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826 Valencia is a non-profit organization in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, United States, dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. It was the basis for the 826 National organization, which has centers on the United States with the same goal.

Overview

Named for its street address, 826 Valencia was founded in 2002 by author Dave Eggers and veteran teacher Nínive Calegari, who both have ties to the literary and educational community. 826 consists of three centers, each encompassing a writing lab, a street-front student-friendly store that partially funds the programs, and two satellite classrooms in nearby middle schools. The organization is named after the street address of the first center.^[1]

Over 1,400 volunteers—including published authors, magazine founders, SAT-course instructors, and documentary filmmakers—have donated their time to work with thousands of students. These volunteers allow 826 Valencia to offer all of its services for free.^[2]

826 Valencia opened a second location in the Tenderloin in 2016^[3] and another in the Mission Bay neighborhood in 2019.^[4]

Programming

826 Valencia's programming includes-in-schools programs, workshops, field trips, after school tutoring and student publishing.

Pirate supply store

826 Valencia runs San Francisco's "only independent pirate supply store". The store is the front entrance of the tutoring center and has the look and feel of an authentic pirate shop.^[5] It sells pirate clothing, eyepatches, compasses, spyglasses, pirate dice, skull flags, and secret treasures. It features handmade signs, scattered around the store, offering tongue-in-cheek wisdom, such as "Uses for Lard" (#5: "Lard Fights") and "Guidelines for New Shipmates" (#4: "No forgetting to swab"). Unsuspecting visitors are sometimes treated to surprise "moppings."

Shoppers can also find back issues of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, books published by McSweeney's, and literary compilations written by 826 Valencia students. The books of student writing published by 826 Valencia include forewords, illustrations and interviews from public figures such as Former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and actor Robin Williams.

The Pirate Supply Store was originally created through necessity. After being turned down for regular use of church basements and school facilities, the founders discovered an empty store on Valencia Street. City ordinances required businesses in that area of the city to be either retail or catering, so the Pirate Supply Store was opened in 2002 as the "legitimate" business front for the writing center. It also helps fund the tutoring program.^[6]

Mural

Dave Eggers commissioned cartoonist Chris Ware to design the mural for the facade of 826 Valencia's building.^[7] The mural depicts "the parallel development of humans and their efforts at and motivations for communication, spoken and written."^[8] The 3.9m x 6m mural was applied by artisans to Ware's specifications.^[7] Describing the work, Ware said "I didn’t want it to make anyone 'feel good', especially in that typically muralistic 'hands across the water' sort of way,"..."I especially wanted it to be something that people living in the neighbourhood could look at day after day and hopefully not tire of too quickly. I really hoped whomever might happen to come across it would find something that showed a respect for their intelligence, and didn’t force-feed them any 'message'."^[7]

Influence

826 Valencia has inspired a number of other projects across the US, known as 'chapters'. In late 2004, just before the founding of four new chapters, 826 National was launched as an umbrella organization that provides logistical support to its chapters.^[9]

There are now nine chapters that make up 826 National: 826 Valencia, 826NYC in Brooklyn, 826LA in Los Angeles, 826CHI in Chicago, 826michigan (serving Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Ypsilanti), 826 Boston in Boston, 826DC in Washington, DC, 826 New Orleans, and most recently, 826 MSP in Minneapolis.

826 Valencia has also inspired similar projects in several countries. In 2018, twenty of these organisations from around the world formed the informal International Alliance of Youth Writing Centres, which has since welcomed many more into the ranks.^[10]

United States

826NYC, New York – opened 2004
826LA, Los Angeles – opened 2005
The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas (formerly 826 Seattle), Seattle – Opened 2005, rebranded in 2014
826 Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan – opened 2005
826CHI, Chicago – opened 2005
826 Boston, Boston – opened 2007
826DC, Washington, D.C. – opened 2010, changed location and theme 2015
Desert Island Supply Co., Birmingham, AL – opened 2012^[11]
826 New Orleans, New Orleans – opened 2018
826 MSP, Minneapolis – opened 2009,^[12] inducted into the 826 network in 2019^[13]

Canada

Story Planet, Toronto – opened 2011

Italy

La Grande Fabbrica delle Parole, Milano (MI) – opened 2009
Porto delle Storie, Campi Bisenzio (FI) – opened 2014
Fronte del Borgo, Torino (TO) – opened 2016^[14]

United Kingdom

The Ministry of Stories, London – opened 2010^[15]^[16]
Grimm & Co, Rotherham, Yorkshire – founded 2014
Little Green Pig, Brighton and Hove – founded 2008
The Super Power Agency, Edinburgh – founded 2016
The Story Works, Dorset
Fighting Words NI, Belfast – founded 2015

Australia

Story Factory, Sydney – founded 2011
100 Story Building, Melbourne – founded 2010; centre opened 2012

Sweden

Berättarministeret (Ministry of Tales) – founded in 2011 with several locations in the Stockholm area, and since 2017 one location in Gothenburg

Ireland

Fighting Words, Dublin – opened 2009^[17]

Austria

W*ORT, Lustenau – opened 2014

France

Labo des Histoires, Paris – opened 2011

Netherlands

Noordje, Amsterdam

Other

In April 2010, as an extension of the 826 Valencia scholarship program, Eggers launched ScholarMatch, a nonprofit organization that connects donors with students to make college more affordable.