email : Webview : Help NYWC's Workshop Participants Become Leaders

A Message From Aaron Zimmerman,
NYWC Founder & Executive Director

You may already know that NY Writers Coalition’s community of writers comes from a wide range of backgrounds. But did you know that many of our workshop participants become leaders in the very same communities that inspired them to write in the first place?

More than 20% of NYWC’s current workshop leaders are former workshop participants, and in the coming year, we will create more opportunities for our workshop members to lead groups and amplify their voices. This feels especially important in an age of demagoguery, stereotyping, and increasing income inequality. We hope you will support our efforts with a tax-deductible year-end donation.

Among our newest leaders is James Peele. James is a long-time member of the workshop at Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. He currently leads that workshop as well as one at VISIONS, a senior center for blind and low-vision New Yorkers.

James understands firsthand the barriers to a writing life that blind and visually impaired people can encounter, and he uses that knowledge to enhance workshops for other writers with disabilities.

Last year, with NYWC’s support, James published his first book of short stories, entitled After an Eon, which was mostly comprised of pieces he wrote in workshops by dictating to volunteers. Now that James is a NYWC workshop leader, he nurtures the creativity of others twice a week.

Another leader is Micky Shorr, who told us that during her time as a participant at the Creative Center for survivors of cancer and other major illnesses, “I never felt as a participant that I had less authority than the leader. It encouraged me to self-publish a chapbook; it really got me writing again. So my primary goal right now is to encourage people to write.”

That sense of shared ownership in this community is something we’ve heard from other participants-turned-leaders like James and Micky — and it’s due to the trust and respect of their fellow writers, as well as the financial support that comes from our larger community of partners, donors, fundraisers, and lovers of writing like you, that we’re able to make that happen.

Your donation keeps our programs strong and our participants confident in their own voices and power through the art of creative writing. To contribute, visit our donation page.

Thank you again for being part of our community.

Yours,
Aaron Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove®
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.

80 Hanson Place, Suite 604
Brooklyn, NY | 11217 US

This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

A Message From Aaron Zimmerman, NYWC Founder & Executive Director

A Message From Aaron Zimmerman,
NYWC Founder & Executive Director