Last April, Mary Shackelford and Shirley Ferris launched a project called, “Heart of Vashon: Telling Our Story.” The two longtime islanders invited all islanders to submit their personal stories about what it means to live on Vashon — tales about the community, the landscape, the animals, “whatever nurtures and sustains you … what you hope to pass along that others might value and continue to nurture.”

While Ferris and Shackelford are calling out for islanders’ reflections, they know not everyone is a writer and do not expect perfectly crafted stories. In a recent email, they said they are not looking for long stories nor does it need to be an actual story, rather it could be an “anecdote, perhaps a couple of sentences, three paragraphs. It can be the quintessential something that happened to you recently; or just the words that speak your heart when you think about what Vashon means to you.”

The duo believes that a collective story will emerge from the individual tales. They plan to both archive the material for the Heritage Museum, and craft a script for a performance reading in January to celebrate Vashon Allied Arts’ 50th anniversary.

Several island organizations — Vashon Allied Arts, Voice of Vashon, Vashon- Maury Island Heritage Association and All Island Forum — are co-sponsoring the community project.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, Sept. 30. Guidelines and submission forms are available at vashonalliedarts.org/heartofvashon.