Mighty Writers Helps Low-Income Philadelphia Kids with Online Education and Food Distribution

Even as Mighty Writers’ role has expanded to fight the current crisis, they have moved their existing afterschool education programming entirely online, teaching 17 different writing classes to hundreds of kids, all for free. “Mighty Writers at Home” classes use writing to explore Girl Power, Mindfulness, how to fight disinformation amidst the COVID-19 panic, and more, including classes in Spanish and classes for the entire family. Young writers from the greater Philadelphia area, Chester County, Camden, and Atlantic City are welcome to attend any of the workshops. See the full list of classes here.

To help parents teaching their kids at home, Mighty Writers also creates biweekly activity packs in Spanish and English. Activity packs include ways to incorporate mindfulness into children's days, word games & puzzles aligned to various themes, and pre-writing activities designed to inspire youth to share their ideas, write, and enter Mighty Writers’ biweekly writing contest. The top winner receives a $100 gift card to Amazon or a local grocery store and is featured on WHYY. Runners up receive an opportunity to co-write a song with a professional musician; the first song collaboration will be available soon via LiveConnections at WXPN.

To raise funds to support their expanded mission, the nonprofit has launched a “Mighty Music for Mighty Writers” online concert series. This Thursday at 5:00pm ET, beloved singer-songwriter Rhett Miller of Old 97’s will perform a special set of songs from the Great American Songbook to support Mighty Writers. 

Find it at Mighty Writers’ Facebook, and consider donating to support the program’s work here.

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 centers in four diverse Philadelphia neighborhoods, including one bilingual location 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. In the past year, they've been recognized by Mayor Jim Kenney for their work in literary arts and received a City Council Citation.

Founder and executive director Tim Whitaker began his career teaching fifth and sixth grade in Philadelphia before becoming a writer and editor. He is the author of “Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen.” He was the editor of Philadelphia Weekly (1994-2008), and previously the editor of PhillySport and Pittsburgh magazines. Whitaker was a head writer at NBC Radio and has written for The New York Times, Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer.