826 National is a nonprofit organization that provides strategic leadership, administration, and other resources to ensure the success of its network of eight writing and tutoring centers.
826 centers offer a variety of inventive programs that provide under-resourced students, ages 6-18, with opportunities to explore their creativity and improve their writing skills. We also aim to help teachers get their classes excited about writing.
Our mission is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. Last year our centers—which are located in Ann Arbor, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC— served over 29,000 students.
Each year, we conduct extensive surveys of students, teachers, and parents at 826 chapters nationwide to better understand the impact of our programs. We are extremely proud to present 826's impact for the 2011-2012 school year, including some highlights from our annual statistics and our highest numbers of students served and programs offered ever!
If you're as moved by these numbers as we are, consider donating to help us continue the amazing work of the chapters. And finally, thank you to our generous supporters, our amazing school partners, our wonderfully creative students, our dedicated volunteers and Board members, and of course, the talented, creative, and sleep-deprived teams at 826 Boston, 826CHI, 826DC, 826LA, 826michigan, 826NYC, 826 Seattle, and 826 Valencia. Here's to an even bigger 2013!
We see that twinkle in your eye, but is it a twinkle of merriment or of holiday shopping anxiety? Either way, we’ve got you covered. You can find the merriest presents for everyone on your list at our store:
Grab one of our brand new 826 "Storytellers and Robot Mechanics" tees for men or women!
Try the 826 mug for the hot chocolate lover in your life!
Best of all, gifts from 826 National mean double the giving: Proceeds from the 826 store help provide tutoring services, writing workshops, and publishing projects free of charge to the 31,000 students 826 serves each year. Make sure to place your orders by Wednesday, December 19 if you'd like your items by Christmas!
"If we're going to create an innovative society you've got to put the creativity into the science."
That's exactly what motivated the unlikely partnership of 826, Time Warner Cable's Connect a Million Minds Initiative, and the Coalition for Science After School. The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) America meeting brought us together, and since then we have worked to create and test two after-school workshops: the Science of Ice Cream and Space Exploration. As you might imagine, both were huge successes, and we can hope that this is only the beginning. Here at 826, we know that whether they're doing writing activities or science experiments, kids are weird, and when that weirdness is celebrated, amazing things can happen. See for yourself.
Tired of reading the same old stories day in and day out? Looking for something different to get your blood boiling, you heart roiling, your feet jumping? Look no further! We've got hot, new pieces from young authors all over the country in our latest 826 Writing Gallery. You'll find an interview with a martial artist, a touching ode to a mother's shirt, and the mythic tale of Orithian. The best part? These pieces are from the latest 826 books, which make excellent holiday gifts, so share the stories and share the love.
It’s time to unfurl the plushiest virtual red carpet, sound the bugle, and gather the most robustly feathered doves! We’re so thrilled to introduce you to Rashawnda Williams (pictured with Dr. Jill Biden), 826DC's first-ever Young Writer in Residence and 826 poet laureate. Some of Rashawnda’s incredible poems appeared in the 826DC publication City Blossoms, and as their Writer in Residence, she puts together a monthly blog post for the 826DC website. Rashawnda also read and spoke at Do the Write Thing, an event co-sponsored by 826DC and 826 National, alongside Dr. Jill Biden and author Maaza Mengiste.
“I did a poetry workshop in the middle of my sophomore year, and they published City Blossoms,” Rashawnda said. “I thought that was it until I got to go to the White House and meet and read with Dave Eggers at the book festival. I go to [Duke Ellington School of the Arts] and I’m in the Literary Media and Communications department, and they wanted us to find an internship related to what we would like to do in the future. … Then I thought of 826, and the rest is history. Sending that email was probably one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made.”
We’re glad that you sent that e-mail, too, Rashawnda! Click here to read the full interview in our November newsletter, in which Rashawnda discusses her ambitious college plans, her favorite writers, and the small pad and pen that she keeps handy to catch all of her creative ideas.
826michigan will bring 826 programs to Detroit schools in 2013. Thanks to a $100,000 grant from the DTE Energy Foundation, 826michigan will be able to provide tutoring and programming to public schools in Detroit in 2013! 826michigan will continue its programs in Washtenaw County as it expands, with the eventual goal of opening a full-service writing and tutoring center in a Detroit neighborhood to complement its in-school and other programs.
“The DTE Energy Foundation is an indispensable partner to us,” says
826michigan Executive Director Amanda Uhle. "Now as we look to expand
our reach even further and serve students in the city of Detroit, the
DTE Energy Foundation is with us once again. We are honored by this
opportunity to launch 826michigan’s signature brand of high-quality,
high-energy literary arts education in Detroit, and offer our deepest
gratitude to the DTE Energy Foundation for making it possible.”
We here at 826 National offer our congratulations to 826michigan and
an enormous thank you to the DTE Energy Foundation for supporting
their vision.
“826 helps young people learn that language can be play, that work can be joyful, and that they themselves can be the inventors and caretakers of their world. I have seen it with my own eyes. 826 is a good thing in a world of bad things, and a good place in a world of hard ones.”
»Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
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“Thank you for teaching me how to be a REAL AUTHOR!”
»Gabby Martin, student, PS 230, Brooklyn
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“Having my story in a book means a lot to me.”
»Unique Smith, student, 826 Seattle
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“Every person from 826—from tutors who volunteered a few times in my classroom to staff with whom I've worked daily—shares a delight in young people and a rare respect for teachers' real work.”
»Lisa Morehouse, teacher, Balboa High School, San Francisco
It’s time to unfurl the plushiest virtual red carpet, sound the bugle, and gather the most robustly feathered doves! We’re so thrilled to introduce you to Rashawnda Williams (pictured with Dr. Jill Biden), 
826michigan will bring 826 programs to 
