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826michigan Newsletter!
June 2012:
Meet the Storymakers (and become one yourself!)
Add The Staple to your reading list
Travel the world with summer programs
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What to Call the Place I Call Home!
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| Hi friends.
Summer is well and truly here! While it's always just a touch sad for us to say goodbye to our regular school-year programs (au revoir, after-school tutoring! see you in the fall, In-School Residencies!) it's hard to be TOO sad . . .
because we've got an EXCELLENT slate of activities coming up this summer. From elegant events to writing about the Olympics, it's all here at 826michigan.
(Guess what else could be here at 826michigan? YOU. That's right: We are HIRING.)
Read on! |
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What to Call the Place I Call Home:
Congratulations, Published Authors of Ypsi Middle!
Let's just get straight to it, shall we?
LOOK AT THIS BOOK:
 | | It practically GLOWS, doesn't it? Photo credit: Nick Azzaro, Chin-Azzaro |
Yes! It's here! What to Call the Place I Call Home: Voices of 26 Ypsilanti Middle Schoolers, our 2012 publication!
With a foreword by Ypsilanti Mayor Paul T Schreiber, What to Call the Place I Call Home is a collection of writing on the subjects of self, place, and time by twenty-six young writers in 826michigan's tutoring program at Ypsilanti Middle School.
What to Call the Place I Call Home features design and illustration by Publications Intern Adrian Lyjak; this publication program was made possible with support from the DTE Energy Foundation and the Toyota USA Foundation.
Together with the students/published authors and their families/super-proud support systems, we celebrated the release of WtCtPICH on Tuesday, June 4. We ate delicious lasagna from Beezy's, enjoyed elegant decor courtesy of pot & box, and listened with rapt attention to speeches by Principal Kim Farrell and 826michigan staff members.
But the REAL highlight of the evening was -- naturally -- the students themselves!
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Student Moeshé (with Program Assistant Savannah Charles) captivates the audience!
Photo credit: Nick Azzaro
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Now, after all this, you may be asking yourself: How can I buy What to Call the Place I Call Home? We've got you covered! Stop by Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair to pick up your very own copy of this absolutely beautiful (they said, modestly) book. (What to Call the Place I Call Home is also coming soon to our online store, www.onwardrobots.com!)
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826michigan SUMMER EVENTS:
Dinner (with DeWoskin and Dohrn) and Much More!
We look forward to the Storymakers Dinner all year. Why? Because it's an evening that truly cannot be beat: the beautiful patio at the Zingerman's Roadhouse, delicious food from James Beard Award Winner Chef Alex Young, and excellent company in the form of not only fellow 826michigan enthusiasts but also a couple of our most wonderful students and literary friends.
THIS YEAR, the food will be Chinese-inspired (yum!); the students will be those very same newly-published authors of Ypsilanti Middle mentioned above; and the guests will be a true writerly Dream Team -- author/actress/poet (and Community High alum!) Rachel DeWoskin and playwright Zayd Dohrn.
Tickets are $100 and they are going fast, so get yours right here.
Can't wait till 6/21 for your next dose of 826michigan? How about joining us for craft talks at the Third Annual 826michigan Writers' Conference? On Saturday, June 16, we'll be hosting three seminars right here at 826michigan -- "Making A Life As A Writer" with Margo Rabb, "Why I Love Paul Auster" with Joyce Dyer, and "The Nature of Desire: What David Mamet and the Dalai Lama Can Teach Us About Writing Fiction" with Kevin Haworth. Attend one for $25, or make a day of it and do all three for $70!
All proceeds from the Third Annual 826michigan Writers' Conference benefit 826michigan's free creative writing workshops for students 6-18. The conference is made possible with support from Thomson-Shore. Learn more about the craft talks and register here!
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PROGRAMS UPDATE: What We Are Up To and
What You Can Be Up To With Us.
Ah, summer. A time for outside play, creative exploration, and plenty of leisure reading. And, for us here at 826michigan, some VERY exciting programs that will incorporate all of the above.
For an overview of our summer programs, we'll now turn to Eliza Mathie. We're fortunate enough to have Eliza with us this summer as full-time Public Scholarship Intern through the University of Michigan Arts of Citizenship program. Eliza is a long-time 826michigan volunteer and graduate student in English Language and Literature. Take us away, Eliza!
You guessed it -- 826michigan has a happy and busy summer of writing adventures planned for 2012! Starting right away in June, 826michigan will be running drop-in writing programs for teens and youth alike at the Whittaker Rd branch and the Michigan Ave branch of the Ypsilanti District Library, respectively. Also starting in June, 826michigan will be exploring the exciting possibilities of truly healthy writing at Carrot Way, a housing site run by Avalon Housing. 826michigan volunteers will be leading Carrot Way campers in weekly writing workshops focused on such invigorating (and healthy) themes as: scrumptious food, exhilarating exercise, and outdoor fun. Expect plenty of potato adventures!
