By Bob Lasiewicz, Crossroads of Learning
Since its founding in San Francisco in 2002 by award-winning author Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari, 826 has sparked students’ imaginations. 826 centers across the country in Ann Arbor, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC offer free programming for students. Elements include writing, learning, and arts education that engages under-resourced youth. They have served over 29,000 students with after-school tutoring, field trips, in-school projects, the Young Authors’ Publishing Project and workshops. They also offer financial assistance to college-bound students who need it through ScholarMatch.
The following article from the Huffington post can give you insight into their process, programs and community commitment.
by Kate Abbey-Lambertz, Huffington Post, originally published 11/13/12
When the group that runs a robot supply store announced plans to expand to Detroit next year, it had nothing to do with the upcoming “Robocop” remake, or even the city’s growing tech scene. Instead, it’s the writing and tutoring nonprofit tucked behind that Ann Arbor shop that will bring its services to Detroit students.
826Michigan, the local offshoot of a network of nonprofit tutoring centers founded 10 years ago in San Francisco by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius), will expand with help from a $100,000 DTE Energy grant. They’ve long wanted to bring the student-focused programs to the city, said Amanda Uhle, executive director of the Michigan chapter.
“From the outset, certainly since I started in 2006, we have aspired to do more in Detroit and serve students in a really significant way,” Uhle said. “In the meantime, the economy has been challenging and we’ve had enough to do to stabilize our organization.”
