Mighty Writers Continues Recent Growth with New Ronald McDonald House Locations

In its tenth year, Mighty Writers is rapidly expanding. Just last month, the Philadelphia education nonprofit added a new location to serve the families of migrant mushroom pickers in Kennett Square. Now the organization is announcing three new locations to serve families staying at Ronald McDonald Houses in Philadelphia and Camden. The three new locations bring the total number of Mighty Writers locations to eleven, up from four just two years ago.

From the new Ronald McDonald House locations, Mighty Writers will host a "Mindful Writing for Families" workshop which places a special focus on mindfulness and self-care for families undergoing stressful circumstances. Using writing projects like mantra-writing, social and emotional reflections, and mindful journaling, these workshops will help kids and families' reflect upon their experiences in healthy ways that will help them heal and grow.

"Mighty Mindfulness Workshops at Ronald McDonald House will offer best practices for families to introduce mindfulness into their lives," says Amy Perez, Director of Mindfulness at Mighty Writers. "We will share easy and accessible tools/strategies for understanding mindfulness and self-care through the practice of meditation, writing, breathing and yoga. Furthermore, these workshops will share how awareness heals, how to build deeper family connections, alleviate stress, and bring mindful pauses into family life during difficult times."

Mighty Writers will host weekly classes at the two Philadelphia locations, beginning October 16 at Chestnut Street House and November 14 at Front & Erie House. The organization will begin monthly classes at Ronald McDonald House Southern New Jersey in Camden in January.

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.