826 National is a family of seven nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18, with expository and creative writing.
Our 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 interests or particular needs.
826 is especially committed to supporting teachers, offering services and resources for English language learners, and publishing student work. All locations offer unique retail experiences as well.
826 National
826 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-642-5905 x 202
415-642-5914 fax Email us
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Recently, 826LA has been pairing with Tabletop Moviemaking to help students produce films from their writing. With a camera and one of Tabletop's kits, students have all they need to produce movies, despite tight time and space constraints. 826LA and Tabletop are continuing to work together to refine the process. Check out the results from 826LA student Selene Munoz and Tabletop Moviemaking below.
We know you've been trying to avoid the mall this summer (and with the crowds, the sedating music, and the overbearing stench of stale pretzel, who could blame you?) So how about saving on gas and skipping the food court to pass through the 826 National Store instead? We have some brand new products overflowing our electronic shelves, just waiting to be delivered to your door. Inside you'll find new t-shirts for guys and gals of all ages, a full-length design catalog featuring the off-the-wall products at each of the 826 stores nationwide, beautiful stationery by designer Heidi Meredith, 1" pins, and more. Ditch the crowds and pick up some great 826 stuff while supporting our seven 826 chapters nationwide!
Make some room on your bookshelf because Thomas Nesbit has a new book out, and he is donating half of all the proceeds to 826 National. Thomas was born in the South, studied Philosophy and Religious Studies in college, and acquired a Ph.D from Boston University. Following graduation, his doctoral thesis was published by Routledge under the title, Henry Miller And Religion. His newest book, Deep Fried, marks Nesbit's debut into the world of fiction and self-publishing. Deep Fried tells the coming-of-age story of fourteen-year-old prodigy Eddy Funderburke whose dreams of becoming a classical violinist lead him on adventures through trailer parks, turkey farms, chic housing developments, and cruise ship fantasies. Deep Fried can be purchased at smashwords.com, and at the price of $2.99 why not buy 10 for you and all of your friends? Not only will your bookshelf look the better for it, but you will be supporting a great up-and-coming writer as well as all seven chapters of 826.
We are extremely proud to showcase the latest works from some of our creative students across the country. Newly posted in the Writing Gallery are pieces from each 826 chapter's upcoming student publications, including tales of frog armies, a pair of aliens named Earnest and Martianstein, and a ghost with some unfinished business.
Swing by for some fabulous writing and find out more about the publications here.
Update: The votes are in! The winning hero is Super Delivery Guy, submitted by designer Ale. Who among us hasn't longed to leap tall buildings in a single bound while carrying a grand piano? Congratulations, Ale, and thank you, SocialDesigner.com.
Are you tired of all those heroes with out-of-date powers like flight or invisibility? Ever wanted to create your own heroic character for modern times? Now's your chance! SocialDesigner.com is holding a contest to find a new kind of hero for this day and age. The winning designer will be awarded a prize of $2000 and the unparalleled satisfaction of having his or her design immortalized on a t-shirt to be sold on SocialDesigner.com. And 20% of the profits will benefit 826 National! Everybody wins. So get started on your design— entries need to be submitted by June 1 at 6PM GMT. Click here for more details.
We are excited to announce that Focus Features is coordinating a series of events around the world premiere of Away We Go, the newest release from Academy Award–winning director Sam Mendes, written by Vendela Vida and Dave Eggers.
Join us in San Francisco on Friday, May 1 for the kick off. This will be our very first 826 National fundraising event (there won’t be many!) and we would LOVE to see you there. We’ll screen the highly anticipated film and conduct a Q&A with the film’s director Sam Mendes, actress Maya Rudolph, and writers Vendela Vida and Dave Eggers. A fabulous and fun party will follow with food, libations, and merriment, for an increased ticket price. All proceeds from this event will benefit 826 National, The Teacher Salary Project, The Believer, and Voice of Witness. Click here to purchase your tickets and to find out more.
The fun will be travelling to six other cities as well, benefiting our local 826 chapters. If you live in an 826 town, put a big star on your calendar for the following dates:
Recently we had the great pleasure of welcoming 11 year-old Time For Kids student reporter Erin Wiens St. John to our 826 Valencia writing center and 826 National office. Erin wrote a fantastic article that was published this week on the Time For Kids website. Thanks Erin, and congratulations!
Have you ever wanted to get a behind-the-scenes look into a literacy nonprofit and learn about a unique business model?
We are thrilled to announce that registration is open for our full-day nonprofit business and programming seminar featuring 826 National co-founder Nínive Clements Calegari.
Teachers, tutors, nonprofit visionaries, and supporters of 826 National gather from around the globe to take part in this workshop to learn what we have done right and bring fresh ideas back home with them.
