The Writers' Express

CONTACT:

271 Cambridge Street, Suite 303
Cambridge, MA 02141
617-844-1003
www.wex.org

Deborah Reck, CEO

DESCRIPTION:

If you believe in writing as empowerment, aimed at kids who need it most, here is a charity for you. The Writers' Express was founded in 1994 by two young teachers, to provide a few Cambridge and Boston middle-school students with an intensive summer writing experience. The basic idea was to have some interesting fun with the students and then to write about it -- first in personal journals; then together reworking those into stories, essays and articles, using that process for discovery and mastery. When children see that writing can help them understand and even change their world, they want to strengthen and refine that skill, to make their writing clearer and more powerful. After several years of learning how to do this better, the challenge shifted to growing the program--more staff, more sites, and more students. An after school program for students from three Dorchester schools was added in 1999 as well as Saturday and vacation programs, and a teacher-development program in Jamaica Plain. In 2001 the entire program served 345 children and by 2008 they are reaching 30,000 struggling students nationwide, in grades 3-12, with teacher-training programs in Greater Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts; New York City; Milwaukee WI; and in California, San Francisco and San Diego. WEX works directly with over 100 students (2/3 of whom are on scholarships) in its Summer Program at Simmons College in Boston, Every day campers participate in sports, art, or other instructional activities and write about their experiences in their journals. WEX-trained writing instructors take the journals home nightly to write comments, then give skill-enhancing drills based on the students’ individual needs. WEX plans to raise $1.5mm in the next two years to reach 400,000 students by 2010. For more information on how you can support WEX, please go to www.wex.org.

(2001: CULTURE: Education: Formal: School-Related)