Page Builder
Editing:
Preserving Stories.
25+
Senior Interviews
1
Published eBook
6
Student Founders
Origins & Rebrand
The Story of Project Echoes
EST. 2025
How It Started
Echoes began in 2025 as a student effort in Needham, Massachusetts. We noticed a clear gap: the town's older residents had incredible stories and history that weren't recorded anywhere, while local students rarely had opportunities to sit down and connect with them.
We set up comfortable, recorded conversations at senior living communities and Council on Aging locations like Wingate and Avita. What started as casual chats quickly turned into our first published book of verbatim stories, and the project quickly proved that students could help bridge the generational divide while preserving local history in the process.
THE REBRAND
Expanding the Reach
After seeing how much both the high schoolers and seniors gained from these interviews, we realized this didn't have to stop in Needham. Almost every community has older residents whose stories should be recorded, and students who want to hear them.
To help other towns start their own local chapters, we rebranded from Echo Needham to The Echoes Project. We package our interview guides and recording steps into open-source toolkits, and we created Echo Memories to let people upload stories directly to an interactive neighborhood map. We want to make it as simple as possible for anyone to start archiving local history in their own community.
Bridging the Generational Gap
Meet the team and explore our mission to connect youth and seniors through real conversations.
Our Mission
In our fast-paced digital age, local histories and invaluable life experiences of the elderly are often left unrecorded, risking being lost forever. Meanwhile, students rarely find opportunities for direct, meaningful interactions with older generations.
Echoes changes that. By arranging friendly, comfortable dialogue at local community locations and residences, we capture local wisdom, preserve oral history, and foster long-term community relationships between the young and old.
We believe that every senior is a library of experiences waiting to be explored. Our goal is to make sure those volumes are never lost.
How the Project is Built
01
Phase 1: Outreach
Collaborate with local councils and organizations to connect with willing senior candidates.
02
Phase 2: Recording Wisdom
Conduct recorded interviews covering life in the 20th century, school, success, and town evolution.
03
Phase 3: Archiving & Publishing
Compile transcribed wisdom into physical books, digital publications, and video content for social media.
The Team
Echoes is built by high school students dedicated to connecting youth and seniors. Our founding executive team leads general operations, while local echoes capture the stories of their respective communities.
Executive Team
Adam Ayrumyan
Eric Ayrumyan
Jacob Meyerson
Michelle Meyerson
Alex Shaigorodsky
Daniel Tatar
Active Echoes
Founding Echo
Needham
Interactive Archive
Echo Memories
Active Echoes
Explore local echoes working to preserve history and connect generations in their communities.
Our founding echo in Needham, Massachusetts. Explore compiled resident stories and publications.
Echo Publications
Echo: Bridging the Generational Gap
Preserving oral history in the Needham community.
Echo Photos
Visual glimpses of our connection sessions and interviews at the Center at the Heights (CATH).
Generational connection interview session
Listening and sharing stories of Needham's past
Preserving local history and resident wisdom
Fostering empathy and deep community bonds
Team
Adam Ayrumyan
Eric Ayrumyan
Jacob Meyerson
Michelle Meyerson
Alex Shaigorodsky
Daniel Tatar
Needham Stories
The complete archive of verbatim memories and recollections gathered by our Needham Echo.
Publications
Read compiled works and archives created by local Echoes.
Kindle Edition & Paperback
Needham Echo
Echo: Bridging the Generational Gap
This book is a compilation of conversations and interviews conducted with senior residents. Formulated to preserve local history, knowledge, and memories, it bridges the gap between younger generations and elders to foster community connection and intergenerational mentorship.
Supported by the Center At The Heights, Wingate Residences, and Avita, this volume stands as a physical archive of the experiences and values shared by community seniors.
Map and preserve the living history of our neighborhoods through our place-based digital archive.
echomemories.org
1950s Era
Needham Common
"The parades of yesteryear were a far cry from the smaller affairs we see today; they were a true spectacle of local industry..."
1940
1950s
1980
2000
Interactive Project Map
Echo Memories
Bridging Geography & Oral HistoryEcho Memories is our place-based digital archive and sister storytelling platform. It enables community members to share and explore sentimental stories, historical photos, and local memories by pinning them directly to a geographic map and collaborative timeline.
