Bunchland

Bunch sends props to the innovative and inspiring non-profit organization, 826 National, which operates what have to be the seven coolest literacy centres this side of the Atlantic.

Over the next couple weeks, Bunch will give you a peek inside each of 826 National’s fabulous locations. Read on for more information about the organization as a whole.

The first thing you need to know is that 826 National is not your parents’ literacy centre.  Each centre is located in a themed storefront. In these “stores”, creativity reigns supreme. A far cry from the classroom atmosphere you might expect, they resemble modern art galleries, with themed installations that seem plucked straight out of an amazing adventure story.

826 National stores are operated by a staff of volunteers, and provide a level of one-on-one literacy support that most parents in the surrounding neighbourhoods would never be able to afford otherwise. Volunteers include professional writers, teachers, artists and college students, all with a passion for helping kids learn, and for creating a warm, welcoming space for them to get excited about writing.

Inside, kids 6-18 are challenged to create, create, create. Every store operates a publishing house which prints and binds the resulting work, and sells it in the storefront and online (proceeds help support future intiatives). This gives kids a real sense of pride, accomplishment, and the very cool feeling that they’ve created something tangible that they can share, as well as contributing to something larger than themselves.

826 National was founded by Dave Eggers (some of you grown ups might know Eggers as the creator of the gorgeous McSweeney’s magazine and website) in Valencia California in 2002, in response to an alarming drop in inner city literacy rates. The organization provides free after school tutoring, field trips, school outreach, writing workshops and student publishing.  Each year 826 National also offers 3 $10,000 scholarships to alumni who are headed off to college or university.