This full day workshop will give attendees an in-depth look into the nuts and bolts of 826. Attendees will gain insight into organization operations, fundraising and development, volunteer recruitment and retention, 826 programming, our storefront business model, and much more.
Join us Friday, May 15, 2009 from 9am-5pm at our founding location, 826 Valencia Street in San Francisco. $300 will get you breakfast, lunch, and take-home materials. Visit here to sign up today!
Take a look at the feedback we’ve received from workshop attendees in the past:
“It was tremendously empowering and eye-opening. I appreciated the great energy and candor of the presenters. The information shared was excellent… and often surprising.” — Amy Rogers, Charlotte, NC
“I can’t wait to go back to my school and community and talk to people, do research, [and] plant seeds to get something like this started.” — Jennifer Hekkers, Denver, CO
“Thank you! This will be extremely helpful to our young writing and tutoring center as we begin to offer more regular service. I probably got twenty good answers to small problems that I’ve faced over the past few months. It is invaluable to learn from the people who have made this model work from scratch.” — Mike Agresta, Austin, TX
To continue following the opinions and advice the illustrious young authors from our after-school program have given to our commander-in-chief in Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama, Powell Books, the largest independent bookstore renowned for its new and used books, has enlisted them to blog for Powells.com. Regular contributors, including authors and critics, welcome our students to the blogging world.
One of the most exciting things to come out of the hard work put in by students, staff, and volunteers in 826 chapters across the country is amazing student writing of all kinds. Whether our students are participating in weeknight workshops, being assisted by 826 volunteers in their classroom, or working on projects with 826 tutors after school, they all have one thing in common: they are fantastic writers! To honor and showcase the work of these aspiring authors, poets, journalists, and screenwriters, we’ve created an 826 National Student Writing Gallery. The gallery will be updated regularly with stellar examples of student work from our 826 chapters in Ann Arbor, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and San Francisco.
826 National is proud to announce the publication of Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids’ Letters to President Obama. Written by students at 826 centers across the country, the book is full of hilarious advice, practical suggestions, and sincere requests for our new President. To purchase your copy, visit the 826 National Store.
In case you weren’t able to attend one of the readings that occurred in 826 centers around the country, we have a couple clips of students sharing excerpts from their letters to President Obama in Seattle and San Francisco.
If you missed the evening news in Seattle featuring 826 students reading and toasting glasses of milk, you can view it here.
Watch 826 Valencia students in San Francisco diligently and studiously read their letters behind a desk at McSweeney’s.
A few days after the election, we asked students from 826 centers around the country to provide advice and guidance to their new President. The result was a stack of hilarious, heartfelt, and occasionally downright practical letters loaded with thoughts and suggestions, such as the following, for President Obama:
“I really hope you put America back together. No pressure though.” — Sheenie Shannon Yip, age 13, Seattle
We are exceptionally delighted to report that some of these letters have been published in the Op-Ed section of the New York Times.
Also, check out our press section that highlights 826 students in their local papers.
The 826 National online store has opened its virtual doors and lined its electronic shelves with goodies! Stop in here to check out the new 826 Flower Tee for ladies and kids or grab your copy of The Autobiographer’s Handbook, an instructional guide for aspiring writers edited by Jennifer Traig. All proceeds are used to support 826’s numerous writing programs for students across the United States. And don’t forget to check back with us often as we update the site with exciting 826 products!
Take a sneak peak inside 826 Valencia’s 2008-2009 Young Authors’ Book Project, documented by San Francisco filmmaker Ira Chute. The clip features Ms. Pirette McKamey’s Senior English class at Mission High School, as well as 826 Valencia tutors hard at work on the writing project. Follow this film for an intimate inside-look into a day in the busy life of an 826 writing center.
TUTORING
826 sites are packed five days a week with students who come in for free one-on-one tutoring after school. More »
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STUDENT PUBLISHING
Each year we partner with an acclaimed author to work closely with a teacher and students from a low-income school to create an unique and professionally-made book.
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FIELD TRIPS
Up to four times a week at many of our sites, 826 welcomes an entire class for a morning of high-energy learning.
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IN-SCHOOLS
It is not feasible for all classes to come to us, so we dispatch teams of volunteers into local schools.
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WORKSHOPS
826 offers free workshops that provide in-depth writing instruction in a variety of areas that schools often don’t include in their curriculum. More »
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SCHOLARSHIPS
We award three $10,000 scholarships each spring for students entering college the upcoming fall. More »
Recently we had the great pleasure of welcoming 11 year-old Time For Kids student reporter Erin Wiens St. John to our 826 Valencia writing center and 826 National office. Erin wrote a fantastic article that was published this week on the Time For Kids website. Thanks Erin, and congratulations! 
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