What do pirates have to do with writing skills? Everything, if you’re an organization known as 826 Valencia. Founded by author Dave Eggers (one of my favorites) and educator Nínive Calegari in 2002, 826 Valencia is a San Francisco-based nonprofit that helps advance kids’ literacy skills by providing after school tutoring, workshops and writing-based field trips.
826 Valencia’s writing lab is located, appropriately enough, at 826 Valencia Street in San Francisco, and here’s where the pirates get involved: to access the lab, you enter through a pirate supply store. What does one find in such a store? Everything you’d need to be a working pirate, of course, like peg legs, ropes, lard, eye patches, glass eyes and messages in bottles. It may sound silly, but the pirate supply store actually makes money, 100 percent of which benefits 826 Valencia. It also provides a fun, inviting atmosphere where kids can relax, get creative and enjoy the process of writing.
Brilliant Ink is a proud supporter of the work 826 Valencia is doing in the San Francisco community. In addition to sponsoring events, we’ll also be volunteering with the organization throughout 2010, and will provide updates about our experiences on the Brilliant Blog.
Are you interested in getting involved? Visit www.826valencia.org to find out how you can donate time or money. If you’re not in the San Francisco area, check out 826 National, which operates similar programs in Ann Arbor, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle.
In the meantime, here’s an inside look at 826 Valencia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-S2ee9fNBk
@lizkelly
