WriteGirl’s New Space

WriteGirl is officially settled into its new headquarters in downtown’s Arts District. The new office is a big upgrade, with lots of space for planning, proofing, eating and writing – and the WriteGirl spirit is as strong as ever (witness the shelves of past seasons’ books and the neon “Girls Rule” sign in the corner).

Two WriteGirl Volunteers catch up at the party.

I got a chance to go to the office warming party and was thrilled to see so many enthusiastic new volunteers, as well as plenty of returning members. As always, the food was great and the conversation scintillating, and I’m more excited than ever for the start of the new season. Having followed WriteGirl since near its much smaller beginnings, I’m thrilled to see the organization continue to thrive.

Speaking of thriving, we have also been invited to the upcoming Women’s Conference, where we’ll be sharing our thoughts on empowerment and finding our voice with some of California’s most high-powered women.

Here’s to an amazing new era for WriteGirls!

- Ariel, WriteGirl Alumna

Ariel’s writing has been featured on NPR, among other places.

A New Office for the Nonprofit of the Year

WriteGirl has spent the last two weeks swamped with moving boxes, bubble wrap, and moving dollies, preparing to move into our hip, live-work loft.

Check out the new place, and join us in celebrating this exciting transition!

WRITEGIRL OFFICE WARMING PARTY
WHEN: Wednesday, September 29th, 6PM – 9PM
WHERE: 1330 Factory Place, Unit 104, LA 90013
RSVP: writegirloffice@gmail.com or (213) 253-2655

Help us settle in! We are registered at Crate & Barrel and Bed, Bath & Beyond as KEREN TAYLOR. (Staples gift cards or cash donations are warmly welcome.)

WriteGirl is California’s Nonprofit of the Year!

We are proud to announce that WriteGirl has just been awarded the Governor and First Lady’s Medal for Service as the 2010 California Nonprofit of the year!

WriteGirl Executive Director accept the award from the Governor and First Lady of CA.

Former WriteGirl Mentee Rachel Hogue, Maria Shriver, and WriteGirl Executive Director Keren Taylor

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver presented the medal to Executive Director Keren Taylor in Sacramento at a ceremony held in the California Museum. The award recognizes WriteGirl as a nonprofit whose volunteerism has had a tangible impact on the community, region and the state of California.

You can read a little more about what WriteGirl in general means to some of our mentees and volunteers in WriteGirl Blog Team Leader Anthea Raymond’s piece on the HuffingtonPost.

this award and Immediately after returning to Los Angeles, Keren and her team celebrated their achievements at WriteGirl’s fundraiser at Fancifull Gift Baskets.

Friends, members and supporters enjoyed fine wine alongside artisan cheeses and chocolates at one of the few WriteGirl events that doesn’t involve writing exercises and guest speakers.

WriteGirls know how to write well, how to study hard, and when to take a break and have fun!

But we’ll be back to work in a couple of weeks at our Performance Workshop in which we’ll help our mentees prepare to read their work on stage in front of hundreds of their family, friends and peers at WriteGirls Season-End Celebration. This event gives us a chance to congratulate all our members for their diligence and creativity throughout WriteGirl’s 9-month season.

Join us on June 26th and the Writers Guild of America Theater for inspiring writing, a bountiful silent auction, yummy lunch, and special guest speakers.

Tickets are $20 (all proceeds benefit WriteGirl), and you can purchase them here!

WriteGirl Invites You to a Night of Chocolate and Wine

Join us for a delectable evening of gourmet delights such as artisan cheese, fine wine, imported sodas and exotic chocolates. It’s great food for a great cause, with all proceeds going to creative writing nonprofit WriteGirl!

Tickets are $25 and include a raffle drawing for a delicious basket of Fancifull goodies. Buy yours today!

Friday, May 7, 2010

7:00-9:00 pm

Fancifull Gift Baskets

5617 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA  90038

(323) 466.7654

(unrestricted street parking after 7:00 p.m.)

WriteGirl Kicks Off Another Year: One Newcomer’s View

As I made my way through the entrance door at the Miguel Contreras Learning Center, the friendly greetings began. WriteGirl was kicking off its ninth season with an event for mentees and their families. It was my first event and my parents and I were just arriving.

After I signed in, I talked to Ashaki J., a volunteer working hard to match new girls with their mentors for the day. Her greeting too made me feel welcome. Ashaki paired me with Raechal. We hit it off the moment we met.

Raechal had an ever-glowing smile that made me comfortable. When I talked with her, I felt like I was talking to one of my own friends. We talked about her job as a journalist at Yahoo. And I’d been thinking about taking a journalism class at my school. She convinced me to take the class because it would expose me to other kinds of writing besides fiction.

Then the official program began and a panel of journalists gave advice and tips to the girls. The panel included Alexandra Zavis of the Los Angeles Times and Elaine Dutka, formerly of the same paper, as well as broadcasters and videographers. They all tackled the same question, “What does journalism mean to you?”

“Journalism is transparency,” one said. “It is a witness of the history of it all,” another added. I also heard them say that the way a person perceives things can promote a bias that blocks truth. In short, journalists must be cautious as to how they approach a certain topic

It was great to share the excitement, and enthusiasm WriteGirl offers with my Raechal. We were laughing throughout the event. It also was a great way to share the day with my parents. They were maybe the only ones who ended the day more excited than me.

Charise B., age 17

A Message from Keren Taylor, Executive Director of WriteGirl!

Happy New Year!

