January’s New York Monthly Meeting’s Spotlight featured Uptown Stories, an organization that inspires kids to discover and develop their inner voices in a diverse community of writers.
From Executive Director, Kate Reuther ’96: Based in upper Manhattan, we offer small-group writing workshops for children ages seven to seventeen, led by master teachers and professional authors.
At the end of each ten-week workshop, we hold a celebratory reading at the WordUp Bookshop in Washington Heights. Every student reads a selection of his or her work for the public and receives a paperback anthology that includes all of the writing and art from the semester. Each anthology is also available for sale at WordUp and on Amazon, so our young writers leave our program as published authors.
One of the things that makes Uptown Stories unique is our Pay-What-You-Can tuition Policy. Unlike most youth programs which either target low-income youth or affluent achievers, Uptown Stories makes a home for all families from our neighborhood – no child is ever turned away based on inability to pay. We’ve made this choice, rather than a scholarship model, because we believe children should not compete against each other for access to our uniquely supportive, challenging, and creatively stimulating environment.
Currently, Uptown Stories is seeking new board members to help us expand the number of workshops we offer, and deepen our impact on the neighborhoods where we live and serve. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at UptownStories.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Or contact Executive Director Kate Reuther at kate@uptownstories.org.
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New Board Members: Uptown Stories inspires young people in a diverse community to write their own stories. Based in upper Manhattan, we offer small-group creative writing workshops for local youth ages 7–17, led by master teachers and professional authors. To ensure our workshops are accessible to all children, tuition is pay-what-you-can. Uptown Stories has a specific board need for a dedicated individual with a finance background who wants to make a difference to the young writers and artists of Washington Heights. Interested parties should contact Executive Director Kate Reuther ’96 at kate@uptownstories.org or 917-596-4795 (uptownstories.org).
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Resources:
Contact Kate Reuther: Email | 917-596-4795
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