Mighty Friends,

Talk about a challenging summer.

Flash floods. An earthquake. A hurricane.

Teen mobs. Another school superintendent gone.

It was darn near Apocalyptic out there at times.

At Mighty Writers, though, hundreds of kids made it through, no sweat. Thanks to our volunteers and your support, our elementary and middle school kids kept reading and writing (and having fun) right through some of the hottest and rainiest days of our lives.

On some of the steamiest mornings, we looked on as city high school students prepared for the college admissions experience by attending intensive Mighty SAT Prep classes that spanned July and August.

Eyes on the prize, baby. It’s what keeps kids Mighty.

•••••••••

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire”

•••••••••

Now, Summer 2011 is officially in the books.

Today is the first day of school for many. Our doors will swing open wide for Philly’s young writers when the dismissal bell rings and they’ll stay open for students in our nightly writing workshops.

That’s how we do it. And that won’t change all year.

When the mission is literacy in a city where the school system trips over itself as often as Kelly Drive closes for flooding, time is of the essence.

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire,” Yeats once said, summing up the spirit that drives Mighty Writers.

Good things happen when kids can express themselves with clarity. They can write essays to get into college, or fill out applications to get the jobs they want. They can discover what they’re feeling. Confidence and self-esteem grow. Success follows.

Times are tough. We know.

We need to reach as many kids as possible and we need help to do it. Your help. Every time you contribute to Mighty Writers and the cause of literacy in Philadelphia, we impact a few more kids.

Everyone wins–our kids, our city, our prospects for the future.

Keeping it Mighty,

Tim Whitaker
Executive Director
Mighty Writers
1501 Christian Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
(p) 484.716.0830
twhitaker@mightywriters.org

—Oprah Winfrey

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“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

—Antoine de Saint-Exupery

photo / Bianca Golasa Crespo / Raphaela Studio

“Intelligence plus character is the goal of true education.” —Martin Luther King Jr.

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“In the 21st century, one of the best
anti-poverty programs is a world-class
education. In this country, the success of
our children cannot depend more on
where they live than their potential.”

—President Obama

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“The memory of things gone is important to a
jazz musician. Things like old folks singing in
the moonlight in the backyard on a hot night
or something said long ago. “

—Louis Armstrong

—William Carlos Williams

—Bern Williams

“The only safe thing is to take a
chance.”

—Elaine May

—Diablo Cody

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Esquire, 1958