Discovering and nurturing young writers early enables them to find their voices, and increases their engagement with school. This is incredibly important today because “it is becoming less and less likely that hard work alone is sufficient to bring a dropout into the middle class. Lacking basic computing skills, dropouts qualify only for low-end jobs, often without benefits, that forever trap them in the category of “working poor,” according to Closing the Gap: Keeping Students in School, an ASCD InfoBrief
Keeping students in school, engaged in their learning, and focused on a path to a successful life is possible, a truth validated by independent research as well as the experiences of teachers, students, and dropouts themselves, states the ASCD InfoBrief.
Young writers need teachers who know how to identify and nurture their talents, and who have the resources to provide recognition and publication options for those writers. With testing-based accountability and ever-decreasing funding, teachers are short on both time and money. That’s where Invisible Young Voices, Inc. steps in. We provide curriculum and strategies for teachers, along with award and publication opportunities for as-risk young writers.
We have trouble connecting with our own confident writing voice that is inside all of us, and even when we do connect and write well, we don’t claim it. I am not saying that everyone is Shakespeare, but I am saying everyone has a genuine voice that can express his or her life with honest dignity and detail,” wrote Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones.
Help young writers find their hidden voices by donating below:
Providing students with the space and tools they need to be heard, to use their voices helps them stay engaged in school, builds their confidence, and prepares them to make a positive impact in their neighborhoods, schools, and communities. This is the foundation on which Invisible Young Voices is built.
100% of all donations received go to providing teachers with the resources they need to mentor the young writers in their classes, awards for winners of the annual Invisible Young Voices Writing Contest, and publication of our annual literary anthology.
