Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Giving thanks from 826 National

Before we head out of the office to gorge ourselves on turkey (or tofurkey!) and mashed potatoes, we wanted to reflect on the many things we're thankful for. The dedicated staff at the 826 centers, the creative students, the thousands of volunteers who give countless hours to a variety of projects, and the donors who support everything. We could not do any of our work without you.

Here's some personal notes from all of us at 826 National:

Gerald Richards, CEO: "I am thankful to work with such an interesting, creative and talented group of people. Its not everyday that you can come to work excited to spend the day working next to, or across the country from, such awesomeness!"

Jen Benka, Development Director: "I am thankful for the many generous individuals, foundations, and corporations that support 826. It's only with the help of a giving community that 826 can provide close to 30,000 young people from under-resourced schools with free, skill-building and creativity-inducing programs each year."

Erin Archuleta, Director of Field Operations and Strategy: "I'm thankful for the 826 teams who helped our students produce 850 amazing publications last year."

Ryan Lewis, Director of Research and Evaluation: "I'm thankful for our wildly creative and hard-working 826 teams across the country, who make it fun for our students to learn important and challenging skills each day by invoking the powers of whimsy, wonder, spontaneity, variety, and, of course, robot emotions."

Mariama Lockington, Operations Manager: "I am thankful and continually awed by the enthusiasm and creativity 826 National interns share with our office each day."

Kent Green, Social Media Manager "I'm thankful for having way too much exciting 826 chapter news - from apps to awards, from events to essays - to share every day."

McKenna Stayer, Intern: "I'm thankful for an office environment where I can spend a morning volunteering each week at 826 Valencia's Storytelling and Bookwriting field trips, and my supervisors not only support me, but can't wait to hear how it went when I get back!"

Kyli Sessions, Intern: "I'm thankful for 826 Snuggies to climb into after devouring double portions of pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes."

Rooney, Director of Tennis Ball Retrieval and Senior Vice President, Morale-Boosting: "Woof woof woof, woof. Pant, woof. Snore."