Thursday, August 07, 2008

826 - Reading Fun for Everyone

Have you heard about the 826 program? Here's a little bit about it:
"826 National is a nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization with locations in seven cities across the country. Our goal is to assist students ages six to eighteen with their writing skills, and to help teachers get their classes excited about writing. Our work 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."
If there isn't a program in your city, there are probably other literacy or writing programs. And if not, you can always support an 826 center by shopping at one of their online stores. They each have a unique theme and items you probably can't find anywhere else.

826 Valencia (San Francisco) - The Pirate Store - All sorts of treasures like Pirate Dice and Eye Patches
826 Chicago - The Boring Store - The name must be ironic, none of this stuff is boring. I want A Sunday Afternoon Hotdog Meal. It's a field guide to Chicago written by 200 elementary school students.

826 Michigan - The Liberty Street Robot Supply and Repair Store - How can you resist a CD called I'm Not a Philosopher, I am Just a Green Monster: Songs of Monster Protest.

826 NYC - The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. - They don't yet have an online shop but don't these capes, canned muscles, and bottled elastic fantastic make you want to stop in.
From 826 Seattle - The Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. - No online store yet but the promise of space travel is very enticing. And you can peek in to see what's going on.

826 LA - Echo Park Time Travel Mart - This is the store that first caught my attention. Amy Martin's (blog, flickr) Time Travel Agency posters are so beautiful. I want them all but especially this one:

1 comment:

Elizabeth said...

Oh! I love the 826 stores. Not that I've ever been to one, but I have always always wanted to. The one in San Francisco was closed when I walked by it last year.

I love 826 - what a great organization!