WritersCorps National Arts & Humanities Youth Award, via Flickr
The San Francisco WritersCorps program places professional writers in community settings to teach creative writing to youth. Like the 826 programs around the U.S., Red Beard Press in Ann Arbor, or Voices Behind Walls in El Paso, TX and Las Cruces, NM, WritersCorps works with young people to hone their writing skills – poetry, fiction, memoir, song writing – as a means of creative power and self-expression. This year, WritersCorps won a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for their work with young people. From their website:
WritersCorps, a project of the San Francisco Arts Commission and the San Francisco Public Library, was recognized with a prestigious national award by First Lady Michelle Obama at a White House ceremony on Wednesday, October 20.
The award honors WritersCorps for its effectiveness in developing creativity and fostering academic success by engaging young people in the arts and humanities. In addition to the national recognition bestowed by the prestigious award, WritersCorps will also receive $10,000 to support its programming.
I know there is exciting work going on across the country, and around the world, to instill a love of reading and writing in young people. What programs are going on in your community? I’d love to hear from some of the many volunteers who help make these organizations centers of vibrant community transformation.
