Two local non-profit organizations are seeking volunteers to work with Philadelphia children on their reading and writing skills or to help with other tasks.

• Mighty Writers, which has been focusing on providing food and literacy during the pandemic, is looking for volunteers who love writing and want to share that love with young people. Volunteers at Mighty Writers (over 400 every year!) are writers, playwrights, filmmakers, artists and business professionals. Volunteers all have three things in common: compassion, patience and a willingness to learn from the students.

Currently there are two ways to volunteer with Mighty Writers – by offering 1:1 writing attention to a child, or supporting the organization’s food and diaper distribution efforts. Continue Reading

Here is a chance to see John Edgar Wideman, a widely celebrated writer and winner of several literary awards, including the International PEN/Faulkner award, this Friday in West Philly. Wideman, who is also a founder of Penn’s African American Studies Department, will speak at the West Philadelphia branch of Mighty Writers (3861 Lancaster Ave.).

The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Mighty Writers is a local non-profit organization that teaches children to think and write with clarity. Mighty Writers West opened its doors in 2013 and since then has been offering classes, afterschool programs, College Prep courses, and a summer camp to West Philadelphia kids and youth. All programs at Mighty Writers are free to Philadelphia students. For more information, visit: mightywriters.org/mighty-writers-west.

As West Philly Local reported, Mighty Writers  recently opened its West Philly location, Mighty Writers West, in the People’s Emergency Center at 3861 Lancaster Avenue. Mighty Writers West welcomed their first students on Monday:

Day 1 at MW West! pic.twitter.com/h5ovxudj1i

— Mighty Writers (@MightyWriters) September 16, 2013

One of the programs offered by Mighty Writers is a daily after-school Academy where students get help with their homework and learn how to produce informative, persuasive, narrative and poetry writing.

This free program runs from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the school year and spaces are still available for students in grades 3-8. To download an application, click here. For more information, visit: http://www.mightywriters.org/west-philly-academy/

Come this fall, Mighty Writers will ink its missive on the streets of West Philly.

The beloved Philly nonprofit dedicated to teaching Philadelphia’s youth to think and write with clarity will open its third location, Mighty Writers West, housed in People’s Emergency Center at 3861 Lancaster Avenue. Fall programs will launch September 16, and former Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Annette John-Hall will serve as Mighty Writers West program director.

This is a new Mighty Writers site in West Philly. They are looking for someone who can replace the words “Make Your Mark” with “Mighty Writers.” (Photo via Mighty Writers’ Facebook page).

“We’re excited because the kids and volunteers we meet in West Philly will define the flavor of Mighty Writers West,” Maggie Leyman, Mighty Writers’ development director, told West Philly Local.  “We’ll incorporate a lot of what we’ve learned in South Philly, but we can’t wait to learn what gets West Philly kids excited, and what gets them writing.”

According to Leyman,opening locations in the North, South and West locations of Philadelphia was Mighty Writers’ intention from the start, as the non-profit’s “honing in on three neighborhoods” it sees as underserved and “reasonably far apart.” In West Philadelphia, she said, Mighty Writers will be able to reach those kids who have traveled to the South Philadelphia location for past workshops, as well as kids who wouldn’t travel to either location, but are interested in its programs. Still, the non-profit does understand that the entire city “needs more accessible and free out-of-school programs.”

“Our executive director, Tim Whitaker, always says that you could put a Mighty Writers, or pretty much any writing program, every ten blocks and you’d see programs filled to capacity,” Leyman told West Philly Local. “The whole city is underserved, as far as kids’ educations are concerned. We wish we could put a Mighty Writers in even more Philly communities but that would take some serious funding.”

Mighty Writers will host an open house at the new location in early September “to welcome people into Mighty Writers West so they can sign up for programs, meet our staff and volunteers, and see what we’re all about,” said Leyman.

Mighty Writers West is also currently accepting applications for its afterschool program for students in grades 5-8 residing or going to school in one of the following ZIP codes: 19104, 19131, 19139 or 19143. For more info and to download an application, click here. Application deadline is August 15, 2013.

–Annamarya Scaccia