TODAY'S STUDENTS
TOMORROW'S LEGACY



“Enormous thanks to the team at 826NYC for being such thoughtful and caring partners, making sure our students know they are seen and loved, and nurturing their writer identities when it’s most needed.”
– Jessica Fenster-Sparber, Librarian at Passages Academy-Belmont



"We have to be brave enough to say how we feel and patient enough to listen when someone else does the same."
–Excerpt from writing by Naichael Saintelange, 11th grade, 2025

826NYC's Summer 2025 Teen Interns
At 826NYC, we believe in the power of youth stories to create bold futures. And we know the stakes are higher than ever. Across the country, books are being banned and voices are being silenced. But in our youth writing center in Brooklyn—and in classrooms across New York City—3,484 students last year wrote with courage.
They told their stories. They became published authors. They joined a legacy of fearless storytellers who put pen to paper and shape the world with their words.
826NYC gives students the tools and space to speak out—and a platform to share their voices with the world. Through our in-school and out-of-school time writing and literacy programs, we help young people build the confidence and writing skills they'll carry into the future—skills to imagine, advocate for, and create the tomorrow they want to see.
For more than 20 years, 826NYC has stood with New York City's youth through challenge and change. With your support, we will continue to do so—for the next generation of bold storytellers.
Today, supporting this work is courageous. We ask you to be brave with us.
Donate to ensure that every young voice can be heard.
From Self-Doubt to Self-Love
– Eli Perez, 11th grade, 2025
We all deserve love.
You are enough just as you are.
You don’t need praise to feel complete.
You don’t need to be upset to prove to someone that you truly care.
Self-love isn’t a point in your life, it’s an ongoing process.
A daily practice that requires patience, honesty, willingness, and understanding.
