Contributors

Annie Gedicks

Community Liaison, Washington, D.C.

Annie, TSOS Social Media Director, is an artist and mother of three young children. She has a master's degree in Printmaking and has taught art for a number of years as both a private teacher and adjunct professor. Her love of teaching led her to seek out a volunteer opportunity to teach art at a refugee shelter while living in Germany. Annie and her family recently relocated to Northern Virginia, where they hope to stay for a while. Annie harbors a distaste for capital letters and spiders, loves the outdoors, art museums, chocolate, making everything by hand and days without wind (light breezes are ok, though).

Washington, D.C.

Elsewhere

My Story, My Dreams

What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2025, more than 117.8 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by war, persecution, or human rights abuses — and 45 million of them are children.

They arrive in refugee camps and countries seeking safety and carrying little: legal papers, if they're lucky. A backpack. A child's hand in theirs.

What they carry that we can't see is heavier: fractured families, homes they'll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

In a climate where immigrant stories are often ignored or twisted, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares what they survived, they reclaim their voice. When we amplify it through film, photography, and advocacy, the world listens. Hearts soften. Policy begins to shift.

Because when a lawmaker sees a person instead of a statistic, and a neighbor understands instead of fears, rebuilding becomes possible.

Your support helps us share these stories where they matter most.

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, Their Story is Our Story

Support Monthly Give Once

Add Impact
to Your Inbox

Their Story is Our Story is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization under the United States Internal Revenue Code. All donations are tax-deductible. Our tax identification number is 812983626.