The Beacon, a nonprofit newsroom in Kansas City, is seeking your stories.

As we approach the one year anniversary of the global COVID-19 health crisis, we want to hear from Kansas Citians about an experience during the pandemic that changed you — or perhaps how the mundane has become the “new normal” of our pandemic lives.

This project aims to reflect the diversity of lived experiences in our community through narrative storytelling. We want to hear from people of all backgrounds, ages, races and experiences. We hope that by sharing these stories, we can have a better collective understanding of how the pandemic has impacted our friends, families and neighbors, and provide a snapshot of these times for future generations.

All submissions are subject to editing for grammar, clarity and length. We will contact you before publication to describe any changes made to your submission. For credibility and transparency, all published submissions must include your first and last name. Additional published details are at your discretion based on information that you provide. We accept photos you would like to submit with your story, or may reach out to you to schedule a socially distanced portrait to accompany your story.

Submissions open through April 1, 2021.

We will add stories to the collection on a rolling basis at https://thebeacon.media/stories/2021/03/15/kansas-city-reflects-on-covid-19-pandemic/