On Wednesday, August 26 from 7:00-8:00pm ET, Philadelphia non-profit Mighty Writers is organizing a virtual Anti-Violence Forum featuring inner-city teenagers whose lives have been affected by gun violence. They will be joined by executives from local business including SEPTA, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, AMETEK, and more.

The teenagers will tell stories of violence they have seen and experienced their communities and question the business leaders on what more can be done. Participating business leaders include SEPTA’s Director of Legislative and Community Affairs, Pamela McCormick; the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s VP Local Government Affairs, William Carter IV; AMETEK’s Senior Manager, Investor Relations and Philanthropy Engagement, Alex Whitelam; and more. Mighty Writers’ Michelle Chikaonda will moderate the event.

"Violence is a fact of life in the economically-challenged communities we serve," says Tim Whitaker, MW's executive director. "We've heard the kids at Mighty Writers testify often with candor and passion about the violence they've witnessed. We've invited members of the business community to this forum that have a track record of caring about kids. Our hope is that through dialogue fresh ideas to help curb street violence will emerge."

The forum will be held virtually on Facebook Live at and is open to the public. It will be held at https://www.facebook.com/MightyWriters/

The event follows last year’s inaugural Anti-Violence Forum, an emotional meeting between teenagers and local politicians. Read more about it at The Notebook and WHYY and watch footage at Fox 29.

This year’s Anti-Violence Forum is the latest example of Mighty Writers continuing its vital work in a virtual environment. Since the start of the pandemic, Mighty Writers has taught free online classes in reading and writing to thousands of children, from pre-K through high school, with a full slate of classes scheduled for the fall. They are also distributing hundreds of meals a day to communities in need along with groceries, diapers, children’s books, and more.

About Mighty Writers

Mighty Writers was founded in 2009 with the mission to teach kids to think clearly and write with clarity. The organization offers free programs for students from elementary through high school at nine centers in diverse neighborhoods around Philadelphia and New Jersey, including several bilingual locations for Spanish-speaking students. Mighty Writers offers daily afterschool academies, long- and short-term writing classes nights and weekends, teen scholar programs, mentorships, College Prep courses and college essay writing classes. Over 400 of the city’s best creative minds (writers, teachers, journalists, etc.) teach 150 writing classes a year to 3,500 kids at Mighty Writers annually.