826 National

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826 National is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18, with expository and creative writing at six locations across USA. The chapters include 826 Valencia in San Francisco, 826NYC in Brooklyn, New York, 826LA in Los Angeles, CA, 826CHI in Chicago, 826 Seattle, 826 Michigan in Ann Arbor and 826 Boston in Boston. the 826 National 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. Each chapter offers drop-in tutoring, field trips, workshops, and in-schools programs – all free of charge – for children, classes, and schools with particular interest or particular need. 826 is especially committed to supporting teachers, offering services and resources for English language learners, and publishing student work. Several locations offer unique retail experiences as well.


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[edit] Volunteer Network

826 National is supported by a large volunteer network, which includes authors, journalists, poets, teachers, and documentary filmmakers. Authors Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, along with veteran educator Nínive Clements Calegari, founded the first center in San Francisco, 826 Valencia in April, 2002. 826 Valencia has attracted teachers and supporters such as Michael Chabon, Isabel Allende, Keith Knight, Daniel Handler, Amy Tan, Robin Williams, and Erika Lopez. Other chapters have been equally successful in harnessing support from local literary and cultural superstars, such as writers Sarah Vowell, Sherman Alexie, David Sedaris, Zadie Smith, Melissa Mathison, and Davy Rothbart, as well as other notable public figures including Phil Jackson, Ira Glass, Jon Stewart, and Spike Jonze. 826 National provides urban public school students with valuable apprenticeship-style opportunities from these and other local literary arts professionals through personalized interactions and mentorship. All 826 National programs and services are free.

[edit] 826 National Stores

The seven chapters that make up 826 National include unique retail stores. 826 Valencia runs San Francisco's "only independent pirate supply store." Located in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District, the store is the front entrance of the tutoring center and has the look and feel of an authentic pirate shop. The store sells pirate clothing, eyepatches, compasses, spyglasses, pirate dice, skull flags, and secret treasures. It features handmade signs, scattered around the store, offering tongue-in-cheek wisdom, such as "Uses for Lard" (#5: "Lard Fights") and "Guidelines for New Shipmates" (#4: "No forgetting to swab"). Unsuspecting visitors are sometimes treated to surprise "moppings." Shoppers can also find back issues of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, books published by McSweeney's, and essay and story compilations written by 826 Valencia students. The books of student writing published by 826 Valencia so far are "I Might Get Somewhere," "Waiting to Be Heard," "Talking Back," and their newest book, "Home Wasn't Built in a Day," which includes a foreword by Robin Williams.

A second writing center, 826NYC in Brooklyn, New York, features a superhero-themed supply store, and another at 826 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan is home to a monster store. The 826 Seattle writing center in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood is host to the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Company. 826CHI, in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, is also the location of The Boring Store, which sells spy supplies. 826LA has opened The Ecco Park Time Travel Mart, featuring products such as Mammoth Chunks and Anti-Robot Fluid (bottled water). 826 Boston opened their doors in Fall 2007 with an institute of cryptozoology.

[edit] See also

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