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How Workshops Work
Lifting Voices’ writing workshops make the written word fun and relevant to members of under-served communities.
We help participants learn how to tell their own stories. Through our writing workshops, participants find new, exciting ways to approach the written word.
When asked to describe our workshops, 60% of participants spontaneously use the word “fun.” Our writing workshops make the written word real, tangible, and, yes, fun. We guide participants through their own poetry contests and puppet shows. We bring them voices of professional success, guest speakers and letter writers who talk with them about the passion and joy found in words. We open doors of creativity and opportunity. Our writing workshops help participants see that the written word is a wondrous powerful thing.
Research strongly demonstrates that reading and writing skills are integral to individual security and functioning. According to the Washington Literacy Council, more than 75% of welfare recipients, 85% of unwed mothers, and 68% of arrestees are illiterate. Literacy is central to turning troubled lives around. And, we believe, enjoying the written word is central to literacy.
Whom We Serve
Lifting Voices serves young people in Washington, D.C. Typically, our clients come from low-income households, have low skill levels in reading and writing, and live in high-crime neighborhoods.
We take our program where it is needed most. Our service neighborhoods see up to 175 annual acts of violent crime, up to 20% below-poverty-line rates, and up to 40% illiteracy rates.
The people who live in these neighborhoods are in dire need of the opportunities that depend on comfort with the written word. And they deserve creative outlets for personal expression. Our writing workshops give this to them.
Lead a Workshop
Lifting Voices' search for passionate workshop leaders is open. We're looking for astute, dedicated volunteers and interns who can help us light the spark in novice writers. For more information, click here.