We’re delighted when individuals such as you wish to use the national essay-writing project This I Believe to engage in a community dialogue. It is, indeed, one of the highest goals of our project to have groups large and small gather to read these essays, and then, perhaps more important, consider what each individual would say if he or she wrote their own This I Believe statement.

Many communities are undertaking this sort of dialogue, but in different ways. Some public radio stations and alternative weekly newspapers are creating their own local versions of This I Believe in order to start a community conversation. Many teachers—and even entire school districts—are asking their students to write these essays. Many book clubs are using the book for their reading groups, and a handful of communities have chosen our book for community-wide reading programs. We’ve even heard from a few community theaters that have invited the general public to a reading and discussion of This I Believe essays.

Whether you want to plan an event for five or five hundred, there are some basic questions you might want to consider when planning an event in your community.