MightyWriters

Meet Christian and Kishwer, right this way please >>

“I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism.”

—Oprah Winfrey

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Money Management in Middle School (Ages 11-13)
Sunday, April 15, 3:00-4:30pm (1 session)
*Located at Mighty Writers, 1501 Christian Street
At Mighty Writers, we meet middle school entrepreneurs with big plans every day. Whether it’s starting your own comics application for smart phones or selling brownies outside the entrance to our Christian Street studio, we’ve seen your vision and we want to help you reach it. It all starts with learning how to save money. Presented by Citizens Bank employee Kevin Ferroni, who is spending three months on sabbatical at Mighty Writers.

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Colleges & Cars: An Introduction to Installment Loans (Teens & Adults)
Sunday, April 22, 3:00-4:30pm (1 session)
*Located at Mighty Writers, 1501 Christian Street
How can you get a loan for your first set of wheels or your dream college? What types of college loans and loan programs are available to you? Find out these answers and more in this Mighty introduction to installment loans. Presented by Citizens Bank employee Kevin Ferroni, who is spending three months on sabbatical at Mighty Writers. Teens and parents welcome, but spaces are limited, so please pre-register using our online form.

To sign up,
click here and fill out the form on this page.

On Wednesday, April 11, a dozen teenage Mighty Writers will climb aboard a Megabus for a trip to New York City.

Mighty Writers will spend the morning at the Museum of Modern Art, lunch near Rockefeller Center and wrap the day with a tour of NBC.

For most of our Mighty teens (like honor roll student Tiaira, below), this will be their first visit to the city.

We raising $800 to support our trip. Can you help us?

Click here to make your donation and send our Mighty teens to NYC.

As thanks for your donation, we’ll email you photos of Mighty highlights from our trip. Thanks to the generosity of Tina Buschel, Mike Mangino, Laura Dishong, Lansie Sylvia, Mary Scherf, Preston Smith, Linda Resnikoff and Lori Heyman, plus everyone involved in our Mighty Bake Sale, we’re halfway there!

Jaimee Swift

School: Temple University

Hometown: Abington, PA

What do you do at Mighty Writers?
I oversee iBlog: Her City, Her Voice, a blogging workshop for young women (14-18) interested in using the Internet to make their voices heard. At the end of the workshop, the work will be posted on Her Campus Temple, an online magazine for women.

What did you like to write as a kid?
I used to write a lot of poetry. I loved how I could articulate my emotions, thoughts and feelings through words.

What is your favorite thing to write now?
I love to write about everything.

What makes a Mighty Writer?
Those who can express themselves through writing. A Mighty Writer is fearless, open and honest.

What keeps you coming back to Mighty Writers?
The fun. The laughter. Seeing youth excel and improve their writing skills.

How does Mighty Writers make your life better?
The youth teach me every time I step into the building. I am amazed by their tenacity and zeal for writing and life, which in turn makes me even more passionate about writing and life.

If you could put a second Mighty Writers anywhere, where would it be?
North Philadelphia.

What was your favorite book as a kid?
“The Land,” by Mildred D. Taylor. I still read it.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” or “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”?
“To Kill a Mockingbird”

What was the last book you read?
“Acting White: The Curious History of a Peculiar Slur,” by Ron Christie

Who influenced you to care about writing and how did they do it?
My mother. With her support, reassurance and her continuously volunteering me for writing workshops, I began to believe in myself and my writing skills.

Why is writing important?
There is no better way to express yourself. Writing gives life. It reveals. It can bring laughter and tears. There is no limitation to who, where and what it can touch.

Every month, we feature a Mighty volunteer on the MW website. Our volunteers (more than 300 each year) make us who we are, and they help keep our writing programs free for kids. Interested in volunteering? Sign up today!

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You’re Hired! A Job Prep Workshop for Teens
(Ages 14+)
Thursdays 6:00-8:00pm
Mar. 22, 29, Apr. 12, 19, 26, May 3 (6 sessions)
*Located at Mighty Writers, 1501 Christian Street
Facilitated by Kenyetta Overton (of Overton Professional Services, and founder of The Murals of the Mind (M.O.M.) Project), this workshop will cover: resume and cover letter writing, interview skills, interview and wardrobe preparation and job search techniques. Act now to make sure the best summer jobs are yours for the taking. Available to all high school students eligible to work, ages 14+.

To sign up,
click here and fill out the form on this page.

By Ghazan Khan

Bill Gates is my role model, mainly because he invented Microsoft. Someday I want to take over the Microsoft business.

Bill Gates is the leader of the best software making company and I want to run his company for him. He is very famous. He helps the poor and he feeds the needy. I want to do the same.

Bill Gates’ company made the best and most used gaming console. Microsoft made Xbox, which is a great console. The great thing is the controller. It has analog sticks, which are placed in a way that doesn’t hurt you like Playstation.

Xbox 360 comes with major updates. One update is that the controller and the console are light. It has more things than the regular Xbox, like avatars, and they are really detailed.

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“Not many people notice, but everyone uses what Bill Gates made.”

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Xbox is a better gaming console then Playstation. It is more advanced since it now has a touch screen on Xbox 360 Slim. The touch screen is located on the console. The Xbox also has more games then Playstation has.

Xbox and Playstation can both go online, but Xbox makes you pay to go online for security reasons. Playstation does not make you pay, which is why Playstation got hacked and Xbox did not. Xbox has the game “Halo” which is one of Xbox’s best games.

PC is also easier to use. On a Mac you can’t right click and on PC you can. PC is the best for gaming, too, mainly because more games are on PC than on Mac. PC also came out first. Therefore, it could improve a lot.

Not many people notice, but everyone uses what Bill Gates made. It’s not fair for people to use a Bill Gates product and not know who made it. Steve Jobs is always being given credit and so should Bill Gates.

Mighty Writers has Mac computers. Ghazan, a Mighty Writer and 6th grader, brings his PC laptop to our afterschool program every day.

Transform Your Voice (Ages 11-13)
Wednesdays 6:00-7:30pm
Apr. 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16 (6 sessions, reading on May 23)
*Located at Mighty Writers, 1501 Christian Street
In this workshop, students will read and write poems in which the poet has adopted a persona or stepped into an imagined character. These will include poems in the voices of animals, fairy tale characters, cartoon characters and inanimate objects. Towards the end of the workshop, students will write poems in a more personal voice, but with a new understanding of what makes their own voices unique, and with a new permission to take liberties with their own voices.

To sign up,
click here and fill out the form on this page.