From Simple Suggestion to Lasting Results
It all began in 1968 in a church in Concord, Massachusetts. With the urging from a minister to their congregation to explore opportunities to give service to their community, a young woman seated in a pew thought to herself, maybe there was something that could be done down at the century-old prison reformatory at the edge of town. So she found herself in the office of the prison superintendent, looking to be of service. Asking how she could help, he thought for a moment (didn’t laugh) and responded, “Well, I guess we could use some curtains for the infirmary.”
Five Decades and Counting
Through that one simple act and a dedicated vision, a five-decades-old, highly respected outreach program was born. Concord Prison Outreach flourished from that first small group of volunteers into one of the largest organizations of its kind serving incarcerated individuals in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Little did the original organizers, Diana Clymer & Jean Bell, imagine the significance they would play in the lives of hundreds of individuals.
Telling the CPO Story in a Whole New Way
Remembering the Past – Changing the Future
With a rich and storied history, the Concord Prison Outreach Program recognized it was time to bring its web presence up to current online standards. While a member of the BI team, I was assigned to take the lead on this project: from Design, Content Management, and Web Development, to SLA and ongoing Client Relations. From the start, it was a project of passion. You can view the Website Redesign below, or the “Naming the Unnamed” Project.
Website Redesign
SEE BEFORE (Original Site)
New CPO Web Site Highlights
HOME PAGE & WEB SITE RESTRUCTURE
Improved, fully-accessible Home Page, offering visitors and volunteers access to new and up-to-date information, current events, volunteer resources, program information, informative videos, and an improved Blog area for current news with filterable results.
ONLINE CALENDAR
The new site now incorporates a fully functioning calendar within the WordPress platform, for up-to-date availability
WORDPRESS PLATFORM
Built upon the web standard WordPress platform, it enables clients to modify, update, and create material easily and efficiently.
PODCAST, VIDEOS, & MORE
Robust sections incorporate a Podcast Series that runs in tandem with local video service. The page includes a centralized location for YouTube and Video links, as well as a full Photo Gallery to highlight CPO activities.
SPECIALISED PROGRAMS
Site structure has allowed for the addition of specialized CPO programs, such as “NAMING THE UNNAMED”, where detailed information is now presented in a highlighted manner, with filterable results.
A Field Filled with the Forgotten
A second task for CPO that I was responsible for bringing to light was a very unique and multi-faceted project, “Naming the Unnamed.” From 1878 to 1996, two hundred and eighteen individuals incarcerated in the Massachusetts Correctional System lay buried in this open field with only a large cross and small numbered stones lined in rows. No names, nor details, unknown until now..
My role was to create a secondary area within the CPO site to document the project for visitors, allowing for a filterable means to access the information, and, most importantly, to develop an interactive map that would help visitors to the site or the cemetery put a name to each of these forgotten men.
Gathering all the Pieces
The project itself was one of passion for the CPO staff, team, and myself. As the director stood at the top of the cemetery, looking out, he and his team wondered what could be done to bring names to all those hidden in that field, who had been unknown and forgotten for more than a century.
With all of CPO’s work gathering the original parts & pieces, from Discovery, Community Interaction, and Final Results, it was my job to organize all that material and deliver an online experience as powerful as the project itself by utilizing interactivity and online access for all.
Bringing Names to the Unnamed, Interactively
At the heart of this project was the ability to literally give names to all two hundred and eighteen men who rest within the cemetery. To be able to filter, navigate, and find details while online or when holding your phone as you walk the grounds. The final delivery was an Interactive Cemetery Map, utilizing an online interactive mapping system, where all 218 graves are registered, allowing users to filter by each prisoner’s location of death, the location of veterans on the grounds, and access project highlights. Take a moment and click the image below for a video-guided tour of the tool.
Click Here to See the Interactive Cemetery Map for Yourself >
Explore this Unique & Meaningful Project Online or In Person
The Naming the Unnamed Project tells the story of the cemetery, and the men buried there through online galleries & videos, a dynamic interactive map, artwork, and a contemplative seating area with interpretive panels where the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail intersects this humble space. Take a moment and explore these resources and updated news, as you begin your journey to bring names to those unknown.
Learn more about Concord Prison Outreach and its overall mission of transforming the lives of incarcerated people across the state of Massachusetts through education, opportunity, and human connection.
“Naming the Unnamed” Page Layout Details
