undertanding of local needs through gathering, through offering community stipends for neighbors to teach neighbors, through showing up repeatedly and consistently. Continuing to share resources openly, and emphasizing the rural fabric that threads this region of Maine naturally is an additional element to this project.