Then, in July, things will really get going. 826michigan volunteers will be active in summer school classrooms again this year, assisting teachers at the Summer Learning Institute in Ann Arbor. And last, but certainly not least, 826michigan will provide writing workshops for still more K-5 campers beginning in July. In addition to exploring healthy living and vegetable visions at Carrot Way, 826michigan will work with writer-campers at Bryant and Hikone Community Centers, pursuing the outstandingly adventurous theme of: the Olympics!
It's beginning to look a lot like summer here at 826michigan, and we really could not be more excited about it.
Thank you, Eliza! Now for some dates and times you might like to know.
June 18: Summer workshop schedule released at www.826michigan.org/workshops!
June 19: Summer workshop registration opens at 7pm!
Speaking of workshops, SUMMER DROP-IN WRITING is back by popular demand! Drop-in Writing, like all of our programs, is totally free and -- also like all of our programs -- totally fun. Just drop in on any of these times and days for breezy, unstructured, creative writing time led by a stellar team of 826michigan volunteers and interns!
MONDAY:
Drop-in Writing for Wee-Bots (ages 6-7): 3:30-4:30pm (begins 7/9 at 826michigan)!
Drop-in Writing (ages 8-18): 6-7pm (begins 6/25 at 826michigan)!
TUESDAY:
Drop-in Writing (ages 8-18): 3:30-4:30pm (begins 7/10 at 826michigan)!
Drop-in Writing for Teens (ages 13-18): 3:30-4:30pm (begins 6/19 at Ypsilanti Library - Whitaker Rd)!
Drop-in Writing for Youth (ages 8-12): 5:30-6:30pm (begins 6/19 at Ypsilanti Library - Michigan Ave)!
WEDNESDAY:
Drop-in Writing for Wee-Bots (ages 6-7): 3:30-4:30pm (begins 7/11 at 826michigan)!
Drop-in Writing for Youth (ages 8-12): 5:30-6:30pm (begins 6/20 at Ypsilanti Library - Whitaker Rd)!
THURSDAY:
Drop-in Writing (ages 8-18): 3:30-4:30pm (begins 7/12 at 826michigan)!
WHEW. For any questions about Drop-in Writing or summer workshops, please contact Program Coordinator Catherine Calabro at Catherine@826michigan.org.
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Introducing: The Staple!
We are proud to share with you another of our recent projects: Our new blog, The Staple.
The Staple is a special-interest e-magazine featuring the many voices of 826michigan on the topics that matter to us -- everything from discussions about education reform to Top 8.26 Lists to summer reading recommendations to missives from our nefarious publisher, Dr. Blotch.
Here's what we've featured so far on The Staple:
and
"The Situation in Ypsi", a conversation between Program Director Amy Sumerton; In-School Residencies Intern Elsa Musko; and Maria Cotera, a University of Michigan professor, local activist, and parent.
We can't wait to share more with you as The Staple grows this summer. Follow along with us at www.826michigan.org or get in touch at TheStaple@826michigan.org.
(Like that logo? We do too. Thanks to John Wilson [VotM March '12] for helping us figure out what The Staple looks like.)
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Come On In, The Water's Warm: Join Our Staff!
Yes, it's true! 826michigan proudly announces that we are hiring for two part-time positions to start this fall -- a Program Coordinator (with focus on the tutoring program at Ypsilanti Middle School! YOU could work with those wonderful students!) and a Volunteer Coordinator.
Final details and job descriptions are to come in the next month. If you're interested in applying for either of these positions, shoot us an e-mail at apply@826michigan.org. |
Supporter of the Month: Beezy's Cafe!
Beezy's Cafe, in the physical sense, is a warm and bright and beautifully fragrant spot in lovely downtown Ypsilanti serving all manner of delicious foods and beverages.
In the METAPHYSICAL sense, Beezy's Cafe has earned a warm and bright spot IN OUR HEARTS as a local, community-oriented business that does the "local, community-oriented business" thing very well.
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 | | Workshops Intern Elissa Zimmer is so cool. Click above to read more about her! |
Volunteer of the Month:
As you surely know, here at 826michigan we are all about putting fun and whimsy into writing.
What could be more fun, in fact, than spending an evening creating your own version of The Hunger Games? Or going to Robot School? Or addressing the United Nations of Space-Time?
The 826michigan workshops crew has done all that and so much more, and no one does more for 826michigan workshops than Ms. Elissa Zimmer, Workshops Intern Extraordinaire!
Where it comes to putting fun and whimsy into writing (or into anything at all, really) Elissa Zimmer is where it is -- proverbially speaking -- AT.
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Wish list.
Here is a short and by no means complete list of things we are currently in need of: - Money.
- First-Class Stamps.
- Paper -- lined and plain, graph paper, pencils, pens, staplers, name tags, file folders.
- White one-inch or one-half-inch binders.
- Letter-sized laminating pouches.
- An up-to-date world atlas.
- Polaroid film.
- Gift cards to area businesses for volunteer appreciation. (We LOVE us some Acme Mercantile, Nicola's Books, Dawn Treader, and Sam's Store, just for example. Gift cards to local restaurants are great, too!)
- Working robots.
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826michigan
housed just inside the Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair 115 East Liberty St Ann Arbor, MI 48104 www.826michigan.org 734.761.3463
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