By fostering a living, geographic timeline, the platform brings local heritage to life, street by street. Visit the portal to explore the neighborhood archives, view the intergenerational timeline, or contribute your own memories to the map.
Place-Based Storytelling
Pin senior dialogues, local anecdotes, and historical photos to physical neighborhood coordinates.
Living Decadal Timelines
Journey through local history and see how commercial hubs, parks, and schools have transformed over decades.
Collaborative Neighborhood Archive
Join high school volunteers, senior citizens, and historical societies in crowdsourcing a community map.
Echoes Toolkit
We want every community to preserve its heritage. Here is our step-by-step guide to starting an Echo in your area.
1
Planning
2
Outreach
3
Interviews
4
Publishing
Phase 1
Structuring & Team Building
Every successful project starts with a committed, passionate team. Form a group of students, volunteers, or local historians who share a love for storytelling. Establish clear roles such as Outreach Coordinators, Interviewers, Editors, and Graphic Designers.
Key Recommendations:
- Keep the team small and agile. A group of 4 to 8 works best for scheduling.
- Establish a secure shared drive to store recordings, transcriptions, and release forms safely.
- Reach out to a local high school, historical society, or scouting troop to find volunteers.
Want our complete Town History Toolkit?
Includes senior interview question sheets, volunteer organization guides, and consent forms.
Support the Echoes Project
Your generous support helps us match high school youth with seniors, publish volumes of oral history, and foster intergenerational connection.
Ways to Give
Every donation goes directly toward recording elder stories, compiling print publications, and sustaining local Echo chapters.
Mail a Check
Please make checks payable to The Echoes Project and send to our P.O. Box:
The Echoes Project
P.O. Box 123
Needham, MA 02492
Digital Payments
Support us instantly using digital channels. Handles are officially managed by the executive team:
PayPal:
paypal.me/TheEchoesProject
Venmo:
@TheEchoesProject
Echoes Merchandise
Wear your support for intergenerational storytelling. All proceeds go toward expanding senior archiving chapters.
Coming Soon
Our Merchandise Shop is Launching Soon!
We are currently designing a high-quality collection of Echoes apparel, accessories, and toolkits. Soon, you will be able to purchase customized t-shirts, hoodies, insulated mugs, and sticker packs directly on this page to help fund recorders in senior facilities.
All proceeds will go directly toward supporting student storytelling activities, elderly print publications, and chapter launch templates in new communities.
[Fourthwall Store Integration Point]
Connect With Us
Are you a senior who wants to share stories? A student wanting to volunteer? Or a community leader wanting to help? Get in touch!
Let's Keep the Echoes Going
We are always looking for new stories to tell. If you or a loved one would like to share memories, please reach out. We can conduct interviews in-person at local community centers or in the comfort of your home.
Please fill out the contact form, and a member of our executive team or your local echo coordinator will get in touch with you shortly.
Start an Echo
Bring intergenerational storytelling and local history preservation to your community.
Let's Build Something Meaningful
Starting a new Echo chapter is a simple but deeply rewarding experience. We provide you with open-source toolkits, training materials, digital archiving tools, and a network of student leaders to help get your community chapter up and running.
Please fill out the application details to share your vision. Once received, a member of our executive team will review your application and reach out to schedule an introductory Zoom call to set up your chapter.
My Echo Dashboard
Welcome back! Manage your chapter settings, accounts, and form deliveries.
0
Echo Applications
0
Toolkit Requests
0
Contact Messages
0
Page Requests
Submission Records
Existing Accounts
Profile Details
Verify your active credentials and session settings below.
Username / Email
ashaigor@gmail.com
Roles & Permissions
Echo Pages Portal
Reserve your unique path and design modular pages for your chapter.
Roles Manager
Create custom roles, delete roles, and assign users to specific roles. Use the views below to browse by role or by account.
Create Custom Role
404
404
404
Echo Lost in Time
This page of our digital archive has faded away — like a photograph left too long in the sun.
The memory you're looking for doesn't exist here. Let's find our way back.
Error 404 · Page Not Found · projectechoes.org