This is going to be a good year – that’s the feeling we get in the WriteGirl office. We are getting all kinds of good news these days. Just to highlight a few things:

- One of our mentees, Alexandria Rakes, has won a Posse Scholarship to Tulane University. Congrats to her and kudos also to her mentor Rachel Fain.

- Three of our In-Schools mentees were awarded ALACOSA (Association of Los Angeles County Office School Administrators Awards) scholarships.

- Silhouette, which is being released this month, has been awarded First Place in the anthology category in the London Book Awards. That’s the second book award for Silhouette!

- WriteGirl is looking for mentors and volunteers for our 9th season of creative writing workshops and mentoring for teen girls.  WriteGirl welcomes all women of diverse professional backgrounds to join our energetic community.  Apply your professional skills, enrich a young woman’s life – and let her enrich yours! Help with events, college support, book marketing, mentoring, public relations and more. Our final orientation/training for new volunteers this season will be held on Saturday, January 16. For more information, visit www.writegirl.org or call 213-253-2655.

- Also, we would like to welcome Ali Prosch to our staff – she is joining us as Membership Coordinator. Though this is only her second week in the role, we’re confident she’ll make a terrific addition to the team.
We hope the New Year is treating everyone generously so far, and look forward to seeing some of you at the Poetry Workshop on January 30th!

WriteGirl Alumna Takes on UC Irvine

Fahiya Rashid, WriteGirl Forever

My first quarter at UC Irvine has been fun and stressful all at once. The freedom that college offers is intoxicating. No more bedtime, curfew or my irritating mom screaming in my ear to clean my room. But surprisingly, I keep my room squeaky clean, I’m back in my dorm room by 8:00 most nights, and I usually go to bed around midnight. I guess habits die hard.

My classes have been nothing less than stimulating. One week I am submerged in discussions that compare Aristotle’s and Plato’s ideas of symmetrical and asymmetrical friendship, the next week I am trying to understand Descartes meditations and asking myself how real hyperbolical doubt is possible. The week after I am in Austen’s world where social class and wealth means everything and love prevails all. And the week after that, I am absorbing the truth and beauty of Morrison’s highly controversial Bluest Eye.

So where does WriteGirl fit into all of this? Through WriteGirl I gained the necessary public speaking skills to voice my opinions in my classes effectively. So thanks WG!

– Fahiya, WriteGirl Alumni

FORMER MENTEE WRITES US FROM COLLEGE: SHE’S STILL A WRITEGIRL AT HEART

I was very sad to leave the season-end reading and celebration last June knowing that I was no longer a WriteGirl mentee. I was excited to move beyond high school and start a new life, however, and I knew that I could continue to be involved in Writegirl somehow.

After a relaxing summer, I moved across the state to attend UC Berkeley. I was scared that I was not prepared for college. Would the professors grade extremely harshly? Would I be smothered by piles of homework each night? I was surprised when college turned out to be a little easier than high school. The subjects I am studying are fascinating: political theory, environmental justice, aniconism in Buddhist art. I look forward to the hundreds of pages I had to read each week, which I finish expediently.

But I freaked out about my first paper, and worried that the kinds of essays I wrote in high school would not be sufficient here. I pondered over every sentence, concerned that it was not what my GSI (graduate student instructor) was looking for. After revising my peer reviewed first draft, I swallowed my doubt and printed out my final draft.

I ended up getting an A on that paper. And an A on my second paper for that class. And an A on another paper for another class. (I got a B on a paper for my political science class, though.)  Maybe I was prepared to write college essays after all.

I thank WriteGirl for helping me become a better writer. Although WriteGirl focuses on creative rather than academic writing, my skills in description, adjective choice and clarity —  just to name a few that I acquired in the program — made for better analytical essays. My first semester is almost over and finals are coming up. I can’t believe it went by this quickly! Perhaps when I come home for winter break I can stop by a workshop and reminisce about my wonderful days as a mentee, while observing and guiding the next group of college bound girls.

– Evelyn H.

{ED: Evelyn was a superstar of the WriteGirl bloggers’ team.  Maybe you can stop by a Bloggers’ meeting and inspire us there too!!!]

Yvonne’s farewell

It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in the office watching Zoe write her “last goodbye” and now it is my turn! All this seems way too soon, and I really don’t want to leave!

I still remember the first day of work when I was (surprise!) asked to put a binding into a stack of hole-punched papers—manually. Definitely not something I thought I would be doing on my first job, but most certainly an interesting way to start!

The atmosphere here is always so upbeat and cheerful, and that makes it a joy coming to work every morning. (Except maybe on those days when I—oops—stayed up too late!) I don’t think I will ever forget my time here.

If you asked me to do double-sided copies two months ago, I would have looked at you with a baffled face. Now, if you ask me to do the same thing, I’ll jump at the chance and make you five copies in next to no time. (I really love printing copies….) Not only that, but I’m a complete pro when it comes to opening boxes, writing addresses, making labels, packaging books and envelopes, and writing thank you cards. (Yes, again, the cards!)

When I first came into my job, I was really just one of those “I don’t really care about my community” type of a teenager. But now, after seeing what non-profit organizations do, I feel like I’m finally part of something and I want to give back. I think this is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through these six weeks. I’m so grateful for that.

Thank you so much Keren. And you too, Joanna! And Reparata! Thank you to everyone for everything.

And now, inspired by Zoe, I have two haikus to share as well!

When I am eating
I hold spoons and forks like pencils
I write so much now!

Flourishing of words
Poems are hard to understand
And often too short

–WriteGirl high school intern Yvonne, age 16

Here are some photos from our good-bye lunch with Yvonne at the fabulous Nickel Diner on Main Street!

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