Thursday, June 3, 2010

Congratulations to 826 Valencia's newest young authors

On June 2nd at the historic Women's Building in San Francisco, 826 Valencia celebrated the release of their latest Young Authors' Book Project publication, We The Dreamers: Young Authors Explore the American Dream. Proud juniors and seniors from Mr. Rose's and Ms. Leathers' English classes at John O'Connell High School came together with their families, friends, teachers, and 826 Valencia volunteers and staff members to celebrate their hard work, read their essays, and sign copies of the gorgeous new book.

Beginning in January 2010, fifty students worked for over four months to write, edit, and design the publication of essays. The topics covered range widely from personal dreams and family histories to fulfilling destinies and honoring heroes of the past. Each student spent hours crafting their pieces with 826 Valencia tutors, writing between ten and twelve drafts each.

In their introduction to the book the student editorial board wrote:

"As time passed, the project became more personal, more than just writing. Many of us hadn't thought before about what our dream was. Now we had the chance to take something of ourselves, words that we may have never said to anyone, and put them on paper. We got the chance to reflect on our own experiences, to see how hard some of them have been, and to see how strong we have been. The essays became our life stories."

High school junior, Ares Alemendares said of the project, " I get it now. I thought this was just for a grade. But tonight, I realized this (book) was a big deal."

Congratulations to these newly published authors on their fabulous work! We the Dreamers is available for purchase at 826 Valencia's Pirate Store in San Francisco, through their online store, and in bookstores nationwide.